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My landlord wants me to put down a deposit for my cat and also come each month to "check up" and be sure she isn't somehow ruining the house. Our rent is $1150 and we have already put down a security of 1150, she is now asking an additional 1150 for the cat! Is this not obsurd?
Hell yes it's normal. It's a pet deposit...pets can ruin a home in a matter of days.
Don't take it personally, it's just a protection landlords need to cover for people who let their pets piss and shit inside, chew or scratch things up, dig up the yard, etc.
Watch the People's Court just once or twice and you'll see some of the nastiest pet owners, filthy motherfuckers who ruin a home, and cause thousands in damage. It's the norm now to be either not allowed pets at all or charged a hefty pet deposit.
Personally I could understand a $250 non-refundable fee/deposit, or even $400, but she's already coming into my house every single month to "sniff around" and inspect that there is no problems with the cat, in that instance, how much fucking $$$ could it possibly cost if anything went wrong, a cat cannot do $1000+ in damage in one months time.
Theres also a mouse problem in the house, the cat has been killing them, I think I'm doing my Landlord a favor. Its not a huge slobbering dog, its a small girl cat who is 4 yrs old, healthy, spayed, and litter trained. I've delt with nasty landlords in the past, and have left my apartments in near perfect condition, and still RARELY get a deposit back, why should I hand over an EXTRA $1000 to what I've already put down? I'm not questioning that pets can cause problems, but I do question that one cat could do thousands of dollars worth of damage.
It's probably just a general 'pet deposit' and doesn't matter if it's a cat or dog.
Like I said, don't take it personally. This landlord seems a bit tougher than some with the inspections but maybe it's because they got screwed over really bad in the past.
I don't really know what you can do about it, I guess you're stuck. Lots of landlords require more than one months deposit anyway, usually it's 2-3 months worth of deposits so you're not THAT bad off really.
Best thing you can do is take a TON of pictures now so that in case they try to blame you for damage done by the cat you have proof, because they do seem overly concerned, so yeah, definitely take pictures or video. Even have your landlord sign off on any damage you notice that wasn't from you, like the slightest stain or scratch. Seems like your landlord is a hard ass and this can only benefit you if you end up in court if they claim damage and try to keep any of your deposit.
In Philadelphia they can legally only charge 1st last and one month security which is why my deposit is the way it is.
You're right about the pictures though I will deff. do that. Well just found out I need a loan for 11,000 for my last semester so I guess I'll be tacking on another 1,000, capitalism is fucked
Oh, well since that's the law that may explain why the pet deposit is so high then, they just want to get the most security possible. They've probably been fucked over before and/or are just trying to legally cover their asses as much as possible.
The situation kinda sucks, I agree, but what can ya do?? It really sucks you have to take out a loan too, so def make sure you take those pics!! It would suck even worse to have to pay back with interest for any damage you didn't cause if they decided to be jerks and blame you for stuff you didn't do.
it's a lot... i payed something like 500$ when my ex brought her cats in. Honestly, in my case the landlord was right to chanrge money. Those shitheads destroyed shit all over.
I'm not saying every cat is like those 2 fat oxygen wasters, but you can't blame your landlord for worrying.
As for them coming to 'Check' as long as they give 24 hrs notice, they're totally allowed to do that, after all, it is their house.....
Your security deposit and pet deposit combined aren't supposed to be more than 1 months rent!! (in Canada anyway)
Haha yea a crazy cat killing homo-sapien! Don't worry im kidding mostly-I'm just glad you aren't my neighbor, and especially glad u aren't my landlord, or my kitty would be vulture meat :(
Cats are sick animals. They piss,shit,leave fur everywhere so I wouldn't be surprised shes charging that much. If anything you should be happy she isn't charging a much higher price
Have you ever owned a cat? If you didn't notice, humans also piss&shit, and yes we 'shed' skin and hair too, but its called a vacuum. My cat uses a litter box, and the shit and piss go in there, just like a toilet. How does this make them sick animals?
Well I personally don't like cats anyways. I hate them especially outdoor cats. I once let my dog loose on my neighbors cat as it was trying to get away with half its body past the bottom of the fence while my dog had its other half in its mouth trying to kill it. I fell sorry for it so I stopped my dog from killing it. I have also shot trespassing cats in the face with my dads rifle. Those outdoor cats shit outside all over our yard causing us to step on the shit and bringing it inside our house. The thing I hate the most about cats is when they are fighting outside. They are loud evil devils. Even when I sleep at night a cat is always outside my window making weird baby/human noises and won't let me sleep. Sometimes those noises scare the shit out of me.
At one apartment I lived at the deposit was around $400 and $20/month. The apartment I live at now charged $400 and that's it. Seems a bit high but I don't know where you live or how big your place is. It's odd she wants to check up every month, damage is what the deposit is for, she's sounds annoying.