3 ms·

I would think that if a pet causes a high amount of real damage, the landlord should still be able to seek remuneration for that damage. They just can't charge

by jawns 11d ago

I would think that if a pet causes a high amount of real damage, the landlord should still be able to seek remuneration for that damage. They just can't charge for it in advance.

dmitrygr 11d ago
Now we know you have never been a landlord... "Seek it after the fact" works out in ~0% of the time. Best case is you can sell the debt to a collections agency for ten cents on the dollar, and that is after a court case that you are unlikely to win in the first place. This is why security deposits exist. Cause "get it after" rarely works out.
- lokar 11d ago
  Because it exceeds the security deposit?
  - dmitrygr 11d ago
    security deposits are set such that "exceeds" is rare precisely because collecting is impossible on average
throw8383939 11d ago
Did you ever had to salvage house after cats or dogs? Normal deposit or insurance does not cover that! Usually it means replacing carpets, wooden floors and bottom part of walls! Urine contamination gets everywhere , there is no way to remove that smell!!
- verdverm 11d ago
  the monthly fee is not going to cover that amount of damage either we already have courts and torts to cover those rare occasions
  - throw8383939 11d ago
    "Rare occasions"? Really? Edit: right, dogs never ever urinate inside house. It is extraordinary event, that should involve courts!
    - verdverm 11d ago
      As a new account, please review the comment Guidelines https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
- deleted 11d ago
  [deleted]
Schiendelman 11d ago
The ordinance does not prohibit a pet deposit.
missinglugnut 11d ago
It's an insurance premium of sorts. They are statistically much more likely to have a problem, so they adjust they rent to make the deal a positive expected value again. Urine soaking into a subfloor can easily cost more to repair than the security deposit, and recovering damages in court is hard and expensive in its own right (if the person even has money to take). Not to mention, even when there's no apparent damage, a pet apartment can require extra cleaning to get rid of odors and dander. It just makes sense for the landlord to price in a potential headache.

by jawns 11d ago

I would think that if a pet causes a high amount of real damage, the landlord should still be able to seek remuneration for that damage. They just can't charge for it in advance.

dmitrygr 11d ago

Now we know you have never been a landlord... "Seek it after the fact" works out in ~0% of the time. Best case is you can sell the debt to a collections agency for ten cents on the dollar, and that is after a court case that you are unlikely to win in the first place. This is why security deposits exist. Cause "get it after" rarely works out.

lokar 11d ago
Because it exceeds the security deposit?
- dmitrygr 11d ago
  security deposits are set such that "exceeds" is rare precisely because collecting is impossible on average

throw8383939 11d ago

Did you ever had to salvage house after cats or dogs? Normal deposit or insurance does not cover that! Usually it means replacing carpets, wooden floors and bottom part of walls! Urine contamination gets everywhere , there is no way to remove that smell!!

verdverm 11d ago
the monthly fee is not going to cover that amount of damage either we already have courts and torts to cover those rare occasions
- throw8383939 11d ago
  "Rare occasions"? Really? Edit: right, dogs never ever urinate inside house. It is extraordinary event, that should involve courts!
  - verdverm 11d ago
    As a new account, please review the comment Guidelines https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
deleted 11d ago
[deleted]

Schiendelman 11d ago

The ordinance does not prohibit a pet deposit.

missinglugnut 11d ago

It's an insurance premium of sorts. They are statistically much more likely to have a problem, so they adjust they rent to make the deal a positive expected value again. Urine soaking into a subfloor can easily cost more to repair than the security deposit, and recovering damages in court is hard and expensive in its own right (if the person even has money to take). Not to mention, even when there's no apparent damage, a pet apartment can require extra cleaning to get rid of odors and dander. It just makes sense for the landlord to price in a potential headache.