According to studies by Pet Ownership Statistics, Americans rank the highest when it comes to owning pets. 2.6% of Americans own birds, and 25.4% own cats. For every 2.4 people, there is roughly one cat or dog. Also, homes with pet dogs account for 48 million. Being a landlord and owning a rental property can be profitable but sometimes stressful. You’ll have to enforce several strict laws and make a lot of difficult decisions as a landlord. The choice of whether or not to permit pets to their tenants is one that landlords must make. If you have a property to put up for rent, get in touch with a property management company to reduce your workload.
Advantages of making your property pet friendly:
You can charge more:
Pet-friendly properties are hard to come by for pet owners. So, you can charge more if you decide to allow pet owners to bring their animals. Essentially, allowing pets on the property boosts your revenue potential. To give you an idea, you can charge 10–20% more for pet-friendly rentals than you typically do.
Tenant retention:
Because moving around with pets is difficult, pet owners typically lease apartments for long periods of time. Hence, pet-owning tenants are less inclined to move out of a great place. As a result, you would not have to go through the hassle of conducting screenings every few months for new tenants.
Other advantages:
Further benefits include the ability to charge per pet. You can also collect non-refundable deposits to cover the expense of cleaning after the tenant vacates. There is one additional catch: Your advertising will be more successful and attract a wider audience if you emphasize that pets are welcome. Also, your property won’t be empty for an extended period of time.
Disadvantages of making your property pet friendly:
Some disadvantages are that if the pet is violent, the landlord might not be able to get inside the unit in an emergency. Moreover, if the pet bites or attacks someone, the landlord will be held more liable as compared to the pet owner. Other disadvantages may include too much noise and fecal matter around the property.
Final Thoughts:
The option to welcome pets comes with added duties, just like any other opportunity. Nonetheless, you may like to consider the advantages, since there is potential for good income.