Are you a landlord looking to attract long-term responsible tenants and maximize your ROI while minimizing property damage? Implementing a pet screening process can help you achieve this!
A landlord may hesitate to allow animals due to concerns about potential property damage. Implementing a pet screening process can prevent property damage and create a thriving pet-friendly rental!
Just like tenant screening pet screening offers numerous benefits to landlords, from ensuring responsible pet ownership and managing liabilities to preserving a positive living environment for tenants. In this blog post, we will delve into why pet screening is always a good idea, detailing its advantages and the steps landlords can take to implement an effective pet screening process.
Ensuring Responsible Pet Ownership
As a landlord, ensuring responsible pet ownership should be a key consideration when screening potential tenants. This involves assessing the tenant's pet in person and taking note of their behavior. A thorough assessment and approval will reduce property damage and maintenance costs, as well as minimize noise and disturbance complaints. Let's delve into these aspects of the pet screening process in detail:
Pet Assessments
There are many ways to determine whether a pet is a good fit for your rental such as knowing their breed or what type of animal they are. Successful landlords consider the following factors before letting a pet into their rental.
Landlord References
Contacting previous landlords can provide valuable insights into a pet's behavior and how responsible the pet owner was during their tenancy.
This information on the pet's behavior and tendencies can help you decide whether the tenant and their pet are a good fit for your rental property.
Reducing Property Damage and Maintenance Costs
Below are strategies to mitigate risks when you rent to tenants with pets no matter their breed. Keep in mind that not all of these criteria may be applied to service animals.
Collecting a Pet Deposit or Pet Fee
Requiring a pet deposit or charging additional fees or pet rent specifically to animal owners can provide a financial buffer to cover any potential damages caused by a pet. One of the benefits to allowing animals into your rental, this deposit can be used to cover costs for cleaning once the tenant moves out, ensuring that your property is well-maintained. Pet rent can also add to your regular monthly income.
Keep in mind that, as stated in the Fair Housing Act, additional fees cannot be requested for service animals or assistance animals, such as a seeing-eye dog or medical alert dog.
Requesting Proof of Vet Check-Ups and Vaccinations
A responsible pet owner prioritizes their pet's health and well-being. Requesting proof of vaccinations and regular vet check-ups can help ensure that the pet is in good health and less likely to cause damage to the rental property. It also demonstrates the tenant's commitment to responsible pet ownership.
Minimizing Noise Complaints
It’s not uncommon for landlords to receive complaints from neighbours and tenants when an animal is loud or causes a disturbance. However, there are several ways you can prevent complaints or conflicts with other residents in the neighborhood.
Quiet Hours and Noise Restrictions
Excessive barking from a dog or or loud noises from types of pets can disrupt the other tenants’ lives. By implementing pet-related noise restrictions or designating quiet hours, you can minimize noise complaints and disturbances caused by pets and maintain a harmonious atmosphere within your rental property.
Setting Clear Expectations for Pet Behavior
Communicate your pet policies and expectations to tenants regarding acceptable pet's behavior.
For instance, a landlord can set boundaries for cleaning up after dogs and other animals and properly disposing of waste. Clearly outlining these pet policies before and during lease signings can help prevent potential issues and promote responsible pet ownership.
Using Pet Screening Services
Pet screenings can be an effective and efficient way to streamline the process of assessing and approving pets for your rental properties. Below are a few reasons why performing pet screenings is beneficial to landlords.
Comprehensive Information
Pet screenings provide a platform for tenants to submit detailed information about their pets in the form of a "pet resume". This pet resume typically includes the pet's breed, age, weight, vaccination history, and relevant behavioral or training information. This may also be collected for service animals and assistance animals.
As a landlord, by utilizing a pet screening service and collecting a pet resume, you can access comprehensive and standardized information about the animal and its behavior, making it easier to evaluate their suitability for the property.
Verification and Documentation
Pet screening services often verify the information tenants provide about their pets, ensuring its accuracy and authenticity. They may source veterinary records or documentation to confirm vaccinations and other health-related details.
This verification process helps landlords have confidence in the information provided by the tenants, reducing the risk of fraudulent or misleading information.
Compliance with Insurance Requirements
Some pet insurance providers have specific requirements or restrictions related to pets. By utilizing pet screening services, landlords can ensure that the pets on their property comply with these insurance requirements.
This helps maintain appropriate insurance coverage and avoids any potential gaps in protection.
Increasing Efficiencies
Pet screening services can save landlords and property managers valuable time and resources. Instead of manually collecting and reviewing pet information, a pet screening service automates the process and provides a centralized platform for managing and evaluating pet-related data. This streamlines the screening process, allowing landlords to make more informed decisions.
Consistency and Fairness
Pet screening services offer a standardized approach to evaluating pets, ensuring consistency and fairness in the screening process. This helps prevent any perception of bias or discrimination, as all pets are assessed based on objective criteria and information.
Conclusion
Pet screening is always a good idea for landlords. It enables them to manage liability and risk effectively, preserve a positive living environment, establish clear guidelines and policies, and streamline assessing and approving pets. Pet screening ultimately leads to a well-informed decision-making process and promotes a harmonious and safe living environment for all tenants.
Are you a landlord looking to implement effective pet screening for your rental property? Contact JTS Property Management today to learn more about our pet screening services and how we can assist you in creating a pet-friendly yet responsible environment. Take the first step towards better pet management and happier tenants!
