Apartment-dwelling bun slaves – Pet rent?

[bunnnnnnie!]

Does anyone pay a pet rent/pet deposit for their buns?  When I moved into my apartment, the office lady told me as long as the pet isn’t a dog/cat and is caged “most of the time”, there were no pet fees.  I just dropped off my rent today, and a different lady was asking me if I cage Zeus and if he’s caged at all times, etc. .  So it seems they don’t really have a set policy for non-dog/cat pets.  Although I guess most non-dog/cat pets aren’t free-roam like some rabbits are.

Zeus isn’t even a free-roam bun, he’s caged when I’m not here or asleep.  I just thought it’d be very odd for me to have to pay pet rent on him.  I liken it to paying pet rent for my hamster or gerbil. .  I’m just going to make sure not to let him be loose when maintenence guys come in, I guess.

So I’m curious, do you guys who live in apartments have to pay a pet rent, or pet fees, or a pet deposit for your bun(s)?  What’s your apartment’s policy on rabbits? 

[peppypoo]

Peppy and Milo have a deposit as well as a monthly rent. I would go to your leasing office and get something written up in the contract as to Zeus’ status…if it’s not on paper, it’s easy for one person to say it’s okay, and another person to say it’s not, which can lead to all sorts of complications.

[bunnnnnnie!]

Posted By peppypoo on 11/30/2011 10:03 AM

Peppy and Milo have a deposit as well as a monthly rent. I would go to your leasing office and get something written up in the contract as to Zeus’ status…if it’s not on paper, it’s easy for one person to say it’s okay, and another person to say it’s not, which can lead to all sorts of complications.

How much was your pet deposit and the pet rent, if you don’t mind me asking?
 

In either case, the apartment complex is pet friendly, so I know that’s not an issue.  But I agree, they really need some contract for non-dog/cat pets.  I’m a little afraid to bring it up though, if they decide to change their mind and make me pay pet rent after being here over a year without paying it.  I don’t have any proof that the office lady told me no pet rent as long as he spends “most of the time” in the cage, so I can’t really back that up with any sort of documentation.

[Sam and Lady's Human]

The pet policy isn’t in your lease?

[peppypoo]

Hmm Peppy and Milo don’t live with me currently, so I’d have to ask to get back to you on the charges.

If you bring up the subject with the management, maybe you could show them your intact apartment and his cage as proof that yes, he is caged uhhh some amount of time hehe, and also proof that after a whole year he hasn’t torn the place apart or stunk it up. Even if they don’t have a specific protocol for non-cat/dog animals, I imagine they can just write something up in the contract and minimize future confusion.

[bunnnnnnie!]

Posted By Sam and Lady’s Human on 11/30/2011 10:14 AM

The pet policy isn’t in your lease?

Nope.  The pet policy in the lease only includes dogs and cats.

 

[bunnnnnnie!]

Posted By peppypoo on 11/30/2011 10:23 AM

Hmm Peppy and Milo don’t live with me currently, so I’d have to ask to get back to you on the charges.

If you bring up the subject with the management, maybe you could show them your intact apartment and his cage as proof that yes, he is caged uhhh some amount of time hehe, and also proof that after a whole year he hasn’t torn the place apart or stunk it up. Even if they don’t have a specific protocol for non-cat/dog animals, I imagine they can just write something up in the contract and minimize future confusion.

Yeah I told the lady today anyone is welcome into my apartment at any time to see for themselves how he lives and the condition of my apartment.  She didn’t seem too concerned about it but it still makes me a bit concerned!

 

[Sarita]

Is it in your lease that you have a rabbit?

[bunnnnnnie!]

Posted By Sarita on 11/30/2011 10:26 AM

Is it in your lease that you have a rabbit?

No because there’s no “spot” in the lease for non-dog/cat pets.  It’s not covered at all.

 

[Sarita]

I guess they don’t have a place to have an addendum. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a lease and I think they do vary as well from state to state (as far as what wording should be in them).

[Stickerbunny]

Every apartment I have been in has a pet policy for dogs/cats, but they put anything four legged in that as well – rabbits, guinea pigs, etc. The deposit ranges from $200-$400 here per pet. I have never heard of “pet rent” before though, none of the apartments I have been in or looked at had that. Birds, fish, etc that they think can’t damage anything because they think they are 100% caged animals (hahaha, my bird is never in a cage) and even if they’re out they can’t hurt anything (tell that to my window trim the bird decided didn’t look right) got a free pass. But you need to have it in writing, or they could potentially cause a problem for you for going against your lease agreement. :s

[Elrohwen]

When we were renting we did pay an extra $25 a month for our buns. When we moved in it was a no pet apartment, so when I decided to get a rabbit I had to talk my landlord into it. He was very skeptical and had heard bad things about rabbits in apartments (his brother owned a lot of properties and had bad experience with rabbits), so I threw in the extra $25 a month to get him to agree to it. I may have gotten away without it if I hadn’t offered though 😛

[Stickerbunny]

Lucky Elroh, my landlord in the no-pet place wanted $1,000 as a deposit to have a guinea pig!

[Elrohwen]

That’s pretty silly! Did you get it all back?

We lost a little of our deposit, but we did live there for 4 years so a little wear and tear is inevitable. I think the only part of that caused by the rabbits was where Hannah nibbled at the corner of a wall. Haha. I think we only lost $100 overall or something.

[LoveChaCha]

None here…

The landlord thought that “it is a caged animal, so no pet rent.” Bwahahaha. My former neighbor used to have 2 rabbits in her apartment.

Cat and Dog owners have to pay pet rent. Also, certain breeds are not allowed in my complex.

Well, this morning, my dad caught Chacha digging up carpet!! He wasn’t mad AT ALL!! I was shocked at his reaction!! I have covered up the parts that she chewed up. My dad assumed a long time ago that we won’t be getting our deposit back anyway

[Stickerbunny]

Elroh, no didn’t pay it – we got a bird instead cause he thought they were caged animals and couldn’t do any harm, so it’d be OK. lol And when we moved we got the bunnies.

[LoveChaCha]

1,000 pet deposit? O_o that is huge! I have a friend that lives in another apartment complex and she had to pay a flat $250 deposit for her dog.

[kinggoblin]

 

[Malp_15]

I’m still living at home, but I know my cousin had to pay $500 pet deposit to get a cat, on top of her regular $500 damage deposit. I thought it was a bit ridiculous because her complex is in good condition but it’s OLD with no updating.

[BunnyDuck]

Ours don’t know they live inside. Shhhh!! 

We asked just before we got our buns what the pet policy was for rabbits and cats. They said for cats there is a $400 deposit (so we didn’t get a cat because we couldn’t afford the deposit at the time) and we said we were having our rabbits outside at that point so he said its nothing.. So I’m not sure if we need to pay or not.

They only come out to check the place out once a year with an appointment, so will probably just put our rabbits outside in the hutch for a couple of hours and keep on eye on them till they go. They should be none the wiser…  We are planning on moving around June 2012 anyway, and we will follow whatever pet policy they have on a place that we will move too.

[Kate Monster]

My current apartment has no fee for rabbits, though they are under the impression they are mostly caged.  Other places when I signed the lease here ranged from no fee to $200 up front, to an extra $10 a month.  Also, you should be able to get them to write it into your lease, that’s what I did.  It’s important so that if something happens like the office staff just didn’t know the owners’ policy or there are new building owners that they can’t come back and say ‘no rabbits’.  And so they can’t come back at you when you move out and demand a pet fee.  If your city has a tenant’s union that’s actually pretty good they can be a really good resource for things like that.

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