{"id":21874,"date":"2026-09-29T02:59:35","date_gmt":"2026-09-29T02:59:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/imsfund.com\/?p=21874"},"modified":"2026-09-29T02:59:35","modified_gmt":"2026-09-29T02:59:35","slug":"unauthorized-pets-in-rentals-what-they-cost-landlords","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/imsfund.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/29\/unauthorized-pets-in-rentals-what-they-cost-landlords\/","title":{"rendered":"Unauthorized Pets in Rentals: What They Cost Landlords"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"post-content\" :class=\"{ 'hidden': $store.proContent.showFullPrompt() }\">\n                            <!-- Table of contents: mobile --><\/p>\n<section class=\"px-4 relative border border-slate-200 mobile-toc lg:hidden\" x-data=\"{open:false}\">\n                    <button x-on:click=\"open = !open\" class=\"flex items-center gap-4 my-2 border-none w-full\"><br \/>\n                        <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"h-6 w-6\" fill=\"none\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\"><path stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" d=\"M4 8h16M4 16h16\"\/><\/svg><\/p>\n<p class=\"font-semibold text-slate-800 text-base m-0 js-toc-ignore\">In This Article<\/p>\n<p>                    <\/button><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">I want to tell you about a puppy.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">It was a mixed-breed puppy, which is the dog version of a mystery box (you don\u2019t know exactly what\u2019s inside, and I\u2019m not convinced the dog does either). It was not house-trained. It was also staying at one of my properties, and nobody told me.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Someone snuck it in, so I found out about the puppy around the same time I found out about everything it had done. Those are two things I typically prefer in reverse order. This one chewed through baseboards, ruined floors, and kept going until the bill hit about $7,000. On a rental <\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/rental-property-cash-flow-analysis\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">cash-flowing<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> $300 a month, that\u2019s almost two years of cash flow eaten by a puppy (in the baseboards\u2019 case, literally).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">(Before anybody from the rescue world emails me: I\u2019m building a dog-first hotel, and this is a pro-dog article. It\u2019s also an anti-surprise article).<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">What bugs me is how avoidable <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">most of it<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> was. If that puppy had been disclosed and screened, we\u2019d have known what was coming and planned for it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Every landlord eventually meets their own version of this puppy, and $7,000 turned out to be the cheap version. The expensive versions come down to what your paperwork can prove, which, for an animal nobody told you about, isn\u2019t much.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">You\u2019re Not the Only One Who Got Surprised<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">PetScreening surveyed 673 property managers and leasing pros for its <\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.prnewswire.com\/news-releases\/petscreening-unveils-2026-state-of-pets-in-rental-housing-report-302701693.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">2026 State of Pets in Rental Housing<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> report. Unauthorized pets <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">came out as<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> their top pet problem.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The same report found that only 43% of renters say they have a pet, compared with 71% of U.S. households, according to the American Pet Products Association. That\u2019s a 28-point gap. Either renters are less into pets than everybody else, or plenty of dogs are living off the books, which is the report\u2019s theory too.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Usually, nobody\u2019s running a con. Someone adopts a puppy in month seven and never thinks to call you. <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">A girlfriend\u2019s dog comes over for a weekend in February and <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">is<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> somehow still <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">there<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> at Easter.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"justify-center \" x-data=\"{ IabAdad_block_: popAd(['r720x90'], '1') }\" :class=\"IabAdad_block_.linkURL ? 'flex pt-8' : 'hidden'\">\n    <a x-show=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/IabAdad_block_.linkURL\" :href=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/IabAdad_block_.linkURL\" x-on:click=\"adClicked('https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/unauthorized-pets-in-rentals', IabAdad_block_.sponsor, IabAdad_block_.title, IabAdad_block_.id, 'blockAdClicked', 'blockAd', 'postContent')\" target=\"_blank\" x-init=\"adLoaded('https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/unauthorized-pets-in-rentals', IabAdad_block_.sponsor, IabAdad_block_.title, IabAdad_block_.id, 'postContent')\" x-intersect:enter.once=\"adViewed('https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/unauthorized-pets-in-rentals', IabAdad_block_.sponsor, IabAdad_block_.title, IabAdad_block_.id, 'blockAdViewed', 'blockAd', 'postContent')\"><\/p>\n<div class=\" hidden sm:block\">\n        <img class=\"m-0\" :src=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/IabAdad_block_.r720x90\" :alt=\"IabAdad_block_.r720x90Alt\" loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"low\"\/>\n      <\/div>\n<div class=\"block sm:hidden\">\n          <img class=\"m-0\" :src=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/IabAdad_block_.r320x50\" :alt=\"IabAdad_block_.r320x50Alt\" loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"low\"\/>\n        <\/div>\n<p>          <\/a>\n  <\/div>\n<h2><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The Bills Come Later<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Insurance usually won\u2019t touch pet damage to the unit. Standard renter\u2019s policies exclude it, and no adjuster in America considers a puppy an act of God (except maybe Air Bud). Chewed baseboards and a carpet that smells like a kennel get filed under preventable wear. That leaves your security deposit doing a job plenty of landlords assume insurance is doing.