Pet Rent
How do you guys feel about being charged a monthly pet rent on top of the pet deposit that's on top of the regular deposit. The deposit is to cover any damages. I don't understand what a dog and/or cat could possibly do that a human couldn't do the same amount if not more damage on. If I broke the window screen, it'll come out of my deposit, no problem. But because my cat might break the screen I have to pay an extra $150-500 for them to stay there as well as $25-50 a month. I don't want to live anywhere that charges a pet rent, but I'm finding it hard to do so. I could make as many if not more stains than my animals do, why should they get blamed for it.
Sure there are a bunch of checklists on how to go about changing your manager's mind about no pet policies, pet deposits and pet fees by showing how responsible you are and crap. But nowadays most apartments are run by management companies with strict policies, how realistic would it be to get leniency on such things? I don't think it's likely at all.
Comments
I don't think it's appropriate to charge a rent in addition to a deposit. In the city, we don't charge rent - though I typically deal with Sales. It's always a good policy to try and get as much as you can. Don't go in thinking you're not going to get what you want. Go in thinking you're definitely getting it. If they don't let the rent go, ask if you can pay the rent on a trial basis - 6 months and if things go well maybe they will allow you to stop paying the extra rent.
I don't know of many places that don't charge extra per month for having pets. I think my security deposit was only $50 more though when I moved in. $40 a month extra for having pets.
a relatively rural type suburb of Scranton which is not a budding
metropolis!
Rina - The apartment rules in socal are ridiculous. I think you will find it rather hard to find an apartment complex that will not charge you a pet deposit as well as a monthly deposit. You just can't phase it. The only places I would imagine wouldn't charge monthly rent would be if you rented a condo or house that was privately owned. They will probably just charge you a pet deposit, but not monthly. But then again, most of those privately owned rentals don't allow pets period.
I can see from both views though. if you think about it, if you bought a place and decided to rent it out. And the family had a few pets. Would you not charge an extra deposit or rent every month? As landlords they are trying to protect themselves anyway possible. So to me, i think it is responsible on the landlords side to do so. I mean if I was renting out a house, I wouldn't allow pets at all. Just because if shit does hit the fan, I rather just not deal with it from the beginning. Im sure there are MANY responsible pet owners, but there a lot that are not so responsible. I think by allowing pets, you'll be able to rent the place out faster, but its a risk.
I honestly don't think you'll have a choice about paying the deposit and rent from a complex.
Yikes,
It has been a long time since I rented where there was a deposit on an animal, but I have never in my life heard of a "pet rent" fee. To me it seems illegal; afterall, a pet cannot sign a lease. Would they charge you a "child rent" for human children? This seems like a classic case of "gouging"; or what is commonly called theft. I would refuse and never lease from anyone that places this kind of condition. If the landlord is looking for more money they should just raise the rent and leave it at that.
If you look at this in a spiritual way Great Spirit is just showing you who not to rent from. Anyone that places this kind of fee on you is not anyone you should be doing business with. I think you should go elsewhere and let this landlord know in no uncertain terms that this behavior is not tolerated in your life.
In total I have 35 pets. Lets hope my landlady does not get wind of this new fangled lunacy.
Huggs, ...Ron and Rudi
A small pet deposit I'm fine with. $50-150 more. Covers an exterminator in case my animals had fleas. But $500 for one cat? I don't think so. Just cause it'll be hard for me to find a place without pet rent doesn't mean it'll stop me from doing it lol. I don't agree with it at all and this it's rediculous. Like it was said, you wouldn't charge extra for kids to live there. My friend's 2 year old is more destructive than my animals have ever been.
Yeah, I am listing SoCal prices. Having a pet is expensive around here. It's harder to find places to live but hopefully it's only for another year or two at most before we can save up enough money to purchase a house. It's all worth it though. Getting rid of them just to make my life easier or cheaper would never cross my mind.
500.00 pet deposit is too much. There are plenty of apartment homes who take a 150.00 pet deposit and monthly pet rent for 30.00. My friends were apartment hunting so we went to like 10 different places and they all charged around the same amount for their cat. But it could be possibly based on your age and credit. Usually if you're young and you don't have that much credit history, they will up your deposit.
Didn't you just recently move to a new place??? And weren't you planning on moving to northern cali??
Nope the deposits I'm looking at are what's listed on their websites, they don't know my age and/or credit. But Errik and I have excellent credit so we qualify for the lowest deposit anyway.
Yeah we did, but this place doesn't allow pets and we only did it because we needed a place to live NOW NOW NOW!!! We're gonna stay here another 4 months or so but try to hightail it out of here before anyone catches on that we have animals and get us evicted.
