If you have ever owned pets, you know how labor intensive it can be to care for them. You also know that if you ever miss a day or two of cleanup, the mess that pets can foster can get out of control in a hurry. Because of this, when somebody becomes a rental property owner, their first inclination is not to allow pets to reside in the property. They often don’t trust their tenants to care for the pets properly and clean up after them sufficiently. They worry that the value of their property will be adversely affected by the damage done through having pets living therein. These feelings are often justified, and scenarios definitely play out where things like that happen. However, there is a laundry list of reasons why it might be beneficial to a landlord to allow pets to live in their rental property. In this blog post, we are going to explore in detail some of the reasons why allowing pets in a rental property might just be a good idea after all.
Increase the pool of prospective tenants for your rental
The number of rental properties that allow pets fluctuates from time to time but generally hovers somewhere right around 50%. So when a landlord decides not to allow pets, they are effectively cutting their pool of prospective renters in half. Conversely, by allowing pets to reside in a rental property, a landlord is making their pool of potential tenants twice as big as it would be otherwise. This concept takes on even more significance when you consider the fact that studies have shown up to 75% of renters are also pet owners. Finding a pet friendly rental is possibly one of the biggest challenges they face in relocating. You can help them solve that problem and simultaneously reduce the possibility that your property will go unoccupied for any significant amount of time.
Increase your renewal rate
When good tenants decide to move on, it usually creates a stressful situation. There is always the chance that the next tenant will not be as good, might not pay on time or might not take good care of the property like the previous renters did. There is also the added risk of going without a month of rent if you have any trouble finding new tenants right away. Having a pet friendly property makes for stickier renters. They know that it can be difficult to find a new rental that allows pets, and this makes them less likely to move on.
Increase your earning potential
There are a couple of revenue generating practices that have become fairly commonplace with pet friendly properties. Most landlords will charge an additional pet deposit when the renters move in. This deposit is often times nonrefundable or only partially refundable and is used to pay for a more thorough cleaning of the property when the pet owning tenants move out. It is also becoming a fairly common practice to charge a “pet rent” fee every month as well. It doesn’t have to be a huge amount, and it is important to see what the local market will bear. Even a $30 monthly “pet rent” charge will generate an additional $360 annually in rent revenues.
Increase the quality of tenants that your property is attracting
Pet owners tend to be on average a more responsible segment of the population. After all, it takes a great deal of effort and attention to care for a pet. The hope is that these conscientious individuals will also take a similar approach to caring for your property. They are more likely to treat it as a home rather than just a place to live.
In the end, when you dig into the question, you find that there are many reasons allowing pets in your rental property is actually a benefit. If you are worried about managing a pet friendly property or have questions about how to structure everything properly, don’t hesitate to call an Anaheim property management company like PMI Patron.