I personally love dogs and I think they are beautiful and amazing companions.
We had a dog when I was living with my parents and they still have a dog. But now, I hesitate to rent my apartments to people with dogs. It’s nothing personal, I have done it, experienced it and would never do it again.
I bought my first rental property back in 2014 and I really didn’t care for first few years about pets. During first 2-4 years, I have rented apartments to many tenants with dogs and I have come to conclusion that it’s not worth the hassle.
I still rent apartments to people with cats though, cats may also be doing some damage but it’s comparatively less than a damage done by dogs. Cats mostly stay inside that reduces their chances of impacting the outer space of property, whereas Dogs can damage inside as well as outside space of the apartments.
This is not my belief, it’s something that I personally experienced while managing rental property; I am sure there are other people who may had different experience and not every pet owner is same. I have no hate for people with dogs and It’s just matter of choice for business.
Let’s look at few personal experiences :
Noise
This one is obvious; dogs can be very noisy. One time, we had a dog in one of the apartments who even barks if someone passes in front of the apartment.
I got so many complaints about this and eventually that tenant moved out.
Damaged Apartment
Dogs scratch the floors, Pee can damage the wooden floor or carpets, we can find dog hairs all over the apartment.
Screen doors can be found pretty much damaged of each apartment with the dog, no exception so far.
I am living in Quebec, which is rent controlled and heaven for tenants, it’s difficult to fight small changes in court and very time consuming, it will come out of my pocket.
Destroyed Grass with dog pee
This one really annoyed me, I worked for months to have nice grass in the backyard and it’s destroyed completely once one of the tenants with dog moves in to the building. I asked that tenant multiple times but no luck and eventually replaced the grass with stones.
Above picture of grass being destroyed on front side of property, I guess tenant was not done after destroying the grass on back side and started taking his dog to the grass on the front of the building. I am planning to close this area completely, so no one can access it.
I really liked to have grass and that choice is taken away from me.
Problem to access the apartment in case of emergency or maintenance
We had a tenant whose dog was aggressive and dangerous, and it was just so difficult to get an appointment with tenant to do repairs. I had to call him many times or keep sending him reminders to make sure that dog is inside the room or in the cage when we arrive.
Backyard full of dog poop
Most of my tenants cleaned up after their dogs but many times they do after few hours or next day. It means, I see dog poop every time I go out there. I tried to talk to people and they just tell me it’s not their dog, there was no way to prove unless we got camera’s in the back. I seriously thought about installing the camera’s, but for a start I just put some signs which didn’t help much.
Dog Pee marks all over the backyard and front of the building
Who in their right mind will let their dog pee in-front of the entrance door?
I guess, I had experienced every situation with the dogs 😊. One of my tenants allow his dog to pee in front of the main entrance. I talked to my tenant many times but he has not stopped even after that.
Dog poop in the stairs
This one is new though; Sometimes I find dog poop in the stairs area. It’s very strange and no one accepts that it’s done by their dog.
Dog who cry so loud when his owner leave home for work
This particular dog bothered too many people as I got lots of complaints from other tenants in the building. This dog start crying at 7-8 am every morning when his owner leaves for work, while some of the other people are still sleeping and were really bothered by this dog.
He also gets too much excited when his owner returns which shakes the whole apartment. People living under this tenant’s apartment can feel and hear this dog running from window to door.
Dog hairs all over the stairs
My vacuum cleaner was full of hairs every time I clean. I can easily notice hairs on the stairs if I miss to clean the stairway for few days. This is not really a big deal though as it’s just part of cleaning.
Difficulty renting other apartments in the same building
Onetime, I was trying to rent out an apartment located next to tenant who has a dog. This dog started to bark crazy every time someone comes for apartment visit. Who in their right mind will rent the apartment when they hear this dog going crazy next door? I had to talk to dog owner after few unsuccessful visits and they put the dog in cage for some time to resolve this.
This blog is about the situations which I faced with dog owners and these are all real situation which happened. I don’t have any hate for anyone, and I don’t want to blame or change anyone. This is just a platform to share my experience, nothing more and nothing less.
Please leave your feedback or suggestions in comments.
