Finding a Pet-Friendly Apartment Can Be a Total Bear!

September 17th, 2010 by Snow Conant| Posted in Apartment Guide, Renting with Pets | 6 Comments »

leroybrown

With Guest Dlogger, Leroy Brown

This week’s news included crazy weather reports, serious threats to the Pope and a slurry of the latest trends strutting down New York Fashion Week runways. But let’s hone in on one of the really important issues: the 2011 Guinness Book of World Records has released its winners, including: the dog with the longest tongue in the world!

Measuring in at 4.5 inches, Puggy the Pekingese takes the prize!

Whether your dog/cat/snake/trout/etc. is a Guinness World Record winner or not, finding a pet-friendly apartment in a pet-loving city can be quite a project. From a landlord’s perspective it is easy to understand why one might balk at allowing pets in their rentals: pets claw, chew, strew, and drag things into an apartment with the same vehemence as they claw their way into our hearts. However, according to the Humane Society of the United States, 39 percent of U.S. households own at least one dog, and 33 percent of households own at least one cat. Pet owners make up a huge percentage of potential renters – and landlords are catching on.

Still, pet owners have to jump through a lot of hoops and face fierce competition in order to land an apartment. In San Francisco, we are often required to submit pet resumesand letters of recommendation just to be considered for a lease! I’m sure that if it were possible, they’d run a credit check on our pets as well. We are very interested in hearing about pet-related apartment issues in YOUR city – please share!

Woof!

6 Responses to “Finding a Pet-Friendly Apartment Can Be a Total Bear!”

  1. Mikesays:
    September 21, 2010 at 10:04 am

    A pet resume!? That’s crazy! Luckily I’ve never come across any thing that odd here in San Diego, yet. But I have noticed it’s nearly impossible to rent a place with a pet larger then 20lbs my beagle/dachshund almost weights 25lbs and he’s still tiny.

    Reply
  2. Nicksays:
    September 23, 2010 at 7:38 pm

    Our bichons are small, but bark a lot, and we’ve been given the evil eye by neighbors a few times. Of course, renters insurance always helps for times when the manager tries to pin the old poo stain on you! We scrubbed our apartment for an entire weekend once and still got stuck with the bill.

    Reply
  3. Renters Informationsays:
    October 3, 2010 at 8:45 am

    It’s even harder to find an apartment if you have a dog that is mean and bits people. Good luck finding renters insurance for that as well.

    Reply
  4. Lawrencesays:
    October 12, 2010 at 4:10 pm

    It’s a tough call for many apartment owners. They don’t want to close the door to pet owners since there are so many, but they also don’t want pets that cause trouble. As crazy as a pet resume sounds, this may actually be helpful for everyone.

    Reply
  5. Jamiesays:
    February 2, 2011 at 10:37 pm

    I have a 35 pound Shepard/chow mix. She is completely trained. Doesn’t chew, bark, potty inside, nothing. We are currently in a 31 foot motor home, and she does wonderfully. Since I am having a baby, we are trying to find an apartment or house in the Farmington, NM area. Renters hear the word “dog” and balk. They hear the word “chow” and show me the door. Yet people have chihuahuas and parakeets that are a bigger nuisance and more of a liability, and they get an apartment without a second thought.

    Reply

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