Should You Allow Pets in Your Rental Property?

Megan Bullock/Apartments.com • May 2, 2021

It’s no secret that most pet owners treat their pets like family, so when it comes time to find a new home, these renters will be looking for pet-friendly rentals. This begs the question, should you allow pets in your rental property? If this question is weighing on your mind, you’re in the right place. It’s true that allowing pets in your rental gives you access to a larger pool of interested renters, but this decision also comes with a few risks. Before you decide where your rental fits in the mix, let’s weigh the benefits and risks of having a pet-friendly rental.

Benefits of Allowing Pets in You Rental Property

If you decide to list your rental online as “pet friendly,” you’ll enjoy several benefits, including the opportunity to:

Make more in rental fees

By allowing pets in your rental property, you are essentially adding another tenant (or a few, if you allow). Although this furry tenant won’t be responsible for splitting the rent, their presence will require some additional payments. Pet fees, pet deposits, and pet rent are a few of the ways you can make more in rental fees by allowing pets.

You will collect a non-refundable pet fee from your pet-owning tenant before or on move-in day. You can also collect a pet deposit at the same time in addition to the pet fee. The only difference is the pet deposit is refundable and will be returned to the tenant in full if there are no pet-related damages to the unit, including soiled carpet, chewed blinds, or scratches on the floor, walls, and moldings. Pet rent is a fee that renters will pay once a month in addition to their base rent.

Depending on your state laws, you can charge one of these rental fees, all three, or a mix. These rental fees will automatically boost your rental income, as well as provide a bit of cushion for potential damages. Be sure to check what competitors in your market are charging for pet fees so that you aren’t under or overselling your rental.

Increase your lease renewal rates

Not every rental allows pets, so if you choose to allow them, your tenants may be incentivized to renew their lease. Many renters will feel more comfortable in a pet-friendly rental, even if they haven’t committed to a furry friend of their own just yet. It gives them the option to do so in the future. If your rental is not pet friendly, and your tenant decides they want a pet, they will have to wait until their lease is up or potentially break their lease early, leaving you to find a new tenant once they’re gone. Avoid these potential vacancies by giving pet owners what they want — a good home for their fur family.

Expand your list of potential tenants

As discussed, not all rentals allow pets, which automatically limits those landlords to only renters without pets. If you choose not to allow pets in your rental, you risk losing some potentially great tenants simply because they are pet owners. Your list of potential tenants will expand immediately if you list your rental as pet friendly. As more and more renters become pet parents, your pool of potential tenants will continue to grow.

Risks of Allowing Pets in Your Rental Property

Allowing pets in your rental is a great way to show tenants your flexibility, but it’s important to consider the risks of doing so before you proceed.

Increased chances of property damage

It’s common for pet damage to occur in pet-friendly rentals, even if it only involves minor issues. Soiled carpet, scratched floors and walls, and chewed blinds are just a few examples of common pet damage. Accidents happen, especially with younger pets, but if your tenant isn’t a responsible pet owner, small issues may become bigger problems over time. If a pet is continuously left home alone or not properly taken care of, damage will likely occur.

Potential noise complaints

Pets left alone for several hours at a time, even during normal work or school hours, can be a problem. Incessant barking, howling, or meowing can lead to frustrated neighbors and subsequent noise complaints. In some situations, pet owners may be trying their best to deal with a pet’s separation anxiety, while others may be unaware of the problem. Noise complaints are never ideal, especially when it’s about lonely, bored, or anxious pets. Handling pet noise complaints can prove to be difficult because there is not always a solution to the problem. Pets’ behavior may improve over time, but that’s not always the case.

Abandoned pets

Even worse than a howling pet left home alone is an abandoned pet. By allowing pets in your rental, you run the risk of having a tenant who not only abandons their lease and your unit, but their pet as well. If the pet is left alone for a lengthy period of time, there could be severe damage to your property. Dealing with an abandoned pet and potential damage to your property can be upsetting for both you and the pet. If this happens in your rental and you cannot get in touch with your tenant, call your local animal rescue. This will at least allow the pet to have a second chance for a good home.

