February 2nd, 2019 | Updated on June 9th, 2023
When traveling, most individuals and families want to include their entire family, which means bringing a pet along. Finding a rental for the family and a pet can sometimes be frustrating.
Rental companies, and individuals renting their house, want to make sure their property is going to be taken care of and not ruined by a pet. Many places will require a pet deposit in order to off-set any damages a pet might do during their stay. Some places will bring in other furniture, like a sofa on rent, in order to keep their personal items in good condition.
Make sure wherever you rent, make sure there is proper ventilation, heating and cooling. You may need to place a cooler on rent in order to keep you and your pet cool during hot weather months.
Here are 3 strategies for finding pet-friendly rentals.
1. Don’t Take It Personally
Even if your pet is the most well-behaved animal in the world, a company or individual renting their home or a room for you will not know this.
Don’t take it personally if you are asked to place a pet deposit on the rental. This protects both you and the company or landlord doing the renting to you.
If you run into someone who will not rent to you because of your pet, move on. There is no law that states a company or individual landlord needs to rent to you and your pet. There is no such thing as “pet discrimination” when it comes to renting property.
A service dog or service animal is something completely different than a pet and there are different rules and regulations for a service animal.
2. Medical Record Verification
The majority of places you will want to rent will require a pet’s medical record for verification. This is to make sure your pet is up-to-date on their vaccinations and won’t be a harm to anyone.
You know your dog or cat is taken care of and up-to-date on all their shots, but the place you want to rent from will not know this. Most of the time, verification of vaccinations is for the insurance company the owner of the property uses.
They may also request any accident or bite incident reports on file. This is another protection verification so that if the pet has bitten someone or caused harm before, they have the opportunity to say no, they can’t rent to you at this time.
Many places pay a higher insurance premium to be able to rent to pets and their people. Keep this in mind when you are asked to pay an extra daily, weekly, or monthly fee to bring your pet with you.
3. Get Everything In Writing
For your protection, and that of the landlord renting to you, get everything in writing. This includes what you will be responsible for if your pet does any damages. This is important not to leave “open-ended” because the person or company doing the renting can charge you just about anything for damages done by a pet.
Ask the landlord or owner how much their particular rug cost or a couch already in place. They may not know, but if they can give you a range of prices to replace an item, that will help if something does go wrong.
When renting someone else property, always be honest about bringing a pet with you. If you think you will save money by not telling them you have your animal with you, you would be wrong, especially if any accident occurred. It is better to pay upfront than to lie and pay more in the end.
