What’s the Score? Leveling Up Your Pet Game
Permitting pets at your property may be a must. Here are new ways to tell whether your community is truly pet-friendly.
How inclusive is your pet policy? Image by Nancy Guth via pexels.com
Is your property pet-friendly?
If you’re one of the 70-80 percent of market rate rental housing operators who accept pets, you’ve probably just answered that question with a resounding “yes.” But from whose perspective? Yours? The family with a 95-pound golden retriever? The single parent with two kids and a cat, struggling to make ends meet?
A seemingly innocuous question– is your property pet-friendly?–becomes quite provocative when viewed through the lens of a pet owner who is challenged to secure housing that accepts their large dog, welcomes their “restricted” breed, or embraces pets without additional fees. The Pet-Inclusive Housing Initiative (PIHI) has developed a scorecard to help operators have more insight when answering this question; but more on that in just a bit.
It’s all about perspective.
The definition “pet-friendly” all comes down to perspective. In a recent 2022 renter survey conducted by Zumper, a segment on the most pet-friendly cities for renters had some interesting takeaways. Factors like the number of pet-friendly units, median rent among pet-friendly units, pet-focused amenities, availability of green spaces and veterinary care, as well as the cost of veterinary services, were key metrics in determining cities offering the “best environment for pets.” What wasn’t taken into consideration? Restrictive pet policies and pet fees.
You know what the owner of a pet that is restricted in most rental housing could care less about? A grooming station, bark park, or the convenience of waste stations.
