Pets In Rental Property – 5 Reasons to Allow Pets in Your PDX Rental Property
Are you thinking of allowing pets in your PDX rental property but you’re not sure if this is the right choice to make?
There’s no denying that allowing pets is a decision that each landlord should make based on their personal experience because, some landlords have had bad experiences with pets in their rentals in the past, while others have had good experiences.
To help you make an informed decision, here are several reasons why you should consider allowing pets in your PDX rental property.
Reason #1 – There Are More Pet Owners in the United States than Ever Before
One of the biggest reasons to consider allowing pets in your rental property is the fact that more Americans own pets than ever before.
Recent statistics show that an estimated 95 million Americans own at least one pet; this includes dogs, cats, birds, reptiles, and fish.
When you take this fact into consideration, it makes sense to consider modifying your pet policy to allow your tenants to have at least one pet because, doing so will open your rental property to a larger pool of renters who are looking for a pet-friendly property.
Number of U.S. Households That Own a Pet, by Type of Animal
(millions)
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Reason #2 – Attract Pet Owners with Service Dogs and Emotional Support Animals
Another reason to consider allowing pets in your rental property is a higher percentage of the population owns Emotional Support Animals or Service dogs.
The good thing about emotional support animals and service dogs is that they are trained to attend to the owner’s needs, and this also includes being trained to function well in any indoor setting.
Emotional Support Dog vs. Service Dogs
ESAs provide support through companionship and can help ease anxiety, depression, and certain phobias. However, they are not service dogs, and ESA users do not receive the same accommodations as service dog users.
A service dog, such as a guide dog or psychiatric service dog, is generally allowed anywhere the public is allowed; ESAs are not. For example, ESAs generally cannot accompany their owners into restaurants or shopping malls.
The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) defines service animals as “dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities.” The act clearly states that animals that simply provide emotional comfort do not qualify as service animals. Some state and local laws have a broader definition, so be sure to check with local government agencies to learn if ESAs qualify for public access in your area.
The key difference between a service dog and an emotional support dog is whether the animal has been trained to perform a specific task or job directly related to the person’s disability. For example, service dogs are trained to alert a hearing-impaired person to an alarm or guide a visually impaired person around an obstacle or provide pressure on someone with PTSD who is suffering from a panic attack.
Behaviors such as cuddling on cue, although comforting, do not qualify. The tasks need to be specifically trained to mitigate a particular disability, not something instinctive the dog would do anyway.
Reason #3 – More Non-Pet Owners Want a Pet-Friendly Rental
If you were to ask any non-pet owner if they would want to own a pet, in many cases their answer would be yes.
By having a pet-friendly rental property, you’re going to attract tenants who want to have the option of getting a pet regardless of if that’s right now, or soon.
Pet ownership statistics show ownership levels have reached new highs during the past couple of years. A 2021-2022 survey conducted by the American Pet Products Association (APPA) found that 70% of households own a pet. Among the 70%, there are 69 million U.S. households that own a dog compared to 45.3 million households that own a cat.
#4 – Pet Deposit and Pet Rent
What’s most ideal about allowing pets to live in your rental property is being able to collect the pet deposit and a pet rent.
Most landlords typically charge $250-$500 for the pet deposit, along with a monthly rent of $25 or more per month.
These fees and monthly charges can add up, so it’s best to take this into consideration especially if your goal is to increase the return on investment that you get each month from your rental property.
#5 – Offer A Longer Lease Agreement
Last of all, but most important, another benefit that comes from allowing pets in your rental property is that you can offer the tenant a longer lease agreement.
This is an important because most pet owners are good people who haven’t searched long and hard for a rental property that’s pet friendly.
When the average tenant finds a pet-friendly rental property, they will be less inclined to leave that property for another rental, especially since they know the difficulty that comes from signing a suitable pet from your property in the Portland area for their dog, cat, bird, or any type of that they may currently own.
As we said earlier in this article, the decision to allow pets in your rental property is based on your personal experience and goals for the property.
After reading this article, you should clearly see that there are multiple benefits that come from allowing pets, and you shouldn’t hesitate to at least consider allowing pets in one of your rental properties, especially knowing that that will ultimately increase the return on investment that you are able to earn from that property on the basis.
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Our property management team will save you the time, money, and hassle of managing your rental property yourself so you can focus on growing your portfolio of investment properties without burdening the day-to-day aspects of property management.
To learn more about the property management services we can offer you, or to get a quote, contact us today by calling 503-447-7735 or clicking here to connect with us online.
