Pet deposits are a small amount of money that a tenant puts up at the beginning of a lease term in order to keep an animal within an apartment or home. A pet deposit is usually paid on a per pet basis and the price is usually set based on the rental costs.
1. They allow renters to keep a pet. Many renters who complain about pet deposits do not realize that without a pet deposit most owners simply don’t allow pets at all. Many areas in which renting is common simply don’t allow pets because of the risk they present to the properties. This is bad for owners and renters alike because most of the time this does not actually keep people from owning pets. Instead, most renters own pets but hide them from the owners which eventually causes problems for both parties. Renters end up unable to ask landlords for necessary repairs because they are hiding their animals and landlords end up with damage caused by this lack of maintenance.
2. They’re a fair alternative to pet rent. Owners that do not use a pet deposit usually use a pet rental cost. This is usually an additional cost tacked on to monthly rent under the assumption that a pet will cause additional wear and tear. Pet rental costs are usually the same whether for a ten pound cat or a fifty pound dog, and for pet owners that have low-maintenance animals the pet rental fee will not be fair because the animal will probably do little to no damage to the apartment. Pet deposits are much fairer because they only charge based on damage and pet owners have direct control over the amount of damage that is caused.
3. They put the landlord at ease. Pets can damage apartments more than some renters may know and a landlord with a pet in their apartment will be well aware of what can go wrong. Dogs have been known to tear out drywall and doors and permanently stain flooring. A pet deposit makes a landlord far more willing to accept a pet while still allowing a tenant to get money back as long as they control their animal.
4. They are just a deposit. A pet deposit should not be confused with a pet fee and a tenant needs to be very cautious about how these two terms are used. A pet fee is a fee that will not be returned to the tenant. Most tenants will not want to pay these. However, a pet deposit is a deposit of money in addition to the tenant’s regular deposit that can be used towards damages. The tenant will get the money back and some states even require the tenant to get back interest. Some contracts do use the term pet fee and pet deposit interchangeably so a tenant will want to have this clarified for them within the contract itself regardless of the way the terms are defined.
5. They lessen the hassle of moving out. If a pet does cause damage to the apartment then the landlord can repair the apartment at a low cost, deduct it from the deposit, then return the remainder to the tenant. Otherwise the tenant may have to do the repairs themselves or payout a higher amount to a contractor to have them done. Most landlords already have handymen and contractors that can do work at cheaper costs, and this avoids having to trade money back and forth at the end of the tenant’s term at the apartment. It also means that the entire process can be expedited.
Pet deposits solve a very real problem that property owners can have with tenants that have animals. If a tenant has an animal that is well-behaved they will usually get their deposit back.
This article was contributed by Madoline Hatter. Madoline is a freelance writer and blog junkie from ChangeOfAddressForm.com. You can reach her at [email protected]..
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