Should you allow pets in your rental?

Sure it’s easy to say ‘no pets’ when listing your property for rent. But is it necessary?  Provided pets are allowed by your strata by-laws, you may be missing out on exceptionally good tenants by stipulating ‘no pets’.  Moreover, here in Vancouver, pet-friendly rentals are difficult to find so if you do allow them, you can likely exact a higher rental rate and a pet deposit.

Be Open to Pets

Rather than turn people away just because they have a cat or dog, consider doing the following:

• Ask your prospective tenant about their pet – size, habits, hypo-allergenicity, bark, grooming habits, general behaviour.
• Consider making tenant’s insurance a pre-requisite to tenancy ensuring damage to drapes, for example, is covered.
• Stipulate the maximum number of pets allowed and possibly the size of pets as well.
• Include a clause in the lease addressing pets i.e. Pet rent amount, Pet deposit amount.
• If you decide to allow a pet, ensure that you clearly explain to the tenant that it is their responsibility to make sure they and their pets don’t unreasonably disturb others. As the landlord, you are obligated to take action if there are any complaints about a tenant’s pet and if concern is not adequately resolved, you have every right to evict the tenant with one month’s notice according to the BC Tenancy Branch.

Remember, too, that pet owners, like families, tend to move less, giving you, the landlord, some stability and saving you the transactional costs of finding new tenants on a regular basis. Consider that taking care of a pet, especially a dog, requires a lot of time and attention. By extension, on hopes pet owners will put the same energy into taking care of your place.  These are the significant benefits of renting to a pet owner!

**And, of course, certified service and guide dogs are always permitted.

Looking for an easier way to find the perfect renter for your property? List on Liv Rent to connect with pre-qualified renters in Vancouver.  To begin creating, managing, and sharing listings as a landlord, download the liv.rent app from the App store or the Google Play store or sign up here from your computer.