Many landlords are concerned about allowing pets to reside on a rental property. However, when you learn why Magnolia landlords should have a pet screening procedure in place, you can rest assured that you are making a good decision.
Assistance/Service Animals
At Real Property Management Republic, we ensure that the properties we manage are equal opportunity housing, and accommodate a wide variety of potential clients. However, many landlords don’t know that just like there are many types of residents, there is also a variety of animals that are allowed on the property by law.
Under the Fair Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, assistance and service animals are permitted on any property if they are registered as a support animal for a disability, which is defined by the FHA as “a physical or mental impairment which significantly limits a person’s major life activities.”
So even if you have told residents that they are not permitted to own pets on your property, you are still required to give “reasonable accommodation” to residents with support animals. Service animals administered by the ADA are legally allowed anywhere and are defined as a dog or miniature horse that has been trained to do work to perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability.
This is an important differentiation to make as you do not want to find yourself caught up in a legal matter by turning away a resident and their assistance or service animal by confusing it with a pet. However, by having a screening process in place you can determine if it is an assistance animal by asking for documentation from a doctor or therapist that acknowledges that the residents’ animal is an assistance animal.
Contact Past Landlords
Among the top screening tip, if allowing pets would be to contact landlords that are previous, pets may get references. This will offer you a much better understanding of whether the animal ever caused harm to the house, disturbed the peace of neighbors, or caused some other issues.
This is an effortless and quick method to help without turning a resident off steer you on your choice. Do not be scared to rent to a resident using a large or moderate sized dog as a result of unfounded fears. The big bully in your mind could be a large teddy bear which does more to create your residents and neighbors joyful than annoyed.
Include Pet Riders in Lease Agreement
Another step to your screening procedure that is pet is such as a rider on your rental agreement. This makes certain that the creature’s existence accounted for regarding property damage, also on the house is understood. Some landlords may incorporate a pet addendum in case their existing residents wish to obtain a pet as soon as they’ve moved in, however it’s ideal to get a pet rider at the first record.
Some elements the rider that is pet must 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
Having a legally binding document ensures that no additional pets can be added without your consent and that the pet residing on the property is fit to be around other animals and residents of the neighborhood. This legal rider will ensure that if any curve-balls are thrown your way, it is the responsibility of the owner to ensure that the issues are handled properly.
Take Photos of Pet
Another significant step in the screening procedure is to take photographs of their pet. Imagine the surprise you’d have when entering a property to perform maintenance to discover that the Chihuahua your resident signed to get is a Great Dane.
By taking a photograph, and documenting details like the type of creature, its general measurements and markings, as well as any other important info regarding the pet, will help ensure that one pet does not turn into three, and a small dog doesn’t wind up being a much larger problem.
Do More Business
Ultimately, having a pet screening coverage helps you do more business. As you might originally shy away from allowing non-assistance animals on your house many possible residents search for single-family homes to rent over apartments based on owning a pet. You could even make extra money if you choose to control pet rent that the gardener has to pay every month.
Furthermore, pet-owners are frequently more responsible than your average resident. Should they have taken the opportunity to train their pet, then find proper care for their pet when they are gone and are not willing to leave their pet due to rental policies then this may be the kind of resident you want in your property. Even though this is not true for many pet owners, it’s something to consider when screening both residents and animals.
When you rely on Real Property Management Republic for your property management services, we do more than just respond to repair calls. We assist landlords and investment homeowners alike to put responsible, compatible residents in your rental property and to ensure that all possible liabilities such as pets are properly screened so that the rental experience is a good 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 281-362-5001 today!
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.