Additional Considerations for Allowing Pets in Your Rental

Although benefits and risks are important to think about, there are other pressing issues to consider as well before making your final decision.

Does your insurance company cover all pet breeds?

Not every landlord will have an insurance policy that covers all pets. In fact, many insurance companies have restrictions on what animals and breeds they allow in the policy. For instance, pit bulls and rottweilers are two common dog breeds that are excluded. Before you sign a lease with a pet owner, be sure your policy covers their pet.

How to legally handle service and emotional support animals

Tenants who have service animals or emotional support animals are protected by the American Disabilities Act (ADA). Because of this, landlords are required to allow these animals in their rental whether their unit is pet friendly or not. If your rental is pet friendly, be aware that tenants with a service or emotional support animal are not legally required to pay pet fees, pet deposits, or pet rent. Before your tenant (or their pet) moves in, they are legally obligated under the ADA and Fair Housing Laws to provide you with proper documentation that details their need for the animal.

How to screen tenants with pets

When screening a pet-owning potential tenant, the process will be very similar to screening a tenant without pets. Your tenant screening should include a background and credit check (conveniently provided by TransUnion® if your unit is listed on Apartments.com), as well as professional and landlord references, proof of income, etc. The only additional requirements for pet owners would be to answer a list of questions, such as:

How many pets do you have?
What type of pet(s) do you have?
What breed?
How much does the pet weigh?
Is your pet up to date on shots (specifically rabies)?

You also have the option to set up a pet interview with the potential tenant and their pup. By meeting their pet before move-in day, you can make sure they’re friendly and well behaved.

How to make your rental pet friendly

Allowing pets in your rental is the first step towards growing your pool of potential tenants, but a great way to retain your pet-owning tenants is to install a few pet-friendly amenities and features. Pet-friendly flooring (avoid carpet), a closed-in patio or a fenced-in yard, or a pet door that opens to a fenced-in outdoor space are great ways to make your rental more pet friendly.

The Choice Is Yours

Every property owner must make their own decision when it comes to allowing pets in their rental property. Keep in mind that although there are serious risks, such as property damage, noise complaints, and abandoned pets, more and more renters are becoming pet owners. If you don’t allow pets, your pool of renters will continue to shrink. A great compromise is to create a pet agreement that outlines your requirements, including:

Pet fees, pet deposits, and pet rent
Number of pets allowed per unit
Type, breed, and size of pet

In the agreement, you can also detail your expectations. For example, explain that tenants are required to pick up after pets outdoors, specify cleaning instructions to avoid any leftover pet dander, smell, or damage after your tenant moves out, and reiterate community quiet hours.

Although you are not required to allow pets in your rental property, you have a much better chance of finding a potentially great, long-term tenant in a timely manner if you are flexible with your rental policies and rent to tenants with pets.

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The Kind of House Buyers Are Willing To Pay More For

By KCM • September 13, 2026

The Kind of House Buyers Are Willing To Pay More For That spare room on the main floor. The finished basement with a kitchenette and its own entrance. The bonus room you've been using for storage. To you, it's extra space. But to a growing pool of buyers, it's the reason they'd pick your house . Here’s why. Multi-generational homebuying is on the rise. Millions of Families Are Living Multi-Generationally The number of multi-generational households is climbing. That’s when 3 or more generations live under one roof. And data shows those households grew from 3.2 million to almost 4 million between 2014 and 2024, according to Realtor.com. And each year, more people are shopping for a larger home that fits their combined needs. While the appetite for this type of house is rising across the board, data from USAFacts shows multi-generational living is more common in some states than others. The darker the state in the map below, the more common it is in that area (see map below): Where does your state fall? Depending on where you are, the pool of buyers looking for a house like yours could be even bigger than you’d think. But the overall bottom line is this. There’s a real market out there for larger homes with room for multiple generations under one roof, especially since affordability is still so tight. And if you own a house like that, it’s in demand . Multi-Generational Houses Sell at a Premium And that extra room carries real value with the right buyer. According to Realtor.com, in 2025 the median asking price for a multi-generational house was $709,000 – roughly 65% higher than the $429,900 median for a standard house. Some of that is simply size. But compare multi-generational homes to regular homes with the same amount of square footage, and they still come out on top – $262 per square foot versus $215. That’s a 22% premium you could command for special features like in-law suites, second kitchens, and separate entries (see graph below): When you sell , this could help you walk away with more money in your pocket, especially when your agent highlights your home’s multi-generational-friendly features in your listing. And Buyers Aren’t Getting Sticker Shock And even with slightly higher price tags, buyers aren't flinching. Multi-generational houses drew 13.5% more online views than standard ones, and they still sold just as fast – in about 59 days – per the same Realtor.com report . Hannah Jones, Senior Economic Research Analyst at Realtor.com, explains: "The strong demand and steep premiums we are seeing in inventory-constrained markets point to a real mismatch between what buyers are looking for and what is actually available . For sellers in these markets, this type of home can be a significant asset ." Basically, when buyers want something that's very specific, the house that checks the box tends to stand out. Bottom Line Your multi-generational-friendly, or simply larger-than-average, house might meet criteria a lot of buyers can't find in a standard one. That's what gets attention. And offers. So, let’s chat about what it could get you in our market right now.

