Renting with dogs

[jennifert9]

I do rent with Duncan. We had to pay an extra non-refundable deposit which is ridiculous but it's a very nice place. Very pet friendly. They have dog runs and poop bags stationed all around the complex. It's very nice. I have been looking for a new apartment however and it is very frustrating. Most places will not take dogs over 50 lbs. I have no idea why that is the "magical" number....?Do dogs under 50 lbs behave better than dogs over 50 lbs???? And they all want extra money per month which is absolutely asinine!!! I think that is a huge ploy to get more money from people with pets. It's a scam and should be outlawed....I see no reason whatsoever that the landlord deserves more $ because I have an animal...? In fact, all the more reason for me to keep my $20, $30, $40 bucks...I need to use it for dog food and vet bills!!! It's just a big scam. Duncan has never done one iota of damage to any apartment I have ever lived in. In fact my roommates did more damage and I didn't have to pay extra for them!!! I could understand if I had to pay more for them!!! But not for the dog???? It's nuts!!!!

[boscibo]

look at Craiglist (if your city is large enough to be listed) for rentals, most state right in the ad if dogs are allowed. Some ads have pictures of the places, too.

I rented with a dog before Craigslist and other internet resources and it took a lot of time on the phone to find a place that would take a dog. It was hard, and I ended up taking a 2 bedroom place (more expensive and more 'generic' than some of the beautiful historic places I looked at), but I had a plce for all my cats and my dog.

[finn's mom]

I've always rented. It sometimes takes more time finding a place, but, if you use the resources available (online apartment finders, or the book of apartments that you can get at your grocery store), it's not that hard. It prevents you from driving around getting told that you can only have one pet, and, they have to weigh ten pounds or less...there are a lot of funny restrictions. Heck, my cat Dusty weighed 24 pounds at one time. But, you can find places. I searched hard online each time and always managed to come out with a great apartment. I won't pay pet rent if I can avoid it, so, I try to find places that have the smallest fee to move in and with no pet rent. The last place I lived where it was an issue was in Dallas...it was $150 per pet, but, they were really cool and only made me pay for one. I had two elderly small pets at that time. The fee was non refundable, but, there was no extra monthly rent. And, some of the other places I'd looked at were as high as $600 per pet ($300 refundable). It can get crazy. But, you can find places.

[QueenScoopalot]

I just posted info (long) from the HSUS about pet friendly apartments throughout the U.S.
http://petoftheday.com/talk/showthread.php?t=94190

[Ginger's Mom]

I rented with a dog for ten years. I was very lucky in that the complex was extremely liberal, with no additional pet fees and no size restrictions. That is very rare (and they actually changed their policy while I lived there, but we were "grandfathered" in). My best advise to you would be to look at the larger complexes, they are more likely to allow in pets, simply because they have more apartments they have to fill.

The most common size restriction I have run into is 25 pounds, everyone likes to say under 25 pounds because they are less likely to break free from it's owner or cause serious injury to a human being (according to the complex owners, not necessarily the opinion of this writer or this board). It's mainly a issue of liability with the larger complexes. That is where the pet resume may come in handy. Peaches had her CGC, was well traveled and very well behaved (not to mention cute as a button ). When I was looking for a new place, only one complex said that they would not even consider any dog over 25 pounds.

I wish you the best of luck.

[Glacier]

It can be tricky, but not impossible. When we moved up here, we couldn't find any place that would rent to us with 3 dogs and 2 cats. Fortunately, we in a position that we could afford to buy.

I have a friend who rents with a 14 dog team. She keeps her dogs like mine--off chains and allowed in her cabin. Granted she just got electricity last year and still doesn't have running water, but she has a place that lets her keep 14 dogs!

Good luck, I'm sure you'll find something. The pet resume sounds like a great idea to me. Might also help if you had a Canine Good Citizen or some other kind of training certificate for the dogs.

[wolfie]

Well, luckily Daphne isn't that big, so perhaps size won't be an issue. Or it might, if the rule is 10 or 25 pounds. Daphne has her Canine Good Citizen though.

Oh yeah, I've heard of Craigslist before, but I've never really looked at it. It's nice they list dog friendly places. And QueenScoopalot, that post is very helpful! Thank you everyone.