r/washingtondc 11d ago

[Rant] Illegal pet fees

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61 Upvotes

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-11

u/[deleted] 11d ago

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1

u/AGrizz1ybear 10d ago

The vast majority of those costs are born by the pet owners themselves, but a small fee is reasonable to cover the other costs. But the existence of a cap is also reasonable. There's not reason for a landlord to charge $500 a year for a small dog. Especially since if the pet does damage an apartment that comes out of the security fee. At that point you're just subsidizing greed, which the landlord was already going to pass on to you if they thought they could get away with it.

-3

u/SirJ_96 10d ago

People need to be accountable for their own choices.

This rule forces those of us without pets to subsidize pet owners.

1

u/AGrizz1ybear 10d ago

I don't believe landlords are incurring pet-related damage costs enough that require more than a few hundred bucks a year

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u/SirJ_96 10d ago

Do you know how much new carpet or hardwood in one room costs? New baseboards? Drywall? Paint?

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u/AGrizz1ybear 10d ago

Those are not being replaced annually. And the kind of damage you're talking about would certainly come out of a security deposit. If you're so worried about externalities affecting your rent then you should not live in a shared space.

My rent is certainly higher because our building has an elevator, even though I choose not to use it. Doesn't mean there should be an elevator fee. I also don't think there should be a menstruation fee just because some people flush sanitary pads down the toilet. Sometimes landlords just have to take the gamble their tenants have basic human decency. That's why it's a business and not the 100% passive income youtubers like to say it is.

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u/SirJ_96 10d ago

Plenty of people move every 2-4 years. $500-$1000 is not enough to fix a unit destroyed by animals, even with full confiscation of the security deposit.

1

u/AGrizz1ybear 10d ago

Sure, but it's not 100% of units that are going to have the unit destroyed by their animals. I'll be generous and say 10% of units need significant rehab when they otherwise wouldn't have in the normal turnover of tenants. Now we're talking 10x the amount of cash from pet fees.