Why won't landords rent to people with pets?
Greetings Sonoma County Home Owners,
I am a new resident, and am so grateful for the welcoming that my fiancé and I have received. Although for the past three months, we have been in search for a home to rent, but realized that almost all country homes don't allow pets, why is this? As one of the main reasons why we moved to this area is mainly to be within the country with our amazing well behaved dogs. We have lived in the city for many years, and noticed the difference in our pets and our own health when we are in the country parts therefore we act on it and made the move.
Knowing that this amazing county is so connected as a community, I wanted to inquire and hopefully I may obtain advise regarding where to look so that my family can fully be grounded into this beautiful land of community.
Thank you & blessings.
:heart:
Katherine
Re: Question to all home owners
If you rent your home to a person with a dog, the insurance company will cancel your insurance and every lawyer for 3 counties will be waiting on the doorstop hoping the renter's dog will bite someone, or bark overly loud, so they can sue you and take your house....that's why.
Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by Kim48012:
Greetings Sonoma County Home Owners,
I am a new resident, and am so grateful for the welcoming that my fiancé and I have received. Although for the past three months, we have been in search for a home to rent, but realized that almost all country homes don't allow pets, why is this? As one of the main reasons why we moved to this area is mainly to be within the country with our amazing well behaved dogs. We have lived in the city for many years, and noticed the difference in our pets and our own health when we are in the country parts therefore we act on it and made the move.
Knowing that this amazing county is so connected as a community, I wanted to inquire and hopefully I may obtain advise regarding where to look so that my family can fully be grounded into this beautiful land of community.
Thank you & blessings.
:heart:
Katherine
Re: Question to all home owners
Wow, well thank you for the break down. I do hope I will be able to connect with a home owner that has worked around that.
Thank you again.
Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by spam1:
If you rent your home to a person with a dog, the insurance company will cancel your insurance and every lawyer for 3 counties will be waiting on the doorstop hoping the renter's dog will bite someone, or bark overly loud, so they can sue you and take your house....that's why.
Re: Question to all home owners
I believe spam1 was speaking somewhat hyperbolically. I think it's just that pets introduce another element of risk that given the choice, landlords just assume not deal with.
I handle this by asking for a larger deposit for renters with pets, and hold back a few hundred dollars until I'm certain that they have left no fleas or odors behind.
Kim, perhaps you could offer some similar guarantee to a prospective landlord to allay their fears. You might offer a small amount in additional rent as well.
Good Luck!
Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by spam1:
If you rent your home to a person with a dog, the insurance company will cancel your insurance and every lawyer for 3 counties will be waiting on the doorstop hoping the renter's dog will bite someone, or bark overly loud, so they can sue you and take your house....that's why.
Re: Question to all home owners
Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by Barry:
I believe spam1 was speaking somewhat hyperbolically.
Indeed (I forgot the #Hyperbole) but, maybe not that much. There is a pervasive move to eliminate all risk (as if anyone is going to get out of here alive) and anything one does that has the potential to increase risk, or even the possibility of the potential to increase risk, carries a high premium. If you are a landlord, and you have insurance on your rental house, you might check to see if the company has quietly inserted a "no dogs" policy without an additional rider. We stopped renting our guest house because the liability was just too high (see what (edit Connie Cook renting to Gwen Smith) had to put up with: https://www.pressdemocrat.com/articl...CLES/100819873 )
Re: Question to all home owners
this information is wrong. i don't know the % of rentals which allow pets, landowner decisions to not allow pets are mostly based on damage experience and the potential for neighbor complaints, it is not about insurance and lawyers. keep looking, rentals are less than demand in west sonoma county.
Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by spam1:
If you rent your home to a person with a dog, the insurance company will cancel your insurance and every lawyer for 3 counties will be waiting on the doorstop hoping the renter's dog will bite someone, or bark overly loud, so they can sue you and take your house....that's why.
Re: Question to all home owners
gwen smith did not have a dog, she is a paralegal who knows how to play landowners with tenant law. while i agree with your dismay at our society's propensity for risk aversion, i think your strategy might include a lot less hyperbole and more insurance company shopping :)
Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by spam1:
Indeed (I forgot the #Hyperbole) but, maybe not that much. There is a pervasive move to eliminate all risk (as if anyone is going to get out of here alive) and anything one does that has the potential to increase risk, or even the possibility of the potential to increase risk, carries a high premium. If you are a landlord, and you have insurance on your rental house, you might check to see if the company has quietly inserted a "no dogs" policy without an additional rider. We stopped renting our guest house because the liability was just too high (see what (edit Connie Cook renting to Gwen Smith) had to put up with:
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/articl...CLES/100819873 )
Re: Question to all home owners
Really? This astonishes me. Insurance companies are in the business of insuring against risks of all kinds, and while they may charge a modest extra premuim for dogs, I would be amazed if they refused coverage. For this reason, and also because dogs often cause extra wear and tear and sometimes leave odors that have to be mitigated, landlords will often ask for a higher cleaning deposit for dogs. I would encourage the original poster to keep looking, as many landlords are open to dogs.
I have never heard of anyone taking someone's house as a result of a noisy pet suit or because of a dog bite. Could you give some examples of this happening?
Patrick Brinton
Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by spam1:
If you rent your home to a person with a dog, the insurance company will cancel your insurance and every lawyer for 3 counties will be waiting on the doorstop hoping the renter's dog will bite someone, or bark overly loud, so they can sue you and take your house....that's why.
