One of the many decisions every landlord must make is what to do about pets. Some rental property owners decide that pets are not compatible with their rental property while others accept pets with no reservations. Whether you accept pets or not it a decision best made with all the facts and available information.
Just over 37% of U.S. households own a pet dog. Just over 32% own a pet cat. 63% of households own a pet of some kind. I know from my experience managing houses for 30 years that many people that rent a house want to have a pet. My experience matches up with the amount of households that own a pet. The question is, are you, as a landlord, willing to turn away 63% of the pool of available tenants by denying your tenants a pet?
Many landlords believe that a dog or a cat will ruin their property. While there is a chance of this happening, it is more likely that not allowing a pet will reduce your bottom line. Eliminating over 60% of the pool of available tenants will increase your vacancy time and will likely reduce the amount of rent you can obtain.
The best way to insure that your tenant will not allow their pet to damage the property they rent is to properly screen the tenant. A tenant with good credit will not be likely to allow damages to occur. It is mostly true that pets do not damage property, but bad tenants may allow a pet to do so. Make sure all of your tenants have something to lose, namely their good credit. You should also charge a reasonable pet deposit. Your particular market may determine this. We charge $500.00 and only allow one pet.
One other point to note is that you should not designate the extra deposit as a “pet deposit”. Simply increase the regular deposit and have a pet agreement that does not mention a deposit amount. In the event the tenant vacates and owes just rent, you could then use the total deposit to cover the rent instead of having to return the “pet deposit” because there was no pet damage.
You could also limit the size of any pet and not allow certain breeds of dogs.
It will have a supply line connected to the valve that runs up into the bottom of the toilet tank. On the valve will be a knob that you’ll need to carefully turn clockwise to shut off the water. You may notice the water level in the bowl continue to rise as a result of the tank continuing to purge, this is normal. Don’t be alarmed; just get some old towels ready around the bottom of the tank in case of overflow. Now you’re ready to plunge the obstruction. We suggest investing in an accordion style plunger, which can be found at any hardware store and most superstores.
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