How to Handle Tenants with PetsMany people have four-legged family members – and because of that, allowing pets into your rental properties can be a way for you to earn additional income, as well as to open up your property to a much larger segment of the population.

However, there is the potential of having a bit more wear and tear on your property, depending on the type of pet (or pets) your tenants have. So, how exactly do you go about charging the right amount of rent and / or deposit for your pet-owner tenants while alleviating the worry about added clean-up expense when your tenant moves out?

There are actually one or more ways that you can go about allowing your tenants to include their furry friends in the household, while at the same time ensuring that you won’t need to take on the potential expense if damage is done, or even if the home needs some additional cleaning at the end of the lease term.

First, many landlords will charge a separate pet deposit when a tenant initially move in. Just like the security deposit that is charged to cover any of the people-related damages, this deposit should be kept in a separate account.

In this case, while the pet security deposit can be either refundable or non-refundable, if you opt to make it refundable, the tenant will oftentimes have much more motivation to ensure that no damage is done.

You can also consider charging an additional amount of monthly rent for tenants with pets. The amount of this can be either a flat dollar amount each month, or instead, it could be an additional percentage of the monthly rent figure. Even an additional $25 per month adds up to $300 per year in added rental income.

Dealing with the pet-related details on a lease can be time consuming. If you simply don’t have the time to work with your rental properties and tenants, it can be beneficial to hire an experienced property manager. This can allow you the ability to still reap the benefits of passive income, without the additional work. For more details on the many advantages of turning over the maintenance and tenant-related details of your investments properties, Contact Us.