How Much Should Sunlight Really Matter When Buying a House?

By The Lighter Side of Real Estate • September 12, 2026

There’s no question that technology has changed the way people search for homes. Years ago, buyers mostly relied on listing photos, a few short remarks, and eventually seeing the house in person. Today, buyers can explore properties through virtual tours, algorithm-powered estimates, flood maps, walkability scores, noise ratings, school data, commute times, and all sorts of other information before ever stepping foot inside a home. And now, one of the latest things buyers can assess online is how much sunlight a house gets throughout the day. The Sunny Side… and the Shady Side Recently, a real estate website introduced a new feature designed to estimate how much natural light a home receives room by room and hour by hour using AI and geospatial data. At first glance, the feature seems a little geared toward the idea that more sunlight is automatically better. The descriptions surrounding it focus heavily on bright spaces, natural light, and how sunlight can impact the feel of a home. And to be fair, plenty of buyers genuinely care about that. Some people absolutely love bright spaces with huge windows and sun-filled kitchens. On the other hand, plenty of buyers specifically prefer shade, cooler rooms, mature trees, or wooded lots with extra privacy. So while something like a “Sun Score” may initially sound designed for people who want sunlight pouring into every room of the house, it could just as easily become a tool for shade seekers to use in reverse. Of course, sunlight preferences are subjective anyway. For instance, a recent study found that while tree-filled neighborhoods tend to reduce stress for many people, not everyone responds the same way. Some people actually preferred more open, sunny environments instead. Sunlight Shouldn’t Outshine Everything Else At some point, though, you do have to wonder whether technology features are starting to encourage buyers to overthink things just a little bit. Because every house technically has sunlight. Unless, of course, you happen to be shopping for an underground bunker. And sunlight is literally outside all day… well, unless you live somewhere in the world that barely sees the sun for a few months of the year. The reality is, many buyers are still dealing with limited inventory, affordability challenges, rising insurance costs, competition, property taxes, and mortgage rates. In many markets and price ranges, it can already be difficult enough to find a house that checks the major boxes. So while a “Sun Score” might be a fun feature to explore, it probably shouldn’t become the deciding factor between buying an otherwise great house and walking away from it. On the Bright Side… You Have Some Control Over the Sunlight Unlike things such as location, taxes, school districts, layout, or price, sunlight is also one of the easier things to work around after you move in. You can trim trees, open blinds, repaint rooms brighter colors, improve lighting, enlarge windows, install skylights, or simply spend more time outdoors. And if you prefer less sunlight, there are plenty of ways to tone things down too, with landscaping, window treatments, covered patios, or simply choosing rooms that naturally stay cooler and darker throughout the day. The reality is that how much sunlight you get overall depends on a huge number of factors that have very little to do with the individual house itself — where you live geographically, the climate, weather patterns, surrounding terrain, time of year, nearby trees, neighboring homes, and even which direction the property faces. If maximizing sunshine is truly one of your top priorities, geography probably matters far more than the angle of your breakfast nook. According to data compiled by Visual Capitalist , cities like Yuma, Phoenix, and Las Vegas get dramatically more sunshine overall than many other parts of the country. At the end of the day though, buying a house has always involved balancing priorities. Every buyer has their own “must-have” list, and that’s completely reasonable. But sometimes technology can create the illusion that every tiny variable should be optimized perfectly, when in reality, most homeowners end up adapting to their home over time anyway. Or…adapting it to their liking in some way. The Takeaway: A new “Sun Score” feature introduced by a real estate website is designed to help buyers estimate how much natural light a home receives throughout the day. And while natural light is certainly something many people care about, it also raises an interesting question about how much information is too much information during the home search process. Today’s buyers already have access to more data, ratings, and scoring systems than ever before. While tools like this can be interesting and even useful, they can also create a tendency to overanalyze smaller details while losing sight of bigger priorities like location, layout, affordability, and overall fit. At the end of the day, every buyer has different preferences. Some love bright sunny spaces, while others prefer shade, privacy, or cooler wooded lots. The important thing is remembering that no home is going to score perfectly in every category — and most people end up making a house their own once they move in anyway.

