Jane Slagsmith breaks down whether landlords should allow pets in Australian rentals. Pets is the second-most searched filter on realestate.com, but insurance often excludes pet damage like urine and chewing. She charged extra rent for pets before, only to have damage classified as wear-and-tear, so she now refuses them.
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Hi everyone, it's Jane Slagsmith here and in today's video I want to tackle the controversial topic of pets in a rental property. Now there has been recent changes in some states that may mean you don't even have a choice anymore. So you need to work out what is relevant for your state. Now most rental properties traditionally in Australia haven't allowed pets. And did you know though that the keyword pets is the same second most searched for criteria on realestate.com when tenants are looking for properties. So why do owners restrict pets? Well in most cases it's because of the damage and landlords insurance often excludes this damage. So the landlord may feel as though they're accepting pets into a property with a risk that it could end up being very expensive. Now I've heard a few horror stories about this, about male cats peeing on the carpet and we all know how bad that smell is. Dogs chewing through irrigation pipes, even pet rats escaping and chewing through wires. Now accidents can happen and we all know that. And I personally have allowed pets into my properties with the promises from the tenants that there would be no damage. And even I've been able to charge you know, an extra 20, 30, $40 a week. But I've always ended up disappointed. Disappointment at the end when I've checked out the property at the end of lease and the agent's often declared that it's been considered acceptable wear and tear. So I can't actually get any bond back. So for me now the answer is always no. But you have a captive audience. Look, I've even in the past received from a mayor a reference written for a cat for a tenant and I even said no. It might be something you're interested in. You can potentially put in a pet bond that will protect you. You could put in extra rent which might actually push up your income. And be aware that there are a lot of people out there looking for properties with pets. So it could be a great opportunity for you to get that property rented. Okay, I hope you've liked this video and as always, please head over to my website YourPropertySuccess.com Sign up for my newsletter, check out my online courses. There's so much information there that I'd love to share with you. And don't forget to hit the like button on this video and subscribe if you want to hear more about how to build a successful property portfolio in Australia and learn how to build a decent nest egg for you and your family. And as always, here is to your property success, Sam.
