Make Room for Fido: How to Pet-Proof a Rental Property?

Published Date: 2009-10-12 Is your rental pet-proofed? Pet proofing a rental means that your unit is prepared to receive tenants with pets. Let's face it, pets are the new surrogate kids nowadays. Housing seekers traveling with pets use gentle persuasion with terms like: "well-mannered, house-trained, small/medium-sized, quiet, mindful and clean" to describe their pets. The pros in considering a tenant with a pet is a renter's willingness to pay more and the ability to attract more renters. The con is the possible wear-and-tear of the property. Therefore, it makes sense to pet-proof a rental so that it can attract more renters. Here are some pet-proofing tips:
- Plan ahead and get furniture that can be cleaned easily such as microfiber. Avoid material like leather that can be scratched up.
- Buy furniture covers for couches and chairs. These covers can be found at places like Ikea or Target.
- Buy a hepa-filtered vacuum and a handheld vacuum and negotiate with the tenant to use them frequently. Outfit the rental with a portable air purifier. These devices also use hepa filters to help refresh the air inside a room.