Those of you that require pet deposits, do you require pet deposits and/or pet fees for every pet the tenant has? For example, if a tenant has 2 dogs and one cat, do you require separate deposits for each animal? I have a potential tenant that has a dog, 2 ferrets and a tortoise. Thoughts?
We only charge for furry creatures. That tortoise is not going to do much damage. We typically charge a $100 pet fee (not deposit; it is non-refundable) for each pet, but with a minimum fee of $200. We do not charge any pet fee when residents are RTO-ing. Any damage is then on them as they are the owners. Plus we collect at least a $1,000 down payment, and usually a $2,000 down payment when we RTO, so that would more than cover any pet damage.Your mileage may vary,-jl-
Since the rental market seems so strong lately, has anyone decided to longer accept pets.
I have come across some parks that do this.
The problem with not allowing pets is that many really, really good tenants have small dogs and cats. The percent of retired people with small pets is something like 60%. This type of tenant, with a small animal, will do no damage to the trailer, and benefit the landlord by paying like clockwork and keeping their property immaculate. It’s the young guy with the pit bull that will destroy the home – and it’s a bad idea to lump the nice retired woman in with this idiot. So, while we don’t allow dogs over 30 pounds, we do allow small dogs and cats so that we can tap into the seniors who will not go anywhere without them.