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Bites are the bigger number. Insurers paid <\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/insuranceindustryblog.iii.org\/dog-related-injury-claims-on-the-rise-in-2025\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">$1.86 billion on 28,450<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> dog-related injury claims in 2025, averaging $65,450 per claim, according to the Insurance Information Institute and State Farm. On that same $300-a-month cash-flowing rental, a single average claim eats up about 18 years of cash flow.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The tenant\u2019s renter\u2019s policy is supposed to pay for a bite first. <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Plenty<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> exclude certain breeds or any dog with a history of bites, and it gets messier if the tenant never told their insurer <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">either<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">.<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> If you didn\u2019t know the dog existed, you never asked for proof of coverage. Your own landlord policy <\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.moneygeek.com\/insurance\/renters\/pet-liability-renters-coverage\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">may have animal exclusions<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">, too, and it\u2019s better to find that now than in a denial letter.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Disputes come down to <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">paperwork<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">I\u2019ll use Texas as an example because that\u2019s where my properties are. Once a tenant moves out and provides a forwarding address, <\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/codes.findlaw.com\/tx\/property-code\/prop-sect-92-103\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Property Code 92.103<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> starts a 30-day clock for the deposit refund. Anything you keep needs a written, itemized list under <\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/law.justia.com\/codes\/texas\/property-code\/title-8\/chapter-92\/subchapter-c\/section-92-104\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">92.104<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">, and normal wear and tear doesn\u2019t count.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">If they sue, <\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/codes.findlaw.com\/tx\/property-code\/prop-sect-92-109\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">92.109<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> puts the burden on you to prove the deductions were reasonable. Miss the 30 days and the law presumes bad faith. That clock does not care how busy your month was. A bad-faith finding costs $100 plus three times what you wrongly kept, plus the tenant\u2019s attorney\u2019s fees.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Say you keep $600 for floor damage, your list goes out on day 34, and a judge rules against you. Now you owe $1,900, plus a lawyer you never hired.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">If <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">the animal were<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> never disclosed, you would have even less to work with.<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> There\u2019s no pet addendum or description of the animal, and nothing signed showing the tenant knew your rules on pet sitting or adopting mid-lease. \u201cI\u2019m pretty sure those scratches weren\u2019t there\u201d won\u2019t carry much weight when the burden of proof is on you.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">(Outside Texas? Your state has its own deadlines and penalties. Look them up before a move-out forces the issue.)<\/span><\/p>\n<aside class=\"my-10 xl:my-4\">\n<p class=\"font-bold mt-0 mb-4 text-xl text-slate capitalize\">You might also like<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<h3><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">That neighbor email is Exhibit A<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">In Texas, owning the house doesn\u2019t automatically <\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.jahlawfirm.com\/landlords-liability-for-dog-bites-in-texas\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">make you responsible for a tenant\u2019s dog<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">. Liability usually turns on what you knew about the dog being dangerous and whether you did anything once you knew.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Now picture the neighbor\u2019s email saying the tenant\u2019s dog charged her kid at the mailbox again. That email is evidence you knew. You can\u2019t unread it. Attorneys in bite cases love a written complaint like that, especially next to a lease rule nobody enforced.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Three Houses, Three Rulebooks<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Nobody sets out to run three different pet policies. It happens one house at a time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">House A has the good pet addendum and move-in photos.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">House B has a one-line \u201cno pets\u201d clause.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">House C is on a <\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/what-to-include-in-a-lease-agreement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">lease<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> somebody downloaded in 2019.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Each one looks fine on its own. Together, they read like a group project where the members never met.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">That works until those leases have to back each other up in front of a judge or a fair housing investigator. They notice when similar situations got handled differently.