Charging for a pet?
Question:
Are there laws about charging a pet fee, what that fee can be used for, and limits on such fees?
Answer:
The answer to each of your questions is “it depends on the laws of your state and possibly those of the city or other jurisdiction.” The bottom line is that you will need to research the landlord-tenant laws for whatever state and local jurisdiction the rental property is located in. However, I will mention a few issues that might be of concern.
Some states have no statutes regarding pet deposits or extra rent for pets. In these states, the amounts of deposits or extra rent are only limited by the amount prospective tenants would be able and willing to pay. From the landlord’s perspective this translates into how much the landlord is willing to reduce the pool of prospective qualified applicants. In the extreme case, extremely high deposits and/or extra rent would result in no applicants.
Since by legal definition a deposit is refundable when there are no defaults of lease terms that are applicable to the deposit (e.g., no damages by the pet), high deposits will result in higher probability of tenant lawsuits when the landlord unjustifiably fails to return a deposit or a significant part thereof. If allowed, higher rent would be less of a problem.
The security deposit laws of some states include both security deposit and pet deposit (and any other deposits) within the maximum security that can legally be collected by the landlord. For example, if the maximum security deposit allowed is equal to one month’s rent and the rent is $500, the security and pet deposit can be $400 and $100 or $250 and $250 or $500 and zero, respectively, or any other combination totaling $500, but the total cannot exceed $500.
Furthermore, some jurisdictions may forbid using the pet deposit against unpaid rent or other defaults not related to the pet. For example, the pet deposit could not be applied against damage by a human. A judge may impose such restrictions even if not imposed by statute. Another possible issue is whether the maximum deposit allowed can include both regular rent and extra rent for the pet(s). This issue may not be explicitly defined by law and might be open to a judge’s opinion of what is fair and equitable.
Some local jurisdictions (i.e., county or municipality) may have more restrictive rules. As for any other financial losses that exceed the security deposit and/or pet deposit, a landlord can file a lawsuit for any damages caused by a pet. Of course, adequate lease agreement clauses can be important to being successful in such litigation.