renting to tenants with small dogs
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
| I have a rental house and have found a potential tenant with very good credit and income who has a 10 yr old 18 lb dog (in the small category I guess). I normally wouldn't rent to anyone with dogs, but I am considering accepting this solid tenant. I would probably ask for a $500 pet deposit, but what kind of damage can a dog do to a house? I'm a cat person, not a dog person and I just want to make sure I'm not overlooking problems or expensive damage to the house down the road. |
Anonymous
|
Regarding damage - it depends on the dog. I would not overly worry about a 10 year old dog though - a puppy on the other hand -NO WAY! I would write this dog in your contract under the understanding they do not purchase another one. I agree with your idea of a Pet Deposit and additionally ask that as part of the lease when they leave, they shampoo any carpets for dog hair - unless you plan to replace the carpets.
I had a well behaved dog (40 lbs) years ago and it was always difficult to find a rental. She was well behaved, did not chew or do anything destructive and it is possible this tenant's dog is the same. |
Anonymous
|
Ugh. Potential issues:
1. 10 is old for a dog. The dog could have (or soon develop) issues with incontinence and create a huge problem -- imagine having to replace all flooring. Would the deposit cover it? 2. If there's HVAC and the dog sheds, it can cause hair/dander buildup in the ducts, which can make it hard to rent to people with allergies later. 3. Some dogs -- particularly some small dogs (like the beagle family) -- smell very strongly and may leave odors even after cleaning. 4. Depending on the breed (and the home -- not sure of your setup), if there's a yard, there could be significant damage. 5. Some dogs scratch the doors/floors when they want to be left out and cause damage -- we had a property where this happened to two solid wood doors, causing a lot of damage. It was a smaller dog, I did not even realize how deep their claw marks could be at that size! |
Anonymous
|
It totally depends on the dog and the owner. There are big dogs that are gentle, zero trouble and there are big dogs with huge behavior problems. Same with little dogs.
We have a large and a medium sized dog - both are 100% potty and crate trained. Both are gentle and well behaved. But I know there are folks who wouldn't rent to us because of the horror stories out there about dogs and the damage they can do. |
Anonymous
| Op here. The dog is a pug, FWIW - have no idea whether that breed smells or not or sheds a lot. The main floor of the house is hardwood (not in best of shape as it is), upper floor is carpet. Potential tenant claims the dog doesn't scratch to go out and doesn't bark much. I guess I don't really care about the yard too much as long as I don't get left with a bunch of poop. |
Anonymous
Pugs are short haired and they shed, but not over excessively. (I had a shepherd mix and boy did she shed)! If the dog does not scratch to go out and the floors are already is so so shape, i would not worry overly much. To the PP who said that 10 years old is old - i think that is more for the larger breeds. Small dogs seem to live a lot longer and 10 years old is upper middle age so the incontinence may be a few years out (think 15 years). |
Anonymous
| I rent and have a small dog. The deposit was 750$ and pet rent is 50$ a month. |
Anonymous
| Can you meet the dog before you agree to this? |
Anonymous
Damage an ex friend of DD's small dog did: 1. back yard- set up mulch areas for pee/poo. Put in writing to walk on lead to mulch. Never happened and killed the grass in small yard. 2. claw/chew marks on doors, woodwork, expensive cabinets. 3. pee/poo stains on carpet. Bile can't be cleaned. 4. I stepped in shit plus there was dog food laying out on the floor. No matter what they say no security deposit is enough for me to ever allow a dog that I don't know and love in any residence I own. That includes my adult children. |
Anonymous
|
I expect some dog poop in the yard - I don't follow my own dogs around everywhere they go. I can even accept a certain amount of dead grass. Even some scratch marks on a sliding glass door. Chewed cabinets? Clawed interior doors (like from a dog being locked in a room all day and trying to get out)? Chewed wiring? Pooped/peed on carpets/floors. Excessive barking/howling to the point where the neighbors complain? Oh hell no. Only dogs that are not properly house trained do that kind of damage.
|
Anonymous
| A 10 year old pug will not scratch or chew. They are lap dogs and because of their squished faces cannot open their mouths very wide. They also tend to be Olympic level sleepers. |
Anonymous
|
Pugs can have potty training issues like all dogs can. Some issues are worse than others. Pugs can also bark and chew excessively.
I would think that a 10 year old pug would tend to be fairly sedate but I would not assume that means - potty trained and no chewing.... |
Anonymous
| Small dog is more like ten pounds or less |
Anonymous
| Little dogs pee a lot. |
Anonymous
|
We bought a house from a family with a pug.
The hair and chew damage was not bad. However, when we pulled up the newish carpet, the entire pad had yellow pee circles all over it. Gross. |