If Rental Restrictions Were Lifted Tomorrow, We Could Save 10.8 Million Pets

Have you tried to rent with a pet lately? It’s getting harder and harder.?

Two pets? Really tough.?

Three or more pets? Nearly impossible.?

A dog labeled as a ‘pit bull’? In some places, actually impossible.?

Renters with pets face the constant, looming threat of being told their pet is no longer welcome and the continuous fear that they won’t always be able to find a place they can afford that also allows their pet(s). Pet restrictions, pet deposits, and pet ‘rent’ fees vary dramatically and are subject to frequent changes, meaning renters can never know their housing is truly secure.?

In August, Michelson Found Animals Foundation in partnership with the Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI), released their Pet Inclusive Housing Initiative Report, which provides a comprehensive overview of the impact of pet policies on the 43 million renter-occupied households in the U.S. 76% of rental property owners say their rentals are pet friendly but only 8% are free of restrictions. Half of the rental units that allow dogs have weight limits averaging around 45 pounds.?

What the tenants themselves say:

• 72% of tenants say pet-friendly housing is hard to find and 59% say it is too expensive
• 24% of tenants say their pet has been a reason for needing to move
• 14% of tenants have surrendered one or more pets as a result of their housing situation
• 33% of pet-owning residents would get another pet if restrictions on their rental housing were lifted
• 35% of residents without pets would get a pet if restrictions were lifted

What this all adds up to, according to HABRI, is that if restrictions were lifted, 10.8 million pets would be positively impacted, either by being adopted or by NOT being surrendered to an animal shelter.?

This means we could, with no other actions, virtually solve the pet homelessness problem and help even more pets. With only 6.5 million pets entering shelters annually and about 1.5 million losing their lives, lifting rental restrictions could completely transform our shelters and eliminate the need to house healthy, friendly cats and dogs in cages.?

When it comes to what the average person thinks about this subject, HABRI reports that 75% of people believe the government should make pet-friendly housing easier to find and 52% of people believe the government should limit restrictions on pet-friendly housing.?

One heartbreaking aspect of all of this is that the existence of the shelter, serving as a taxpayer-funded, no-questions-asked repository for pets that landlords refuse to allow, actually makes it possible for restrictive policies to continue unchecked. Plus, the pets most likely to enter into shelters are also those who are most often prohibited in rental housing - big dogs, cats, and banned breeds. There is a direct correlation between a lack of pet inclusive housing and the pets that end up in shelters.?

So what can we do? According to the report, the situation is not hopeless. They point to the fact that most landlords agree pets are valued family members and that allowing pets helps to fill rental units faster, gain longer-term tenants, and build better relationships among tenants. They also assert that only 11% of renters with pets ever cause damage and that the average cost to repair that damage is just about $200. What HABRI thinks is that it’s a matter of building better relationships among pet owners, animal welfare professionals, and rental agencies. HABRI envisions a future where all pets are welcomed in rental housing, with the expectation that the owner will act responsibly and the pet will behave appropriately.?

They’ve created easy-to-use documents and have even written a sample “Pet Positive Pet Agreement” landlords can use.?

The bottom line is this: The current situation for pet owners who rent needs to change now. 98% of pet owners consider their pets to be family members and pets, just like people, should be treated as such. Through advocacy, relationship building, individual and collective action, and telling our stories, we need to transform the system that is creating needless separation of pets and people.?

The next time you walk through your local shelter, and you see kennel-after-kennel, full of healthy, loving pets who have lost everything they know, remind yourself that this reality has virtually nothing to do with the pets themselves, but is rather due to the very human systems that tear families apart.