Renting with dogs

[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.

[Uabassoon]

Not that this helps you any but I'm always amused when I see ads for apartment and it says in huge letters "Pet Friendly!" then when you read the small print it says only pets under 10 lbs. Which is so silly, Corkscrew weighs more than that! Would I have to put him on a diet in order for me to rent?

[Toby's my baby]

My dad is a landlord, and has been ever since I was a baby. I try to convince him to let most of the peoples animals stay. From what I have learned throughout my life this is the good and bad things that you can do. .. .

Rent a house/ apartment/ trailor, that is a little older, not brand new, and that doesnt have new carpet (even if you KNOW that you dog/ cat wont have an accident in the house) it make the landlord feel a lot safer if they have animals in a house that is SO important, aka. new carpet and stuff.

Landlords are happier if you have an older pet. They dont like to let someone rent a house if they have a brandnew puppy or kittie, because the risk of damage is higher

Landlords prefer outside pets (but I konw this isnt always possible) My dad will rent a trailor to pretty much anybody if their pet is outside .

It helps if you bring your dog with you when you go look at the house, and let the landlord see that it is a good dog / cat. and well behaved

WHATEVER YOU DO= do NOT get ANY pet without asking your landlord, even if it is ok with them if you had a cat / dog when you moved in. That makes my dad the most mad, and most people dont get their deposit back if they get another cat or dog


I hope this helped you some!