It’s time to revisit one of the most critical decisions that property owners face when it comes time to rent their property. The most common question we get from prospective tenants is not about the monthly rental price or the length of the rental term. The most common question we receive is: “Does the property allow for pets?”
The answer to this question is critical when it comes to understanding the size of the prospective tenant pool. According to the American Humane Society, 62% of all U.S. households have a pet. A pet is defined as a bird, cat, dog, horse, fish, reptile or small animal. The most common pet is the dog which makes up 46% of households. The point is that over half of U.S. households have a pet with the dog and cat being the most common. Many of our tenants in Fort Collins, Loveland, Windsor and the rest of the Northern Colorado market have a dog or cat.
So, you can see why the answer to this question is so critical. If you choose to not allow pets in your home, you immediately eliminate half of the people from the entire renter pool. As a result, you may face a longer vacancy period. The point of this post isn’t to encourage owners to accept pets but rather for them to understand the ramifications of not allowing pets.
However, if you are an owner that doesn’t allow pets but is considering doing so, here are a few ideas to protect yourself:
- Restrict the size of the dog (I.E. dogs less than 25 pounds)
- Require a higher security deposit for potential damage
- Require a non-refundable cleaning fee to be used at the termination of the lease
There are additional steps you can take to protect yourself against possible negative impacts by allowing pets in your property. If you have additional questions or are looking for property management services in Northern Colorado including Fort Collins, Loveland, Windsor, Timnath, Wellington, please contact Real Property Management of the Rockies. We look forward to hearing from you and becoming your property management partner.