The apartment complex where I live has decided to slap on a $10 /month pet fee. Formerly, there was

[raccoon]

a pet fee when you moved in. I moved in 15 years ago so I have no idea what it is now.

The letter they left said for current residents, this fee will be slapped on when you renew your lease.

And I betcha the buzzards will go up on the rent, they always do. Ah, well, there's no help for it. Except to move,
and for me that's too much trouble and expense. Plus I would quite probably be paying more for rent than I do now.

I think many property owners are looking for ways to jack up the rent without jacking up the rent. What I mean is,
tacking on fees such as, sewer/water, pet fee, etc. It still amounts to a rent increase but I guess it SOUNDS different.

[snappyturtle]

1. The management costs are probably going up so the increase of the

pet fee protects the holy profit line. I hate these types of increases. Sorry it's happened to you.

[TreasonousBastard]

2. Mine just banned dogs...

for new tenants. Too many people were not picking up.

Cats can destroy carpet and wooden floors by peeing outside the litterbox. (Don't ask how I know that.)

Sometimes it's about money, sometimes it's about people being assholes, but we all end up paying.

[DebJ]

3. Sorry that's happened to you. Sometimes this happens because a series of irresponsible

jerks allow the pets to destroy the units, and so after getting slammed with several costly repairs, management decides it is better to charge
a pet fee than to charge people who don't have pets to cover those damages. Amazing how a few jerks can make life so miserable for everyone
else.

My great uncle had a German Shepherd puppy that he locked in the bathroom for about two hours while he went out to dinner one evening. When they got home and opened the bathroom door, they discovered to their horror that the dog had torn away the wall behind the shower and pulled the shower pipes out of the wall. This was in his home, though, not an apartment. So it can be far more than urine stains in carpet and wood floors, clawing/scraping/ tearing of cabinets, etc., fleas, and other less incidentals. It can be quite expensive, as my uncle learned.

I am a pet lover, and I've actually never known anyone personally who has allowed their pets to destroy an actual building, but it can happen.

Then again, I also have seen what a group of wild young people have done to apartments on occasion. Disgusting, and amazing. But they don't charge party fees.

[blackcrow]

4. slightly off the pet topic

Costs go up for landlords/landladies. Property taxes go up, etc.

[PasadenaTrudy]

5. Yep, repairs too n/t

[handmade34]

6. very sorry about your increase...

you are paying for other's irresponsibility...


on the other hand... had to pull up an entire floor once... subfloor and all, because of renter's pets

[pink-o]

7. Get a letter from a therapist saying you need your pet for emotional support.

Landlords must let you have an emotional support animal even if they have a no-pet policy. It's the law.

[HappyMe]

8. If we had a pet

this apartment complex required a pet deposit. I don't see any problem with it. Some people are irresponsible with their pets. Last time we looked at places, one wasn't going to be ready for at least 2 months because of the damage done by the previous tenants pets.