Navigating pet rent, pet fees, and pet deposits is an important part of renting an apartment with your animal. Having a pet live with you in your rental can be a great way to make a temporary place feel like home. However, you may have to budget for paying a bit extra so your furry, feathered, or scaly friend can live with you. Many property owners and apartment complexes that welcome pets require renters to pay some form of pet coverage to help with pet-related maintenance and repair expenses. What’s more, there are a few different kinds of “pet fees” that you may see advertised when searching for a pet-friendly rental.
Use this guide to pet rent, pet fees, and pet deposits to help you understand the terminology and find the right rental for you and your pet.
How do property owners determine pet rent, pet fees, and pet deposits?
There are pros and cons to each type of pet expense for property owners and apartment complexes — pet rent, pet fee, and pet deposit. Which one you’re required to pay and how much it costs can depend on many different factors, including:
- Pet expense rates in the area
- What kind of pet expenses competitors are requesting
- The pet type and size
- The pet’s likelihood to cause damage, such as if it’s an exotic animal or what some people consider a “dangerous” breed
- A property owner or management company’s previous experience with renting to people with pets (and whether those experiences were positive or negative)
What is pet rent?
Pet rent is a monthly fee you pay for your pet to live in the rental unit with you. You pay pet rent on top of your regular monthly rent amount. It’s common for property managers to charge pet rent to help cover potential pet-related damage to the rental unit a pet lives in as well as any common space or property the pet uses. For example, a property owner may use the monthly pet rent funds they’ve collected from you to eliminate pet odors or deep clean to remove trapped pet hair after you move out.
What’s great about paying pet rent is that you pay a small amount over time instead of paying the total amount upfront. This option can be more cost-effective for renters who are tight on cash when moving into a new place. Keep in mind that you may have to pay a pet fee per pet. For example, you may have to pay two monthly fees if you have two dogs, two cats, or one of each.
Pet rent can vary from unit to unit, but pet rent ranges from $10 to $60 per month or $120 to $720 per year over a 12-month lease. Some property owners set the price as 1% or 2% of the rental price. For example, a renter that pays $1,000 per month for their rental unit may have to pay $10 per month for pet rent.
What are pet fees?
Pet fees are one-time, non-refundable fees that allow your pet to live with you in the rental unit and cover potential costs for damage. Pet fees can come in a few different forms, such as:
- A flat-rate fee that every pet-owning renter pays, regardless of pet type, size, breed, age, or number of pets
- A flat-rate fee for the first pet plus a lesser flat-rate fee for every additional pet
- A per-pet fee, regardless of type, size, breed, or age
- A sliding-scale fee based on type, size, breed, or age
- A flat-rate or per-pet fee plus a cleaning fee
Because there are various pet fees property owners charge, this option has the broadest range for potential costs. For example, you might pay a $500 flat fee for having any number of pets (within the property owner’s limitations) or $50 per pet and a $150 cleaning fee.
Unlike pet deposits, which could cost as much or more than pet fees, pet fees are non-refundable, so you won’t get your money back when you move out, even if your pet was an angel and caused no damage.
What is a pet deposit?
A pet deposit is a one-time, refundable fee that acts as a security deposit for your pet. This deposit doesn’t cover expenses related to the general wear and tear of an apartment. However, it covers the costs of repairing pet-related damage to the property or other financial losses to the property owner related to renters’ pets. Some incidents that a pet deposit covers include:
- Flea infestations
- Broken appliances or structural features
- Pet stains
- Scratches on floors, walls, doors, and other features
What’s good about pet deposits is that they’re refundable, which means that if your pet behaves and doesn’t cause any significant damage, you’re likely to get your money back after you move out.
Whether a property owner can charge a pet deposit varies by state and city. A PetFinder study reported that pet deposits averaged between 40% and 85% of the monthly rental rate. That means you could expect to pay between $400 and $850 for a $1,000-per-month rental. Some property owners or management companies may require you to pay a deposit for each pet, though the deposit for each subsequent pet may be less.
The service and emotional support animal exception
Under federal Fair Housing laws, property owners cannot charge pet fees for service animals, emotional support animals, and other disability assistance animals. In some states or cities, they may not even be allowed to charge a pet deposit. However, if the animal does cause damage to the property, the property owner may charge you after you move out to help cover those repair costs.
Knowing the difference between these three types of pet expenses can help you better narrow your search to find a pet-friendly rental that fits your budget. So whether you need a place where you can pay for a pet over the term of your lease, or you want to pay it all upfront, you have multiple options to consider in your search.
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