It’s a fact of life: Pets and landlords don’t always mix.
One of the most common reasons people surrender dogs and cats to animal
shelters is their new landlords’ no-pet policies. The youngest and cutest of
the relinquished pets find adoptive homes, but millions of others are
euthanized each year because pets always outnumber the people willing to adopt
them.
To help alleviate the problem, the nation’s largest animal protection
organization, The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), launched a Web
site in September, www.rentwithpets.org. It offers real-life, practical ways
for landlords and pet-owning renters to accommodate each other.
“Instead of rejecting every pet owner outright, we hope to encourage more
landlords to tap this big, potential market,” says Geoff Handy, HSUS’ director
of communications. “One recent study showed that 49.4 percent of renters have
pets, while another study showed that 35 percent of renters who don’t have
pets would have them if their landlords allowed them. If some of these renters
could keep pets, we could lower the surrender rates at animal shelters and
increase the number of adoptions.”
The site helps landlords sort the irresponsible from the responsible pet
owners by, for example, establishing and implementing effective
pet-stewardship policies.
For determined pet owners, the site offers guidelines for conducting
successful rental housing searches, drafting sample pet resumes and reference
letters, moving pets and helping pets adjust to their new homes.
When landlords and tenants do negotiate their bone of contention, the
result is often a long-term relationship, notes Handy.
“We’re very loyal,” says Jim Daucanski of Chicago, on behalf of other pet
owners he knows. He was so thrilled to find an apartment at the pet-friendly
Cornelia Court complex, he signed a three-year lease for the unit he shares
with Fudge, his collie/shepherd mix. “When that runs out, I’ll sign again. The
building where I used to live was not pet-friendly. Here, the staff and the
tenants love the dogs and get to know each other through the dogs.”
Daucanski shows his appreciation by cleaning up after Fudge, keeping him on
a leash when outside and taking him to a veterinarian for annual vaccinations.
“I try to keep him quiet by keeping him entertained,” says Daucanski. “I come
home from work to walk him because I work nearby. On my days off, he goes with
me–to the doggie bakeries or to the restaurants that allow dogs.”
In return for his loyalty, his landlord provides Daucanski and the other
resident dog owners a mulched, outdoor area called “Pooh Corner;” arranges
service calls when the pet owners are home and keeps lists of dog walkers, pet
sitters and grooming parlors.
Cornelia Court residents must sign a pet agreement and abide by the rules:
Don’t bathe your pet in your bathtub because the fur wrecks the plumbing; use
the back stairway when heading out for walks; hire dog walkers if you are gone
all day; bag your used kitty litter before you put it in the trash; frequently
vacuum bird seed, which could attract rodents.
“It all comes down to common courtesy,” says Cornelia Court manager Ann
Davis. “We encourage the pet owners to be considerate of the tenants who don’t
have pets.”
As CEO (chief excrement officer), Davis says part of her job is to police
Pooh Corner and remind tenants to follow the rules. The result: Davis’
non-pet-owning tenants rarely complain about their four-legged neighbors. In
fact, they tell her they feel safer having dogs in the building.
Daucanski and Davis agree that the canine residents enhance the complex’s
friendly atmosphere. “Pets bring everyone together, even residents without
them,” reports Davis.
Pets are furry facts of life, says Jane Garvey, a landlord and a director
of the Normal, Ill.-based Illinois Rental Property Owners Association. “Every
landlord has a horror story about a pet that destroyed property,” says Garvey.
“But if you don’t accept any pets, you eliminate a huge portion of the rental
market.”
Garvey recommends interviewing prospective tenants with their pets. “Some
landlords have size restrictions for dogs, but I tend to judge them by breed,”
she says. “In fact, many of the larger breeds are much calmer than the smaller
breeds. I favor golden retrievers and am biased against German shepherds, for
example. I also get references from previous neighbors. On the cat front,
interviewing them doesn’t help, so I visit where the cat lives to see if it
has caused damage.”
Garvey recommends that landlords charge pet deposits and draft pet-specific
rental contracts. “A renter should have to get permission to replace a pet,”
she suggests. One overpublicized issue that’s rarely pause for concern for
property owners, though, says Garvey, is a limit on the numbers of pets
allowed. Most municipalities already dictate the maximum numbers of cats and
dogs per household.
It is not unreasonable for a landlord to charge a pet owner higher rent,
says Garvey. “Tenants have to realize the added costs of having animals in the
building,” she says. “We have to clean carpets more often, carry added
liability insurance, and replace draperies, landscaping, windowsills and doors
more often. When we have to exterminate fleas, a unit can be uninhabitable for
weeks.”
Garvey encourages renters to search for pet-friendly housing before giving
up their pets.
To fellow property owners, Garvey says it’s worth taking time to ferret out
the responsible, law-abiding pet owners. “If I had excluded pets altogether
over the years,” she says, “I wouldn’t have met some very nice people.”
