
Should I accept pets when securing a new tenant?
As a landlord, should you accept pets in your rent house? Pets can do a lot of damage to a house.
In Texas, landlords do have the right to say "no pets".
The catch is..... 80% of renters have a pet. If you ban pets, you eliminate 80% of your possible customers/tenants.
If you say "no pets" your house will likely need to be priced below market, and it will also take longer to find a resident.
If you had a bad experience with pets in the past, reconsider allowing pets. Some pets are very well trained.
There are ways to help ensure you don't have a bad pet moving in. Proper screening of the application is vital.
Requiring a $500 additional per pet deposit is common. Size & age restrictions are also common.
Discuss the procedures Texcen Realty follows to help screen human applicants & their pets.
Assistance animals are another subject. Fair Housing laws dictate how we must handle them.