Allowing Pets to Live in Your Rental Properties

Whether to allow pets is a key decision for rental property owners. There are valid arguments to be made both for and against permitting pets to live in your rental properties. This article highlights key points on each side, but the ultimate decision is, of course, yours.

Searching for an experienced partner to manage your rental property? Palmetto State Properties is known for their ability to manage, market and maintain rental properties in the greater Charleston, SC area. Contact us today. 

Service Animals Are Not Classified as Pets

It’s important to acknowledge up front that service animals, including assistance animals and emotional support animals, are not regarded as pets under the Federal Fair Housing Act. Even if you choose to implement a “no pet” policy, the FHA requires you to make a “reasonable accommodation” for tenants who rely on a service or assistance animal—without charging them a pet fee. The only rental property owners not subject to this requirement are those who own buildings with less than five units and occupy one of those units and those who rent out single-family homes without the use of a broker.

Some landlords may be tempted to permit trained service animals, such as guide dogs for the blind, but exclude assistance animals (including emotional support animals) because all it takes is a letter from a doctor or therapist to classify them as such. However, the FHA requires reasonable accommodations for both service and assistance animals as long as the tenant’s disability claim is true and providing the accommodations does not cause undue hardship for the landlord or other tenants.

A prospective or current tenant whose request for reasonable accommodations has been denied can file a discrimination complaint with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) or applicable state agency. 

The Upside of Allowing Pets

The most compelling reasons for allowing pets to live in your rental properties are financial. First, there are a lot of pet owners out there looking for rental housing. A 2022 Zillow survey shows that 44% of South Carolina households own pets, but only 42% of the state’s rental properties allow pets. 

Including pet owners in your pool of potential tenants can make good business sense. Many of them are willing to pay a higher rent or a separate monthly pet fee if that’s the price for securing housing for the entire family, including its furred, feathered, or finned members. 

Pet owners are often good tenants. They typically care for their home, just as they care for their pets. And once pet owners move in, they’re likely to stay longer than non-pet owning tenants because they are more likely to be content in their home and have fewer rental housing options. 

Allowing pets also gives you a competitive advantage over other housing options that don’t. You might want to do a little research in the areas around your rental properties to see whether your competitors do or don’t permit pets.

From a moral perspective, allowing pets can keep renters who can’t find pet-friendly rental housing from having to surrender their pets to shelters. The inability to find an apartment that allows pets is the number one reason pets end up being abandoned or surrendered.

The Downside of Allowing Pets

There are some risks associated with allowing pets to live in a rental property, though most of those risks can be mitigated.

There is always the risk of damage, from pets chewing on or clawing woodwork or urinating on carpets. And you could get complaints from other tenants about the nuisances of excessive barking, howling, or squawking, animals defecating on lawns and sidewalks, or odors wafting into hallways from infrequently cleaned litter boxes.

The most serious risk is the risk of injury to other tenants from dog bites. 

Risk Mitigation

Every property owner who rents to tenants with pets can manage the associated risks by:

• Requiring pet owners to carry renter’s insurance that covers dog bites and property damage caused by pets
• Charging a pet fee or refundable pet deposit
• Adding questions about pets to your usual application and tenant screening process
• Establishing a pet policy that outlines the rights and responsibilities of pet-owning tenants

In conducting your usual background checks, you (or your property manager) should try to determine whether there have been past problems with tenants’ pets. If possible, check with prior landlords to see if there were any pet-related issues, complaints, damage, or evictions. 

Here at Palmetto State Properties we have a Pet Screen service (petscreening.com). This protects you as the property owner from liability, but also helps us determine the appropriate rent to charge the tenant. 

Establishing Your Pet Policy

Legal experts advise property owners to include their pet policy in their lease agreement for all tenants, as those who don’t own pets when they move in may acquire them at some point. Make it clear pets are allowed conditionally and that problems with a specific animal are grounds for revoking permission for the pet to live in the property. And include a statement reserving your right to change your pet policy upon reasonable notice to tenants. Your property manager may assist you in developing an effective pet policy. 

Get in touch today to find out how we can help.