Pets in Condos

[topfiverecords]

I'm moving in with my emotional support Clydesdale and there's nothing you can do about it.

[BeltlineFan]

Originally Posted by stone hands

ours is in the spare bathroom. get a litterbox with a lid, makes a world of difference

Yes! I bought some 'benches' from Ikea (I think they're actually a bench with a slide out toy box from the kids department), cut a hole in the front and put the litter box in there. The litter that tracks out of the box is minimal and we actually use the benches at each door so people can put their shoes on.

The condo building I own a unit in and used to live in allows two pets per unit I believe. The condo board was aware we had more animals than that and there were no issues.

[photon]

I had one of these but never got to use it (had to get rid of the cat), supposedly liquefies the waste and sends it down the drain.

I figured there's a pretty good chance that it freaks out your cat and they never enter the same room as it but seemed like a good idea.

https://www.costco.ca/CatGenie-120-S...100012952.html

[FireGilbert]

It should be illegal for condo boards to ban pets. Doesn’t necessarily help if you are a renter but it’s a good start.

[DownInFlames]

Originally Posted by photon

I had one of these but never got to use it (had to get rid of the cat), supposedly liquefies the waste and sends it down the drain.

I figured there's a pretty good chance that it freaks out your cat and they never enter the same room as it but seemed like a good idea.

https://www.costco.ca/CatGenie-120-S...100012952.html

A+ Photoshop job on that photo.

[DownInFlames]

Originally Posted by FireGilbert

It should be illegal for condo boards to ban pets. Doesn’t necessarily help if you are a renter but it’s a good start.

If pets stayed only in the condo and didn't affect other people I'd agree with you. In a condo you're sharing common property and a dog can be noisy and crap all over a lawn so I can understand why people restrict them.

[burn_this_city]

Problem is the idiots with small dogs that bark from dawn until dusk because they have separation anxiety, or Piti guy with a 100lb land shark that barks up a storm and lunges at the door when someone is in the hall. Stupid people ruin life for everyone.

[FireGilbert]

Originally Posted by DownInFlames

If pets stayed only in the condo and didn't affect other people I'd agree with you. In a condo you're sharing common property and a dog can be noisy and crap all over a lawn so I can understand why people restrict them.

A condo could have policies preventing pets in common areas but shouldn't be able to stop owners from keeping pets in the condo they own.

If you don't want to deal with close neighbours who have noisy kids, dogs, etc., maybe don't live in a condo.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by FireGilbert

A condo could have policies preventing pets in common areas but shouldn't be able to stop owners from keeping pets in the condo they own.

If you don't want to deal with close neighbours who have noisy kids, dogs, etc., maybe don't live in a condo.

Or maybe there are so many condos that there should be lots of different options like no kids and no pets and small pets and free for all. When you buy a Condo you also buy a set of bylaws and that should factor into purchase decisions.

There is no reason to force people who chose a Condo because they like that lifestyle except from kids or pets to have to have to live with people with kids or pets.

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by FireGilbert

It should be illegal for condo boards to ban pets. Doesn’t necessarily help if you are a renter but it’s a good start.

That is a terrible idea. There are so many terrible pet owners this would make condo ownership a non-starter for many. If you can't do anything about someone's loud/destructive animal in your building, that makes it pretty risky to buy a condo imo.

As for renters, the reason so many landlords either won't take pets or charge a bunch extra is the same as above. Tons of terrible pet owners. Once you've repaired $3-5k worth of pet damage and kept a $1k security deposit once, it really affects your warm fuzzy feelings about people's pets.

[troutman]

My friend's downtown condo had to put a memo in the elevators asking residents not to allow their dogs to urinate in the elevator (and not clean it up too). Who behaves like this? There are cameras in the elevator.

[mk074]

I live in a small 10 unit building and we have no animal policy. You don't even have to get them approved. I don't think it impacts my life at all minus some barking now and than. But I don't necessary agree with someone having multiple dogs in a small one bedroom apt.

I have a rental that allows animals by approval.. there is no limit stated anywhere but I have never seen anyone with multiple dogs. But if you are renting out your unit no animals are allowed.

[Knut]

When we ripped up the carpet in one of our rental condos to replace the floor there was 4-5 pools of cat piss soaked into the underlay and on the wood below. It was gag inducing.

This changed our policy on animals in the condo. NO pets from now on.

[fulham]

Difficult issue. Most of our buildings are no pets allowed. In the select ones where we do allow it there is a $1000-1500 pet deposit which is refundable. If you walk a building you can pretty quickly tell which floors have cats and dogs on them.

We have way more tenants that specifically want a no pet apartment, than those who want to have them allowed even with the large deposit.

[photon]

Originally Posted by Hes

When we ripped up the carpet in one of our rental condos to replace the floor there was 4-5 pools of cat piss soaked into the underlay and on the wood below. It was gag inducing.

This changed our policy on animals in the condo. NO pets from now on.

Had a similar thing with a dog. Pro tip: Killz also works on plywood underflooring to seal in that smell!

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by fulham

Difficult issue. Most of our buildings are no pets allowed. In the select ones where we do allow it there is a $1000-1500 pet deposit which is refundable. If you walk a building you can pretty quickly tell which floors have cats and dogs on them.

We have way more tenants that specifically want a no pet apartment, than those who want to have them allowed even with the large deposit.

Are you in Alberta? I'm pretty sure the maximum refundable deposit here is 1 months rent total.

[photon]

Originally Posted by bizaro86

Are you in Alberta? I'm pretty sure the maximum refundable deposit here is 1 months rent total.

Yup, if you want to split that between pet and non pet you can, but it's max 1 month no matter how you split it. Which is why there's non-refundable pet fees or higher rent for pet owners.

[fulham]

Originally Posted by bizaro86

Are you in Alberta? I'm pretty sure the maximum refundable deposit here is 1 months rent total.

Yes we are, mostly in BC and Ontario but here 1000-1500 covers a month rent in 1 to 2 bedrooms.

Most landlords have a hard decision on this issue, its either go no pets, or maybe go higher end and charge more, well also charging pet deposits.

I understand the pro pet side, but also ive seen a brand new suite with $20,000 damage after a year from a pet who destroyed the new hardwood, and almost every door and floorboard

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by photon

Yup, if you want to split that between pet and non pet you can, but it's max 1 month no matter how you split it. Which is why there's non-refundable pet fees or higher rent for pet owners.

That's what I thought. I already charge the max security deposit, so I can't add anything more for pets.

A larger refundable deposit is better than a fee imo, because it motivates people to try and be reasonable pet owners in hopes of getting the money back.

I think that law did a real disservice to pet owners, because now when asked about pets my answer is a hard no.

[activeStick]

I feel like in Toronto, owners cannot say that pets are not allowed when they rent out their units, but practically, owners who don't want to rent to people with pets simply won't rent to them.

I'm a dog lover myself, so I'm against banning pets, though I do understand the pain of having to make repairs to a unit that a pet destroys. It's impossible to not get scratch marks on hardwood floors when there's a dog, so I'd support a pet damage deposit to those with pets.

Excessive barking that causes a disturbance is a problem, though what is considered excessive would need to be defined. I'd support all pet owners getting a chance and then some sort of 3 strike rule around noise complaints.