14 Years Running: Why Real Estate Is Still America’s Favorite Investment

By KCM • September 10, 2026

14 Years Running: Why Real Estate Is Still America’s Favorite Investment Quick gut reaction. Which investment do Americans trust more than stocks, gold, savings accounts, and bonds? The answer hasn't changed in 14 years. It's real estate. And this year, that answer comes with even more conviction behind it. New data shows people aren't just saying homeownership is a smart move, they're feeling better about it than they have in years. Let's dig into why. Real Estate Takes the Top Spot – Again Every year, Gallup asks Americans to name the best long-term investment. And for the 14th year in a row, real estate came out on top (see graph below): That's not a fluke or a hot streak. That's 14 straight years of beating out stocks, gold, and everything else. Think about everything that's happened in that stretch – rising rates, market swings, election years, you name it. Through all of it, Americans kept picking real estate. That kind of staying power says something about how people view homeownership – and it makes sense. Historically, it’s one of the best ways to build wealth in this country. As Michelle Egan, Head of Credit Solutions, Impact Finance at JPMorgan Chase, explains : “ Owning a home has long been considered one of the most reliable ways to build wealth. Beyond providing shelter, a home is a valuable asset that can appreciate over time, build equity, and serve as a financial resource for generations.” Now, you may have seen chatter online saying home prices are falling and wondered if that changes the math. It really shouldn’t. Nationally, home prices are still rising – just at a slower pace than a few years ago. Yes, some local markets are seeing slight dips, but those dips are small compared to how much home values have grown over the past 5 years . Generally speaking, home prices almost always rise. As long as you plan to live there for a good length of time, you should still have the chance to build equity. More People Say Buying Beats Renting And while it's true homeownership has been seen as a worthwhile pursuit for years now, something interesting is happening. It may actually be gaining a bit more popularity again. According to Bank of America's latest Homebuyer Insights Report, 53% of people now say it's better to buy a home than to rent or move in with family. That's the first time buying has taken the lead since 2023 (see graph below): In that same report, here are a few other signals that confidence in homeownership is on the rise: 90% of people say a home is a valuable investment, up from 79% just last year. And 94% say owning a home provides stability, up from 83% the year prior. Those are relatively big jumps in a short amount of time. And here’s what may be driving it. It’s About More Than Money Sure, affordability is still tight and some markets are still hard to break into, but that hasn’t changed what people feel about homeownership as a goal. And the reason why is simple – it's not just a financial decision. It’s a lifestyle choice. A home pays you back in ways stocks never could. As Sheharyar Bokhari, Principal Economist at Redfin, says: " For many homeowners, a home is more than a place to sleep and store belongings—it's a reflection of who they are. Homeownership can help people put down roots, build relationships and create a space that feels uniquely their own." You can't get that from a brokerage account. A home is the one investment that grows your wealth and gives you a place to build your life. And that means something. Bottom Line For 14 years straight, Americans have called real estate the best long-term investment, and confidence in owning a home is on the rise. If you've been weighing whether buying is worth it, let's connect and talk through what that first step could look like for you.