It's an awful situation. I know there are responsible pet owners out there, but you'd just not believe how some people live. And, the renter doesn't know you, they have no idea what will happen to their property.

I'm not taking sides, just saying it's a tough call on the part of the owner. I worked at my apt. complex while in college and you would not believe some of the crap that went on. Perfectly normal looking people with wonderful animals- and they lived like garbage. Often, the urine was so deep into the pad and floorboards, that there was no hope. Everything replaced. And the things some dogs would chew. Vinyl almost always had to go.

I know we are all responsible pet owners, but it absolutely blew my mind when I was working rentals. You'd never imagine it from meeting these people.

On the other hand, we had a 30lb weight limit. However, some larger animals were "grandfathered in" because they were there before the limit was started. There was this one Husky- huge dog!!! Largest Husky I've ever seen. And this apartment was immaculate! Best dog I've ever known. I miss that doggie

Miss Meow's suggestion is a very good one. You can negotiate more if you're dealing with privately owned stuff then with larger reit communities. They have more strict corporate policies that the manager couldn't override even if he or she wanted to.