Pet deposit, pet fee, or pet rent: what landlords can charge

Landlords can generally charge a pet deposit, a one-time pet fee, or monthly pet rent, but state deposit caps decide how much of that money can be collected at move-in. Federal fair housing rules require reasonable accommodations for tenants with disabilities, so pet charges generally do not apply to an approved assistance animal.

The three charges differ in timing and in whether the tenant gets the money back. A pet deposit is paid at move-in and returned at move-out, minus documented damage the animal caused. A pet fee is a one-time payment the landlord keeps. Pet rent is a monthly amount added to the base rent for as long as the animal lives there. The table shows how three states with specific rules treat each one.

California has the broadest definition. Civil Code 1950.5(b) defines security as "any payment, fee, deposit, or charge" imposed at the start of a tenancy, which sweeps in both a pet deposit and a move-in pet fee. Under 1950.5(c)(1), total security cannot exceed one month's rent on top of the first month's rent. Subdivision (c)(5) allows up to two months for some small landlords. The landlord must be a natural person, or an LLC made up of natural persons, and own no more than two rental properties with no more than four units in total. Subdivision (n) bars any lease provision calling security nonrefundable. When the tenant moves out, deductions for pet damage are limited to a reasonable amount needed to restore the unit to its move-in condition, excluding ordinary wear and tear.

Hawaii takes a different approach on deposits. HRS 521-44(b) caps the regular security deposit at one month's rent but allows an additional pet deposit, agreed between the parties, of up to another month's rent. The pet deposit can be used only to cover damage caused by a pet the rental agreement allows. The same subsection says a landlord may not require any money at the start of a rental agreement other than the first month's rent and a security deposit, which leaves no room for a separate move-in pet fee.

Here is the Hawaii ceiling on a unit renting for $2,000 a month. The landlord could collect $2,000 for the first month, a $2,000 security deposit, and a pet deposit of up to $2,000, for a maximum of $6,000 at move-in. Adding a $250 pet fee on top would break the subsection's ban on other move-in money.

Massachusetts is the tightest. M.G.L. c. 186, s. 15B(1)(b) limits upfront payments to the first month's rent, the last month's rent, a security deposit of no more than one month's rent, and the cost of a new lock. Any pet deposit has to live inside that single deposit and follow the same receipt and bank account rules.

Assistance animals sit outside all of this. 24 CFR 100.204 is a fair housing rule issued by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. It makes it unlawful to refuse reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices, or services when needed to give a person with a disability an equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling. The rule's own first example is a blind applicant with a guide dog in a building with a no-pets policy. In HUD-assisted housing for older adults and people with disabilities, 24 CFR 5.303 says owners may not apply or enforce pet policies against animals needed as a reasonable accommodation. Hawaii's statute says outright that the extra pet deposit cannot be required for an assistance animal.

A sample pet clause and the move-in math

This clause pairs a refundable deposit with monthly pet rent, which works in all three states as long as the deposit stays within the cap. Adjust the bracketed details:

Pet. Tenant may keep one [dog, breed, approximate weight] named [name] at the Premises. Tenant will pay a refundable pet deposit of $400, held with the security deposit and returned under the same rules, less the documented cost of damage caused by the pet beyond ordinary wear and tear. Tenant will pay pet rent of $45 per month, due with the rent. Tenant is responsible for waste cleanup, noise, and any injury or damage the pet causes. This clause does not apply to an assistance animal approved as a reasonable accommodation, and no pet deposit, pet fee, or pet rent will be charged for one.

Now the math for a California unit renting for $2,200 a month from a corporate owner, where security is capped at one month's rent. Suppose the landlord's first draft asked for a $2,200 security deposit, a $400 pet deposit, and a $300 nonrefundable pet fee. That is $2,900 in security, $700 over the cap, with a fee the statute forbids calling nonrefundable. The fixed version charges a $1,800 general deposit plus the $400 pet deposit, which equals the $2,200 cap. At move-in the tenant pays $2,200 in security, $2,200 for the first month, and $45 in first-month pet rent, for a total of $4,445. Over a 12-month lease, the pet rent adds $540, and none of it comes back at move-out.

A landlord who qualifies for the small-landlord exception in 1950.5(c)(5) could collect up to $4,400 in total security on the same unit, pet deposit included. For the rest of the addendum, including vaccination records, breed limits, and damage terms, see our guide on how to write a pet addendum and attach it to your residential lease.

Sources

• California Civil Code 1950.5 (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov)
• Hawaii Revised Statutes 521-44 (capitol.hawaii.gov)
• M.G.L. c. 186, s. 15B (malegislature.gov)
• 24 CFR 100.204 (ecfr.gov)
• 24 CFR 5.303 (ecfr.gov)