Many landlords are concerned about allowing pets to live in a rental house. But when you understand why Orlando landlords ought to have a pet screening procedure set up you may be certain that you’re making the best choice for your rental property.
Assistance/Service Animals
At Real Property Management South Orlando, we ensure that the properties we manage are equal opportunity housing, and accommodate a wide array of possible clients. But many landlords do not understand that just like there are many types of residents, there are also many different animals that are allowed on the property by legislation.
Under the Fair Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, assistance and support animals are allowed on any property if they’re registered as a support animal for a disability, which is characterized by the FHA as “a physical or mental impairment which significantly limits a person’s major life activities”.
Thus, even if you’ve told residents they are not allowed to own pets, you are still required to provide “reasonable accommodation” to residents with support animals. Service animals are defined by the ADA are defined as a puppy or mini horse that’s been trained to do work to perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability and are lawfully permitted anywhere.
This is an important distinction to make as you don’t wish to wind up trapped in a legal issue by turning a resident and their help or service animal by confusing it with a pet. But by using a screening process in place you can determine if it is an assistance animal by requesting documentation from a doctor or therapist that acknowledges that the residents’ animal is an assistance animal.
Contact Past Landlords
Among the very best screening tips if allowing pets in your rental property would be to contact previous landlords, because pets can have references too. This will offer you a much better understanding as to if the animal ever caused harm to the house, disturbed the peace of neighbors, or caused some other issues.
This is a quick and effortless method to help steer you on your choice, without turning a possible resident off. Do not be scared to rent to a resident with a moderate or large sized dog as a result of unfounded fears. The big bully in your thoughts could truly be a big teddy bear which does more to create your residents and neighbors joyful than annoyed.
Include Pet Riders in Lease Agreement
Another vital step to the pet screening process is such as a pet rider in your rental agreement. This ensures that the creature’s existence on the property is equally known, and accounted for in terms of property damage. Some landlords may add a pet addendum if their existing residents wish to obtain a pet as soon as they’ve transferred in, but it’s best to get a pet rider in the initial document.
Some fundamental elements the pet rider ought to include are:
- Pet details — breed, color, gender, age, and weight
- Pet fee — if it is not an assistance animal you are able to charge a fee for a resident to own a pet on your property
- Damage deposit — this deposit will be returned if the pet does not incur any damages during its stay
- Vaccination list — have resident include type of vaccination and date
Possessing a legally binding document ensures that no additional pets could be added without your consent and that the pet residing on the property is fit to be around other animals and residents of their neighborhood. This legal rider will ensure that if any curve-balls are thrown away, it’s the responsibility of the proprietor to ensure that the problems are handled correctly.
Take Photos of Pet
Another important step in your pet screening process is to take photographs of the pet. Imagine the surprise you’d have when visiting the rental property to perform a requested maintenance task to find that the little Chihuahua that your resident signed for is really a Great Dane.
By taking a photo, and recording details such as the kind of animal, its overall dimensions and markings and any other important information about the pet will make sure that one pet doesn’t become three, and a little dog does not wind up becoming a much larger issue.
Do More Business
Finally, having a pet screening coverage makes it possible to do more business. As you might originally shy away from letting non-assistance creatures in your property many possible residents search for single-family homes to rent over flats based on having a pet. You could even make extra money if you decide to control pet rent the gardener has to pay every month.
Furthermore, pet owners are frequently more accountable than your normal resident. Should they’ve taken the opportunity to train their pet, then find proper care for their pet when they’re gone and are disinclined to leave their pet because of rental coverages then this may be the kind of resident that you would like on your premises. Even though this isn’t accurate for many pet owners, it’s something to think about when screening both residents and animals.
When you rely on Real Property Management South Orlando for your property management services, we do more than just respond to repair calls. We assist landlords and investment homeowners alike to put responsible, compatible residents in your rental property and to ensure that all possible liabilities such as pets are properly screened so that the rental experience is a good one for both you and your residents. Start realizing the benefits of having a pet screening procedure and contact us online or call us at 407-982-2000 to learn about our services.
We are pledged to the letter and spirit of U.S. policy for the achievement of equal housing opportunity throughout the Nation. See Equal Housing Opportunity Statement for more information.
