Allowing pets can attract more prospective renters to a property, enabling you to charge higher rent or to collect a higher deposit.
In a 2014 Apartments.com survey, 72 percent of renters said they had a pet. That means if you don't allow pets, you shrink your market quite a bit.
Owners and property managers typically collect a pet deposit when a renter signs on, or when a renter later brings a pet into the home. A pet deposit can be refundable or not refundable. If it's refundable, the renter may be more likely to prevent pet damage.
Marcie Geffner of Bankrate.com says some owners of homes and apartments simply raise the monthly rent if the tenant has a pet. They consider the size of the pet when deciding what the pet rent will be. A 15-pound cat would cost less in pet rent than a big dog.
In the case of a dog, ask whether the tenant will have the time and opportunity to walk the dog regularly.
Warn the tenant about street traffic and the danger of allowing a pet to be out alone even for a few minutes.
Rick Good spent ten years in the newspaper business, including with The News & Observer (Raleigh, NC) and The Greenville News (Greenville, SC). He co-wrote, with Melinda Coleman, Rutledge to Riley: Governors of South Carolina, 1776–Present (Published by The Greenville News), and is the author of Mind Games Trivia #1 (Amazon). He has recently spent 15 years creating original trivia content through Sounds Good Mobile Entertainment and continues that with his new company, SGME Software. He edits The Smart Reader’s money, real estate, and business coverage.