One of the more common questions we get from new clients is whether or not they should allow pets in their rental property. Before we dive into this topic, we need to first align on the terminology of what is a pet vs an emotional support animal vs a service animal.
Pets
A pet is simply an animal that lives with a human and provides love and companionship. Pets are not a protected class as it relates to Fair Housing, The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or the NJ Laws Against Discrimination (NJLAD).
Emotional Support Animals (ESA)
According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), an emotional support animal is any animal that provides emotional support that alleviates one or more systems or effects of a person’s disability.
While the animals are not trained to carry out a specific life task, they do provide companionship, relieve loneliness, and may help with depression, anxiety, or a phobia the person may suffer from. These animals are protected and authorized by a medical professional.
Service Animals
Service animals differ from ESA animals as they are individually trained to perform tasks or do work for the benefit of an individual with a disability. Keep in mind, that “disability” may include physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or mental health disability.
Some of the more common examples are seeing eye dogs, seizure dogs, and dogs that assist those with varying degrees of paralysis. Service animals are protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act or ADA and would be included as one of the named parties on the lease, just as we would any other tenants on the lease.
The Pros and Cons of Allowing Pets
For the rest of this blog, we’ll focus our attention on the question of only pets, as this is the only area we can legally restrict. The first question we need to answer is why should I even consider allowing pets in my rental?
This one is pretty simple, approximately 70% of U.S. households (over 90.5 million homes) owned a pet as of 2022 according to an article by the Insurance Information Institute. Of those, approximately 69 million households owned a dog, while 45.3 million owned a cat. So, when a landlord does not allow pets in their rental property, they are significantly reducing the pool of prospective tenants who would be interested in renting their property.
Next, let’s look at the question of what are the pros and cons of allowing pets as a landlord?
Pros
In general, families that have pets tend to remain on the property for longer periods.
As a landlord, you are permitted to charge additional “pet fees” which increases overall revenue for the property.
Generally speaking, “pet parents” are responsible tenants and will take good care of the home as they are appreciative of being able to have the pet.
Cons
There is an increased risk of damage to the property with pets, even well-trained pets.
If there are dogs on the property, there is an increased risk of noise complaints from dogs barking, especially in a multi-family property. For single-family homes, this is less of a concern.
Depending on the breed of animal, there may be an increased accumulation of pet dander in the HVAC ducts.
The good news is that we can mitigate some of these issues so they are less of a concern.
Dealing with the Challenges of Pets in a Rental
First, we can leverage a pet screening service to evaluate the potential risk the pet(s) raise and based on the scoring tiers, have a pet fee that is commensurate with the risk. Lower risk..lower fee.
Second, we can include lease clauses that clearly outline what is acceptable and not acceptable as it relates to barking, or noise in general for that matter, and a description of what will happen if the activity becomes a nuisance.
Similarly, any damage caused by the pet is above and beyond “normal wear and tear” and as such, is the responsibility of the tenant. It is important to remember, that in New Jersey you are only permitted to retain a security deposit of 1.5 times the monthly rent and cannot be increased because pets are present.
Lastly, we can require the tenant to have the HVAC ducts professionally cleaned at the end of the lease, as well as have any carpets professionally cleaned. In our firm, carpets should always be professionally cleaned as part of the unit turn.
Final Thoughts
In our experience, we have found that there has not been any significant increase in property damage from properties with pets as compared to those without pets.
However, we do understand that making the transition to a pet-friendly property can be stressful for landlords. If you’re looking for help in managing your rental property and avoiding issues with pets, contact PMI Prime Property today.
Helpful Links:
NJ Department of Community Affairs Bulletin on Pets in Rental Units
