Pet Policy Basics – St. Louis Property Management Education for Landlords

When you’re leasing your St. Louis rental property, you’ll need to decide whether you want to allow pets. It’s your decision as a homeowner, but at Select Leasing & Management, we always recommend that you do, simply because of the large number of St. Louis tenants who do have pets. As long as you have a great pet policy in place, you’ll be able to protect your home against any potential pet damage.

When you decide not to allow pets, you’ll have to prepare for a decreased pool of potential tenants. That means you’ll have a longer vacancy time, and you may need to accept less money for your property. We have found that generally, people with pets stay longer in the property. Pet owners typically make great tenants.

You can do one of two things with your pet deposit. Some landlords will charge a non-refundable pet deposit. We like to make our pet deposits half non-refundable and half refundable. This gives tenants the opportunity to get something back if they take better care of the property while living there with their animal. It provides incentive.