We were gonna move up north till Errik got handed a promotion. We decided to stay so he could get the experience and a nice raise which would make it to where we could afford SoCal anyway.
But really I made the thread to see what others thought of pet rent.
It might be better if you actually go talk to someone in person, im sure if you say "well, i really like this place, but the pet deposit is a little high, there is another place that we were looking at that only charges this amount XXX.XX, if you can't do anything about the deposit, we'll just try out the other place" Im sure they will lower the deposit amount to get you to sign a contract for sure, if they don't...they're stupid.
But I do agree, pet rent sucks, but I guess that is one of the cons of renting. And they get away with it because most people wont' give up their pets because of it.
Bah to you editing! :P I read it first muwhahahaha!
But yeah, the only bad thing about looking into those cities is because after the commuting times and gas (not to mention I'll still be riding the bus for the next 6 months till I save up for a car) it'll be about the same if not worse than living around work with a higher rent. It all equals out one way or another.
We pay "pet rent" in the townhome that we're renting. We didn't have to pay a pet deposit because when we first moved in, we didn't have Ryu yet. However, we pay $40 extra a month and you would think that would cover any costs of steam cleaning the carpets, fixing any damages caused by the pets....BUT nope, we are responsible for the $40/month AND paying for the carpets to be steamcleaned (the owner gets to choose the cleaner of course), any carpet damage (which Ryu has already managed to do in 3 different places - BTW, don't EVER get a loop carpet with a puppy!!!! hehe), and fixing any other damage (like the low kitchen cabinets that Ryu has chewed on), etc.
My point is if you're going to charge pet rent, why isn't it put towards the damage that the pets caused? Why are we essentially charged twice?
the woes of renting....
You have to pay for the steam cleaning???? I would think that's covered in the regular deposit if anything. In our lease it says we only get money taken out of our deposit if it's outside normal wear and tear. As long as the carpet doesn't have any visible stains on it I'm going to make sure they don't charge us for the steam cleaning bill. Dirty carpet is considered normal wear and tear in my book. Though we don't wear shoes in the house so it looks brand new still.
If anything I rather keep the "pet rent" in my own savings account and they could bill me if any damages go above what my deposit would cover.
Thats why i edited, because i assumed you were working somewhere close to anaheim, since you live there now, and all the cities i listed are a pretty far drive away. However, the farther south you go in OC, the more expensive it gets. So its kind of odd that other places in north OC are charging more than south OC.
Pam, that is ridiculous that they are charging you monthly PLUS the cost of the steam cleaning! Is that written on your rental agreement since you got Ryu after you moved in?
Rina - the only problem with that is: how can they be sure that you will pay the remaining balance of the damages?
Im not saying you're the type of person to walk out on something like that, but im just trying to get you to see the situation from a landlord's point of view.
Yup, we both work in Anaheim. Even the Huntington Beach - Anaheim commute put a strain in Errik's pocket because of gas prices.
Yeah I know on the landlord's side they could be left with thousands of dollars worth of damages that one person's deposit, even with the pet deposit and pet rent included wont cover. Sheesh I know of people who try to get back at the apartments by emptying their 50 gallon aquarium right on the living room floor causing major water damage to their unit and the people around them.
Not gonna keep me from complaining though :P
Yeah, im sure thats exactly the reason why landlords charge more of a deposit and are adding pet deposits/pet rent to their contracts. Those people out there who do that kind of crap ruin it for everyone else.
Are your parents or errik's local? Maybe you guys can move back home for a while and save on rent and not have to worry about the pets and what not. Might be good in the long run since you guys are planning to buy your first house in the next couple years.
Romi: This is what is on our rental agreement:
"That any damage to the exterior or interior of the premises, grounds, flooring, walls, trim, finish, tiles, carpeting, or any stains, etc., caused by pet will be the full responsibility of the Tenant and that Tenant agrees to pay all costs involved in the restoration to its original condition. If because of any such stains, etc., said damage is such that it cannot be removed, then Tenant hereby agrees to pay the full expense of replacement.
c . It is also understood and agreed that Tenant will permit the Landlord to professionally fumigate the premises, including any grounds (if any) for fleas and ticks and clean all carpets when Tenant vacates the premises. The contractors used will be the L a n d l o rd’s contractors and the cost will be competitive and borne by the Te n a n t ."
It is freaking ridiculously inconvenient to own a pet in a resort. These townhomes are only about 3-4 years old so the owners can get away with some major limitations. But like I said, we moved in first, then got Ryu, THEN signed the pet addendum. After having him for 2 days, I wasn't about to give him up over carpet cleaning :-)
Although, replacing the carpet throughout this place is going to majorly SUCK.
hehe. at this rate, I'm going to need it :-)