Millions of pets each year are abandoned because people looking to rent a home must surrender them due to “no pets allowed”. More and more landlords are putting a “no pets” clause in leases and “no pets” in their ads. The poor animals usually don’t take well to living a shelter life, and a large percentage that aren’t adopted, wind up getting humanely put down.

Landlords should be more sympathetic to pet owners, especially ones who consider their pets a part of the family. Some pets are a huge part of our lives. Dogs, cats, lizards, birds, even fish. Pets are emotional support, companions, guardians, and our best friends. They depend on us for nurturing and well being, and I can’t imagine the anguish when we have to give them up for some place to live.

In the same manner, pet owners should be more responsible for their pets so that all pet owners aren't put into stereotypes. If you own a pet, you must be dedicated to taking care of that pet as if it was your own child. It needs medicine, shots, grooming, and even training. Don’t let your pet eliminate in the house (unless it’s in the litter) and if it has an accident, clean it up immediately. These things can cost landlords hundreds of dollars in damages, sometimes going beyond your security deposit.

However, there should be rules and regulations put in place instead of immediately turning families away. Pets are family too, and they should have fair housing as well. Land owners should be more attentive to the properties they lease, and consider each family or person on a case by case basis.

We need to convince our decision makers to disallow putting "no pets" in rental ads, and "no pet" clauses in leases. Landlords should screen possible tenants, and see if the animal has caused damage in a previous or current dwelling. Should information of damage arise, then the land owner may be allowed to refuse application.

It’s very hard to find good, clean, dwelling in this economic heat, and for a good price. To add to the frustration, a rising trend is not allowing pets in rentals. It’s very popular across many cities and states. Most disturbing (in my opinion) is not allowing them in larger bedroom homes and detached housing. Larger families usually mean there’s a pet as the kids may have wanted one, or a family has a dog as a guardian.

Refusing pet owners as tenants is refusing money. Why should you refuse people who are willing to pay you the money you need to maintain your property? Charge a deposit, or charge a monthly pet fee. Perhaps charge both.

Damage to the property is responsibility of the tenant, that is clear in almost every lease, and landlords must hold tenants responsible. However there are many tenants who disregard these notions and display ignorance. Those are the ones who ruin it for everyone, and it’s not fair to assume all those after will do the same.

 

Here's my personal story:

My family contains 6 members. My lovely wife, Yvette; My children, Angel (7) and London (2); My wife's mother, Carmen, has joined us; and finally Nina, the awesome Chihuahua-Pincher mix you see in the picture. The place my wife and I moved into was good enough for me, my wife, and Angel, but now London and Carmen are in our life. We need a bigger place to live. We are cramped and running out of space.

Every day we check the rental market, and we're plagued with rental owners who take poor care of their property or great properties that are either too expensive or don't allow pets. We beg and we plead, but time after time we are turned away. We negotiate pet fees, deposits; we even invite them to see our current apartment. Nina has not damaged anything, she's house broken, and is well mannered. She barks at the door when someone is there, but don't most dogs? It's her home and she alerts us when someone is there.

Why should Nina be discriminated against? Not only is she our pet, but she's been part of the family for 8 years now. In addition she is Carmen's (my mother-in-law) emotional support. So without Nina, Carmen would be lost.

I'm not alone in this struggle. The hurdles pet owners have to jump through are stressful and make potential renters seem hopeless.

Now, land owners shouldn't be at loss here. One incentive is the increased income from additional pet fees or deposit. Perhaps another could be a tax break on tenants with registered pets. Again, land owners must be more aware of what happens on their property, and if they are, and care is taken, a tenant with a pet(s) can become exactly the same as a tenant without pets.

I'm glad you're still reading and are interested. Help us take our suffering and our hopelessness to our decision makers. Show them that our pets shouldn't have to be abandoned just so that we can have a place to live; Ban/Disallow "no pet" clauses in ads and leases so that the rental market is more fair for pet owners. In exchange, allow pet owners to charge pet deposits and/or monthly pet fees in addition to rent. Perhaps even allow them to reject pets AFTER a screening process.

Only with YOUR help, can we bring this to light.

Thank you for your interest, have a blessed day.