Many landlords are concerned about allowing pets to reside in their rental houses. However, when you understand why Cary NC landlords should have a pet screening procedure in place you may rest assured that you are making a good decision.
Assistance/Service Animals
At Real Property Management Excellence we guarantee that the properties that we handle are equal opportunity homes, and accommodate a wide array of possible residents. But many landlords do not understand that just like there are various kinds of residents, there are also many different animals that are permitted on the property by legislation.
Under the Fair Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, assistance and service animals are permitted on any land if they are enrolled as a service animal for a disability, which is characterized by the FHA as “a physical or mental impairment which significantly limits a person’s major life activities”.
Thus, even in the event that you’ve told residents, they’re not allowed to possess pets at your house, you’re still required to provide “reasonable accommodation” to residents with service animals. Service animals administered by the ADA are lawfully permitted anywhere and are described as a dog or mini horse that’s been trained to perform work for the sake of someone with a disability.
This is a significant distinction to create as you do not want to wind up trapped in a legal issue by turning away a resident as well as their assistance or service animal by confusing it with a pet. But by using a screening procedure in place you’ll be able to ascertain if it is an assistance animal by requesting documentation from a physician or therapist who acknowledges that the resident’s animal is a service animal.
Contact Past Landlords
Among the very best screening hints if allowing pets in your rental property would be to contact previous landlords, as pets may get references as well. This will offer you a much better understanding of if the animal ever caused harm to the house, disturbed the peace of neighbors, or caused some other issues.
This is a quick and easy way to help steer you in your decision, without turning a potential resident away. Do not be afraid to lease to a resident with a medium or large-sized dog due to unfounded fears, though. The big thing in your mind could truly be a large teddy bear which does more to make your residents and neighbors happy than annoyed.
Include Pet Riders in Lease Agreement
Another important step to your pet screening procedure is including a pet rider in your rental agreement. This makes certain that the animal’s existence in the house is both known and accounted for with regard to property damage. Some landlords may incorporate a pet addendum if their existing residents wish to obtain a pet as soon as they’ve moved in, but it’s ideal to get a pet rider in the initial document.
Some fundamental components the pet rider ought to include are:
- Pet details- breed, color, gender, age, and weight
- Pet fee- if it is not an assistance animal you are able to charge a fee for a resident to own a pet on your property
- Damage deposit- this deposit will be returned if the pet does not incur any damages during its stay
- Vaccination list- have resident include type of vaccination and date
Another significant step in your pet screening procedure is to take photographs of their pet. Imagine the surprise you’d have when showing up at your rental house to do maintenance just to discover the small poodle your resident signed for is really a large Doberman.
By taking a photograph, and documenting details like the kind of animal, its overall dimensions and markings, as well as any other important info regarding the pet can help ensure that a single pet does not turn into three and ensure a little dog does not wind up being a much bigger problem.
Do More Business
Ultimately, having a pet screening policy helps you do more business. While you might initially shy away from letting non-assistance animals in your property, many possible residents search for single-family homes to rent instead of apartments based on owning a pet. You can also make additional money if you choose to charge pet rent the resident has to pay every month.
Furthermore, pet-owners are frequently more responsible than your normal resident. If they’ve taken the opportunity to train their pet, then find proper care for their pet when they’re gone, and are disinclined to leave their pet because of rental policies, then this may be the kind of resident that you would like. Even though this isn’t accurate for many pet owners, it’s something to think about when screening both residents and animals.
If you rely on Real Property Management Excellence for your property management solutions we perform more than repair calls. We help landlords and investment owners alike to place responsible, compatible residents in your rental house and to make sure that all possible issues such as pets are appropriately screened so the leasing experience is a great one for both you and your residents.
Start realizing the benefits of having a pet screening process and contact us online or call us at 919-827-1107 for more information.
We are pledged to the letter and spirit of U.S. policy for the achievement of equal housing opportunity throughout the Nation. See Equal Housing Opportunity Statement for more information.
