With vacancies at 10 year high’s, apartment communities are finding ways to become more appealing to the apartment dweller. An area that you can use to broaden your renter population: Pet Owners!
(The happy spirit pictured is my dog, Jazz, one of the happiest, most loving dogs EVER. I would never live someplace that does not allow me to bring this sweetie with me!)
If your community has historically been a no-pet community, or one where there are stringent pet restrictions, this maybe a good time to take a look at your pet policy, and see if there is room to broaden it. Here are some facts about pet owners:
The Humane Society’s statistics:
- 39% of US Households have 1 or more dogs.
- 33% of US Households have 1 or more cats.
The CENTER FOR DISEASE CONTROL states pets can:
Decrease Blood pressure
Decrease Cholesterol levels
Decrease Triglyceride levels
Decrease Feelings of loneliness
Increase opportunities for exercise and outdoor activities
Increase Opportunities for socialization
Sounds like a recipe for happy, healthy residents to me!
In a 2006 survey, roughly half of the pet households consider their pets to be family members.
Family members! – that’s a pretty strong connection!
We have all heard or seen the worst of the worst when it comes to pets - right? Pets that have chewed through furniture, pet droppings, pet smells, pet dander, pet barking, un-ruly pets, etc! Don’t let this sway you. I was once an unruly child too…
Seriously, there are ways to set-up pet rules & guidelines to make pet ownership in an apartment community work for everyone.
10 ELEMENTS of a Good Pet Policy:
- Clearly define what kinds of pets you are going to accept. For instance, some communities will accept small dogs upto a certain weight. Other communities will accept dogs regardless of the size – but they may have breed restrictions. Do your research, and set criteria that best fit the needs and expectations of your community. (For instance, in communities where the size of the apartments are small, or where outdoor space for walking dogs is limited, it might make sense to restrict the size of dogs. In other communities where the size of the apartments are larger, and the community was built as a pet-friendly community, it may be a better option to accept all sizes, but decide on breed restrictions.)
- Decide how many pets are allowed per apartment.
- Establish a pet deposit or/or pet fees. This should be used to establish your community’s expectations of pet owners – let them know they are responsible for any damages inflicted by their pet.
- Establish whether or not you community will charge “pet rent.” I see this used in communities that have been built to be pet-friendly – meaning they have a dog park or dog walk area that may need some routine maintenance like weekly sanitation or other cleaning services. The “pet rent” usually helps to offset the cost of keeping those facilities clean and well-maintained.
- Establish penalties for resident who do not notify the management office of their pet. If you ARE allowing residents to own pets in your community, have everyone, even non-pet owners, sign the pet addendum. This establishes the fact that your community DOES accept pets, as well as outlines the penalties for not notifying management of a pet household member.
- Establish – when outside the resident’s apartment, a pet should be under the complete control of a responsible human companion at all times. Pets are not to be left alone, unattended or tied anywhere outside.
- If your community has common areas, establish which common areas pet owners can bring their pets. (I’ve seen pet friendly communities establish “no-pet” zones – like the fitness center, but keep everything else available to pets & their owners.)
- Establish clearly defined penalties if an owner does not clean up after their pet.
- Take a picture of the pet, get copies of their vaccinations & rabies shots, and keep this information in your resident’s file.
- For cats, decide if your community will accept cats that have claws, or declawed cats only.
What other pet rules/guidelines should be included? Please leave your comments & suggestions!
-Daisy Nguyen in Minneapolis, Minnesota MN
CEO
Business, Operations & Marketing Consulting to the Apartment Industry
Web: RentSoda.com Email: Daisy {at} RentSoda(.)com
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