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Landlord is trying to charge me a $50/month pet rent for a hamster. Is this a joke?
"Just got my lease renewal. my lease just says no dogs or cats without approval during an inspection last week, they saw my kid's hamster cage. Now they sent an addendum demanding a $300 non refundable pet deposit and $50 a month for the hamster.
ofcourse im not paying $600 a year for a rodent that lives in a glass box so can I just refuse to sign this part or will they actually evict me over a hamster?"
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A father carrying his son in his arms, opening the fridge.
Subjects are models.
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This is one of those situations where it feels like someone is testing the waters just to see what they can get away with. If nobody pushes back, why not tack on another fee? Before you know it, goldfish will need renter's insurance and guinea pigs will have to pay an HOA. Of course, every lease and every state is different, so whether the landlord can actually enforce something like this is a legal question. But from a purely common-sense perspective, it's hard not to find the whole thing ridiculous. If a hamster that never leaves a glass enclosure is considered a premium pet, I'd love to see the spreadsheet that explains how those damages add up. Reddit had some useful advice for this tenant. In the meantime, we're just hoping the hamster never finds out how much rent it's allegedly behind on.
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A hamster in a cage with a pine cone.
Subjects are models
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As a property manager, I DESPISE pet rent. It's legal; they can do it. But it doesn't make sense. I think a lot of it is a response to how some states limit deposits.
In 20 years, the most damaging pets I've seen in order are (just because I feel like ranting):
Fish tanks (can cause thousands of dollars of damage)
Cats (I think it's mostly on the owners, but when they start peeing in the house, floors did to be stripped to the subfloor and sealed)
Small dog (specifically chihuahuas and other nervous breeds)
Rats (owners' fault)
Pets I have NEVER seen cause damage:
Reptiles/Turtles
Gerbils/Hamsters
A singular tamed raccoon named Fred
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LL here. Read your lease very closely regarding pets. If it only references specific conditions related to cats and dogs, then it is limited to cats and dogs. If there is some other language that acts as a catch-all for any other animals, then be sure to pay attention to it. If there is no reference for pets other than cats and dogs, they have no standing to charge anything...this lease (but do not be surprised if the next one has new rules).
I do agree that a deposit and monthly charge for a hamster is a little much.
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They may very well evict you for owning the hamster, you won't know until you have a hamster without paying. How understanding they will be is up to them, past experiences and how clean you keep that cage if they find out.
I have personally seen a guy I knew that bought his daughter a hamster. She didn't take care of. Caged. The wall behind the cage ended up coated in gross and the urine stained the carpet because she didn't change the bedding. Plus her room smelled due to it.
Eventually evicted, but not only for the hamster... but that helped.
Part of the blame is on people like them.
The landlord doesnt know if you are the best pet owner in the world, or like that guy and his daughter. That is why the pet fees are blanketed for anyone with a pet and any pet sometimes. With that said, $50 a month is a little steep, but maybe they had bad experiences before.
Humans are expected to urinate and defecate in a toilet. Pets don't and some people don't mind a section of the house ending up a cesspit.
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If it's listed in the lease as cats and dogs, then no. They specified the types of animals that they charge for. But they won't be renewing your lease next year.
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Just say the thing d*ed. They do die quite easily. Or you gave it to the school.
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This is not something I would charge for, but I did recently get an application from somebody who had a ferret. Not quite sure how you write policies that allow one, but not the other.
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A hamster in a glass box is not going to damage anything or create liability the way a dog or cat would, most lease language that says no pets or pets require approval is aimed at animals that can scratch, pee, cause noise, or create actual wear and tear, a hamster doesn't fit any of that. $300 non refundable plus $50/month for a rodent is absolutely them testing whether you'll just accept whatever number they throw at you. check your original lease carefully for exact wording on the pet clause, if it specifically says no dogs or cats then a hamster technically isn't prohibited and they don't have grounds to suddenly charge you for one they didn't even know about until the inspection. if it's vaguer like no pets you have a stronger argument about intent, but either way charging $50/month for something that costs you maybe $20 a month in bedding is excessive and they know it. i wouldn't sign an addendum that fundamentally changes the economics of your lease without good reason, you can refuse to sign it and likely push back pretty hard here, evicting over a $50/month hamster charge they just invented would look bad on them in front of a judge if it somehow got there, which it won't because no one's going to court over a hamster. i'd respond in writing saying the hamster wasn't in the original lease, it doesn't fit the no dogs/cats language, and you're declining the addendum as written, then see if they actually push or if they just drop it since it's obviously not going to hold up if you stand firm. i work on resolverent.com and honestly the suddenly add new fees to a lease after move-in pattern is something worth documenting formally, might be worth putting this refusal in writing through it so you have it properly structured if they escalate.
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My husband and I rent our granny cottage at the back of our property to a grad student— we charged him a deposit and pet rent for his cat, but he has a snake and a salamander in separate terrariums that we don’t charge rent for.
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It's likely legal, but I would just call their bluff and say you're going to move out.
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Clearly it’s not a joke the landlord has sent you a bill.
Your options are pay the 600 a year, get rid of the hamster or spend a lengthy amount of time and more money than 600 dollars disputing it. Which you have a solid case for seeing as he listed cats and dogs specifically, not just “pets” in general. But it’s still going to cost more than tbe additional pet fee.
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Does the lease say anything about pets other than dogs and cats? read it very carefully
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Not everyone realizes and that is why I brought it up. It wasn't necessarily for you. Most people in Alabama don't even realize that's the law
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