Pet owners who are house hunting may have a tough road ahead of them. Before buying a condo, one of the most common blocks I ran up against was a no-pet rule. Although the bylaws for the unit I wanted to buy allowed pets for owners only, the Rules and Regulations banned pets altogether for both owners and tenants.

As someone who always assumed I’d get a third dog, that seemed like a preposterous request to me — specifically as an owner who was shelling out money for a mortgage and assessments. I inquired about that pet policy. To my delight, I found out that Rules and Regulations can be changed by each condo board. Since this rule was not registered with the city (like the bylaws were), I had more wiggle room.

Four months later, I was nominated as the Homeowners Association (HOA) president and focused on that pet policy. I had the ban on pets removed from the Rules and Regulations to match what the bylaws said. But if the condo bylaws banned pets, this would’ve been a far more expensive change to make.

Why some condo owners and property managers are anti-pets

In all fairness, I understood why prior board members and unit owners had a love-hate relationship with pets. One owner complained that dogs “bark too much.” (He’s not wrong. There are some dogs who you can hear long before you see them.) If you’ve heard the news in the U.K. of people returning their pandemic pets, you already know that everyone who gets a pet isn’t necessarily prepared to take care of the pet.

While recently working on a magazine article for a property management company called Go4Rent, interviewees confirmed that common reasons for tenant denial included pets, along with poor or no credit history, prior evictions, or lack of sufficient or verifiable income.

So I was particularly intrigued by a conversation with one of the Go4Rent landlords. I already knew the obvious downsides of pets: permanent stains (usually pet wastes) on the floors, courtyard, and walls; unwanted smells in the building; loud barking; cats in heat; and the sound of pets running across top-floor units.

However, there are some upsides that I can confirm as both a pet owner, condo board member (president then and treasurer now), and as a dog caregiver for more than 80 dogs.

Why property managers and condo owners need to be pro-pet

By default, pet owners have to make their four-legged companions a priority. (There’s a reason that FetchaDate has WingPets; your pet can be the perfect socialite.) Landlords, condo boards, and property management companies can all reasonably assume that this will be an attentive tenant or owner who will be home on a regular basis. While cats tend to be more independent when it comes to playtime, all animals need to be fed. Even on a self-timer, someone has to refill water and food dishes eventually.

Are pet owners more responsible tenants? (Photo credit: Mike Burke/Unsplash)

Even business and leisure travelers realize they must have dog caregivers to peek in on their pets to make sure they’re doing OK, whether the pet is big or small. Loyal pet owners want to be in a home that’s comfortable for themselves and their pets. Additionally, pets are unpaid exterminators.

For cat lovers especially, rodents won’t dare stay around long. An HOA may as well use the extermination funds on their annual budget for other repairs and building upgrades. In my hometown of Chicago, the “Cats at Work” program is the solution for our rat problem, not city workers!

 

But there’s another and more obvious reason. Although some cities are more pet-friendly than others, the last thing that pet-owning residents want to do is have to uproot themselves and their pet(s) again. It takes awhile for pets to adjust to a new living environment. Or worse, risk losing that pet in order to move.

So tenants and condo unit owners may find themselves crossing their t’s and dotting their i’s to make sure their pets are not problematic and take training classes. Even if they don’t make the cut for all 75 suggestions from the American Kennel Club, “pet owners” are often linked to the descriptor “responsible.” As with human parents, knowing that another life depends on them makes them more attentive to their living situation.

When property managers and landlords are on the fence

For those who are still undecided on allowing tenants and condo unit owners the opportunity to have pets, having a mutual agreement that lists all of the landlord’s (or HOA’s) concerns makes it much easier to avoid confusion. Specifying height and weight requirements of pets, where the pets can and cannot enter and exit (ex. carpeted stairwell and lobby versus wooden back stairwell), and even noise ordinances can help (potential) pet owners to decide whether they can agree to reasonable, cooperative terms. If all parties can agree, why not give pet lovers a chance?

FASCINATING