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Assistance animals and ESA\u2019s make this more urgent. <\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/nlihc.org\/resource\/hud-announces-shift-away-disability-discrimination-cases-involving-emotional-support\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">HUD withdrew<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> its assistance animal guidance in September 2025. A May 22, 2026, memo narrowed federal enforcement to animals individually trained for disability-related work or tasks. State laws didn\u2019t change; residents can still sue on their own, and attorneys are telling landlords to be careful with denials.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">With the federal approach changing twice in eight months, this is not the place to freestyle. Have an attorney in your state review how you handle these requests.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">One Pet Process for Every Door<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The fix is boring: Run the same pet process on every property and keep the record. It\u2019s free for housing providers, and more than 28,000 property management firms and communities use it. On a long-term rental, it looks like this:<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Everyone Goes Through It:<\/span><\/strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> That includes residents with no animals. Their profile is free, takes a few minutes, and has them acknowledge your rules on pet sitting, visiting pets, and getting a pet mid-lease. That\u2019s the signature you\u2019ll want when the weekend dog is still around at Easter.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Every Animal Gets a File:<\/span><\/strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> Pet owners upload photos and vaccination records, then attest to your policies and their pet\u2019s history, including bites. You get a FIDO Score, a paw rating of the pet\u2019s housing risk built from more than 35 data points. It won\u2019t <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">make the decision<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> for you, but it helps you make it <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">the same way<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> at every property.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Assistance Animals and ESAs Get Their Own Lane: <\/span><\/strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Requests go to PetScreening\u2019s in-house review team, which verifies the documentation with the healthcare provider. Residents don\u2019t pay a profile fee, and you\u2019re not improvising on a legal question that\u2019s still moving.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Re-Up at Renewal: <\/span><\/strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Have every resident refresh their profile every year. That\u2019s how you meet the new puppy at renewal instead of at move-out.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">One Dashboard for Every Door:<\/span><\/strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> Every animal and signed policy lives in one place, and it integrates with property management software, including Buildium, Rent Manager, AppFolio, and Yardi. When the neighbor emails, you can pull up that dog\u2019s file instead of guessing.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">If a property manager runs your doors, try this: Pick three random units (not the three you know are fine) and ask for the animal record on each. If it takes more than a few minutes, that\u2019s your gap.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Back to That Puppy<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">None of that $7,000 was the puppy\u2019s fault. A rescue that isn\u2019t house-trained yet is just being a puppy. The problem was that no one on our side knew it was there, so no one had a plan.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">So yes, still pro-dog, still anti-surprise. Most residents with pets will do this right if you give them a clear, single process, and that costs way less than the surprise.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.petscreening.com\/industries\/long-term-rentals?utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_source=site-biggerpockets&amp;utm_campaign=2026_OUT_SF_Bigger_Pockets\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Get the animals on paper before you have a puppy that has an appetite for baseboards.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/unauthorized-pets-in-rentals\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In This Article I want to tell you about a puppy. It was a mixed-breed puppy, which is the dog version of a mystery box (you don\u2019t know exactly what\u2019s inside, and I\u2019m not convinced the dog does either). It was not house-trained. It was also staying at one of my properties, and nobody told [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":21875,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/pet-screening-1024x517.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21874","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/imsfund.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21874","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/imsfund.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/imsfund.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imsfund.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imsfund.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21874"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/imsfund.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21874\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21876,"href":"https:\/\/imsfund.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21874\/revisions\/21876"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imsfund.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21875"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/imsfund.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21874"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imsfund.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21874"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imsfund.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21874"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}