The Pros and Cons of Allowing Pets in Your Rental
According to the Canadian Animal Health Institute (CAHI), around 58% of Canadians own a pet. So, speaking in terms of renting, landlords have one major dilemma to solve – to allow or not to allow pets in their rental properties. Nowadays, people consider pets part of their family and won’t even consider renting an apartment that isn’t pet-friendly. Therefore, landlords need to gather all the facts about pet-friendly rentals before making any decisions. Indeed, there are both benefits and drawbacks to this situation. So, if you want to educate yourself on it, keep reading to find out the pros and cons of allowing pets in your rental.
Pros of allowing pets in your rental
Since many people own a pet, there must be some pretty good benefits of marking your rental as pet-friendly. So, let’s find out all the pros you can rely on in this situation!
A larger pool of prospective tenants
As we already established, a significant percentage of Canadians are pet owners. Therefore, if you want to widen your tenant pool, one of the best ways to do it is by allowing pets in your rental. The wider the tenant pool, the bigger the chances of finding the right tenant for your property. Additionally, landlords who don’t allow pets often have a hard time finding tenants. Their property is on the market longer and sometimes even fails to rent. On the other hand, if your property is pet-friendly, you’ll find tenants pretty quickly!
You can ask for a higher rent
Many people choose renovation as a way of boosting their property value. However, allowing pets is another way to do so. If you mark your rental as pet-friendly, you’ll definitely be able to drive up its price. We suggest analyzing the market first. If there aren’t many rentals in your neighborhood that allow pets, definitely go for it. This is a guaranteed signal of higher rent for your property. Even if there are plenty of other pet-friendly rentals around, you’ll still be able to boost the rent price.
Possibility of long-term tenancy
Since not all rentals are pet-friendly, pet owners don’t have many options, and they certainly don’t relocate as often. Therefore, if you decide to allow pets in your rental, you’ll be able to have long-term tenants. This implies that you’ll be able to keep more of your income. We all know how turnovers can be costly, right? So, besides the possibility of higher rent, you’ll also save additional money on long-term tenancy!
More responsible tenants
Research shows that people who own pets are more responsible than those who don’t. If you think about it, it makes perfect sense. Pet owners aren’t responsible just for themselves but for their pets as well. After all, they have someone to look after 24/7. Therefore, you can count on them taking care of your property as well. This implies both good maintenance of your rental and timely rent payments.
Cons of allowing pets in your rental
Yes, the pros are pretty convincing. However, you have to factor in the cons as well. So, without further ado, let’s talk about them!
Possible property damage
Property damage is the number one reason why landlords don’t allow pets in their rentals. This is absolutely justified. You never know what your tenant’s pet will do to your property. Even when tenants say their pet is an apartment pet, you can’t rely on that 100%. Pets can scratch walls, rip furniture, chew on cables and wires, and make a mess of your landscaping. Even if your tenant is the one paying for all the repairs, it takes time to fix everything, especially if it’s a recurring problem.
More noise
Other tenants and neighbors may be irritated by barking dogs, yapping birds, and four-legged creatures running around the apartment. Unfortunately, this excessive noise can turn into a significant problem. For example, you can lose other tenants because of the one with a pet. In addition, some prospective tenants might withdraw their application because there is a tenant with a pet in the building. These are precisely the issues landlords want to avoid. That’s why many of them don’t allow pets in their rentals.
Guaranteed pet odors
We mentioned that pet owners are more responsible than people who don’t own pets. Well, that’s not always the case. Unfortunately, some pet owners won’t bother to clean after their pets as much. For example, if they don’t clean the litter box regularly, your rental will most definitely have a foul odor. In addition, dog owners who don’t properly groom or bathe their furry friends can leave offensive odors all over the building. The same goes for pet owners who don’t use poop bags! Not only will your rental be smelly, but other tenants will suffer as well. It’s understandable why landlords don’t want to deal with this type of problem.
Allergy risk
Allergens tend to get stuck in carpets and air ducts for long periods of time. This implies that if your prospective tenants are allergic to dogs, they will certainly have a typical allergic reaction while in your rental. That may cause them to abandon your property or never rent it in the first place. So, don’t just think about your current tenants; think about the future ones as well.
To wrap it up
Every situation has pros and cons, and allowing pets in the rental is no exception. Both pros and cons make a pretty good case. Therefore, it’s totally up to you to decide what’s better for you. Not everyone is willing to take the risk, and that’s understandable. So, after carefully studying this list of pros and cons, take some time to think about them and then make an informed decision!
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