Re: Question to all home owners
Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by pbrinton:
I have never heard of anyone taking someone's house as a result of a noisy pet suit or because of a dog bite. Could you give some examples of this happening
No, but insurance companies do drop coverage (https://www.insure.com/home-insurance/dog-owners.html), and as I tried to indicate in an subsequent response (and at least Barry caught on), I did indeed stretch the reason to the logical absurdity...but I don't think it is such a stretch. It's a Landlords market, anyone can sue for anything (in fact, Len Tillem often suggests that neighbors all sue in small claims court against a neighbor with a barking dog), and why would a landlord take such a risk when they can easily find a different tenant? And judging from the experience of Kim48012, a lot of landlords have that attitude.
Re: Question to all home owners
I am an animal lover and I have rented to people who have dogs and other animals.
However, it can be an enormous hassle, incur a fair amount of risk and raise all sorts of problems that would not exist without the animal there. For example, on a couple of nights when my tenant was gone, the dog started barking extremely loudly and incessantly for hours.
If I were you I would,
1. Do everything you can to assure the landlord that you will be extremely responsible--- you have a dog license, the dog is chipped, the dog gets regular vet checkups, the dog is fully wormed, have flea and tick prevention, etc. Perhaps have past landlords or others vouch for what a responsible dog owner you are. Make it clear that you understand the landlord's concerns, will immediately respond to any issues and are open to ongoing discussion. The worst possible thing is a tenant who gets all defensive and hostile when you try to ask them for reasonable behavior.
Unfortunately, the bad behavior of others has made many landlords think twice. As much as I love animals, I have often wondered if I was a fool to allow them.
2. Freely offer to put down a pet deposit. Perhaps, even offer a small increase in the rent to make up for the hassle. (I see that Barry has already made these suggestions.)
3. Proactively put out notices on WaccoBB.net and other sites that you are a dog owner looking for a place to rent. That way, you will only get responses from those willing to consider it, rather than waste time looking as listings where they won't
Overall, do everything you can to assure any landlord that you are and plan to be extremely responsible, are fully aware of their concerns and will respond in a reasonable manner to their requests or any issues that arise.
Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by Kim48012:
Greetings Sonoma County Home Owners,
I am a new resident, and am so grateful for the welcoming that my fiancé and I have received. Although for the past three months, we have been in search for a home to rent, but realized that almost all country homes don't allow pets, why is this? As one of the main reasons why we moved to this area is mainly to be within the country with our amazing well behaved dogs. We have lived in the city for many years, and noticed the difference in our pets and our own health when we are in the country parts therefore we act on it and made the move.
Knowing that this amazing county is so connected as a community, I wanted to inquire and hopefully I may obtain advise regarding where to look so that my family can fully be grounded into this beautiful land of community.
Thank you & blessings.
:heart:
Katherine
Re: Question to all home owners
I had a tenant who was on the same property and her dog bit someone or should I say gummed someone as this dog was old and had no teeth left, just gums with nubs. That "bite" cost my insurance company over $5000. And my insurance went up over $500/year.
Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by Kim48012:
Wow, well thank you for the break down. I do hope I will be able to connect with a home owner that has worked around that.
Thank you again.
Re: Question to all home owners
Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by Kim48012:
Although for the past three months, we have been in search for a home to rent, but realized that almost all country homes don't allow pets, why is this?
I wonder the same thing. I have two dogs, one is somewhat on his last legs, and one is a small service dog and when I asked someone whether he would take a service dog, he said no dogs period, well, this is against the law if I'm not mistaken. How can I combat that kind of discrimination?
Centa
Re: Question to all home owners
Yes, my journey is continuing. Thank you..
Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by rossmen:
this information is wrong. i don't know the % of rentals which allow pets, landowner decisions to not allow pets are mostly based on damage experience and the potential for neighbor complaints, it is not about insurance and lawyers. keep looking, rentals are less than demand in west sonoma county.
Re: Question to all home owners
Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by ctheresa:
I wonder the same thing. I have two dogs, one is somewhat on his last legs, and one is a small service dog and when I asked someone whether he would take a service dog, he said no dogs period, well, this is against the law if I'm not mistaken. How can I combat that kind of discrimination?
Centa
Not sure, probably have a document providing proof of your dog as a service dog and also searching or calling the county to inquire such discrimination. In which Hopefully they are helpful to assist you in this matter. I truly wish you the best.
:):
Re: Question to all home owners
Thank you soo much Philip for your time in providing your point of view as a landlord. It was helpful, as that is great idea to provide further details of how on top I am about my dogs health and making it clear that they are licensed.
Many thanks.
Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by Philip Tymon:
I am an animal lover and I have rented to people who have dogs and other animals.
However, it can be an enormous hassle, incur a fair amount of risk and raise all sorts of problems that would not exist without the animal there. For example, on a couple of nights when my tenant was gone, the dog started barking extremely loudly and incessantly for hours.
If I were you I would,
1. Do everything you can to assure the landlord that you will be extremely responsible--- you have a dog license, the dog is chipped, the dog gets regular vet checkups, the dog is fully wormed, have flea and tick prevention, etc. Perhaps have past landlords or others vouch for what a responsible dog owner you are. Make it clear that you understand the landlord's concerns, will immediately respond to any issues and are open to ongoing discussion. The worst possible thing is a tenant who gets all defensive and hostile when you try to ask them for reasonable behavior.
Unfortunately, the bad behavior of others has made many landlords think twice. As much as I love animals, I have often wondered if I was a fool to allow them.
2. Freely offer to put down a pet deposit. Perhaps, even offer a small increase in the rent to make up for the hassle. (I see that Barry has already made these suggestions.)
3. Proactively put out notices on WaccoBB.net and other sites that you are a dog owner looking for a place to rent. That way, you will only get responses from those willing to consider it, rather than waste time looking as listings where they won't
Overall, do everything you can to assure any landlord that you are and plan to be extremely responsible, are fully aware of their concerns and will respond in a reasonable manner to their requests or any issues that arise.
