I own more than a dozen rentals. I don't love the pets, but with a sufficient pet deposit and extra monthly fee I'd be okay with it. What really concerns me is that you are renting your current house. For me to consider it, you would have to be able to afford your current house if it were vacant and my rent.

Anonymous wrote:Agent here. OP, the situation is not as dire as most PPs make it out to be. A quick check of SFHs currently listed as available for rent in Bethesda and Chevy Chase, just as an example, shows 36 available and among those, 23 of those landlords will consider pets. Those numbers in upper NW (20007/20008/20015/20016) are 19 and 16. I just found a client with two dogs and two cats (wife is a veterinarian) a great home in Silver Spring - they had fantastic credit, references and financials and were signing a 3-year lease, so we actually beat out another applicant. My recommendation would be to get a good agent.

And for this poster:

it was hard enough finding a place to rent to us with two cats. i cannot imagine dogs. being a landlord, i would say no. sorry. but i know people with dogs who do rent, so there are landlords out there.

I find that for landlords who will consider pets, cats are much more likely to be refused than dogs.

CATS ARE THE WORST!!! I sublet an apartment and spent ages clearing out cat hair. The worst! I had no idea going in.

We actually rent out our TH to a couple with 2 small dogs. We took a large deposit and check on the place every now and then. So far no problems.

We choose them over another person (no pets) b/c we just simply liked them better. We went with our gut and it seems to have served us okay.

They wrote us a really nice letter when they put in their application. It helped their cause immensely.

Anonymous wrote:Agent here. OP, the situation is not as dire as most PPs make it out to be. A quick check of SFHs currently listed as available for rent in Bethesda and Chevy Chase, just as an example, shows 36 available and among those, 23 of those landlords will consider pets. Those numbers in upper NW (20007/20008/20015/20016) are 19 and 16. I just found a client with two dogs and two cats (wife is a veterinarian) a great home in Silver Spring - they had fantastic credit, references and financials and were signing a 3-year lease, so we actually beat out another applicant. My recommendation would be to get a good agent.

And for this poster:

it was hard enough finding a place to rent to us with two cats. i cannot imagine dogs. being a landlord, i would say no. sorry. but i know people with dogs who do rent, so there are landlords out there.

I find that for landlords who will consider pets, cats are much more likely to be refused than dogs.

Keyword is "Consider Pets" that means if there are 2 applicants an

As a landlord I might be ok with pets if I had a run down place and would be able to rent it to pet owners at a premium vs non pet owners. This would be with the understanding that cosmetically I won't do much but in general I would make sure there aren't any structural or leaks etc... HVAC / Plumbing worked.

A good question is are Pet owners less likely to be difficult because they are already a rung below non pet owners?

You're going to encounter some issues with "no pets" or being passed over for someone else without pets. But it's certainly not an impossibility to find rental housing. If you're looking at condos or apartments, you will likely encounter a rule prohibiting dogs over 20 or 40 pounds. Not sure if your dogs are that size.

You should be willing to lose your security deposit if the dogs do damage. But that's a given for pet owners, I think.

I agree that my child has done WAY more damage to our rental and belongings than our pet.

OP here - thanks for all the helpful responses! I had totally forgotten this post and was pleased to see that you managed to carry out the discussion in my absence.
to answer:
-2 daschunds
-"adjustment issues" referring to some peeing issues, yes (sigghhhhhh)
-some barking, but overall not so bad? We live in a townhouse community now, and have seriously surveyed all our neighbors, and they are not bothered. The dogs mostly contain their barking to "I am outside and see a squirrel" type, not "middle of the night" barking. We have figured out how to limit their barking opportunties when we are not home.
-we crate them during the day so while a dog walker would be nice, not required for carpet saving
-we are currently living in the home we own. But like many people, are debating renting it out so that we can go rent somewhere else, with room for us to not kill each other.

Sounds like we just need to work up a good "elevator speech" for the dogs and start looking early. Thanks!

Dog smell--I love dogs, but there is no doubt that dogs leave a stench, especially in homes with carpets. When we bought our current home, we had to replace the stair runner and the upstairs master bedroom carpet (where the dog probably slept) because the stink was wafting out of the fibers.

Wear and tear--dogs are much harder than human, even little toddler ones, on hardwoods. If you look closely at our oak floors, you can tell that a dog lived here because of the scratch-dents from the dog's nails. The floor has been refinished, but those marks remain. There are no pet stains, though.

Yes, with an extra deposit large enough to handle major floor damage.

We have friends who had to look at 10 houses (and subject themselves to interviews) to rent in this area before they were accepted as renters. They are in their 50's, are empty nesters, do not smoke, want a 2-year lease, and have stable jobs. Perfect tenants, if you ask me. Problem? Their 1 dog. They finally found someone who would rent to them but the LL demanded a very high (2 months rent) security deposit and wants to inspect the house after the first year.

That being said, as a LL, I don't blame that guy a bit. As a PP said, animals are hard on a home and a yard. Kids are likely to wear stuff down whereas animals flat out ruin things.

Agent here. OP, the situation is not as dire as most PPs make it out to be. A quick check of SFHs currently listed as available for rent in Bethesda and Chevy Chase, just as an example, shows 36 available and among those, 23 of those landlords will consider pets. Those numbers in upper NW (20007/20008/20015/20016) are 19 and 16. I just found a client with two dogs and two cats (wife is a veterinarian) a great home in Silver Spring - they had fantastic credit, references and financials and were signing a 3-year lease, so we actually beat out another applicant. My recommendation would be to get a good agent.

And for this poster:

it was hard enough finding a place to rent to us with two cats. i cannot imagine dogs. being a landlord, i would say no. sorry. but i know people with dogs who do rent, so there are landlords out there.

I find that for landlords who will consider pets, cats are much more likely to be refused than dogs.

Anonymous wrote:I am a renter with no dogs (or cats). I have two toddlers. The two toddlers are very hard on things. Not sure why people think dogs are worse than kids! Landlord will need to re-carpet the stairs BIG TIME!

Not sure they do, but since kids are human, and an integral part of the families seeking housing, there are rules against discrimination that apply. (Yeah, I know... bite me, doggie mommies.)

No question kids accelerate wear and tear, but dogs really do leave many more reminders of their presence than can be easily removed. I rented immediately after dog-owning tenants once. Aside from the trashed carpet that needed replacing, and yes, the stubborn smell, I had to clean dog hair out of the dishwasher when I moved in-- and this was after the "professional, deep" cleaning it received whose cost was deducted from the previous tenant's deposit.

There probably is a market for pet-friendly rentals in dog-heavy neighborhoods. But I don't see why an owner should necessarily feel any need to put up with pets where the rental market is competitive and when dog owners are not a protected group.

only if i was desperate -- i would prefer no pets -- sorry!

it was hard enough finding a place to rent to us with two cats. i cannot imagine dogs. being a landlord, i would say no. sorry. but i know people with dogs who do rent, so there are landlords out there.

Love the PP's answer who has the toddlers - too funny, and thanks for taking one for the team!

I'd actually rather rent to someone with dogs as opposed to someone who smokes. But we all have our different hot buttons.

I live in condo building in town which has a competitive rental market - i.e. people put up a condo for rent and get 50 people that morning lining up outside to see the place. Every single renter in my condo bldg has a dog. No one cares. I just think you have a different pool of answers here, but there are tons of animals in my building.

I am a renter with no dogs (or cats). I have two toddlers. The two toddlers are very hard on things. Not sure why people think dogs are worse than kids! Landlord will need to re-carpet the stairs BIG TIME!