Residential/Apartment Rental Applications May No Longer Require Tenants to Disclose Their Pets.
The California legislature is currently deliberating on a significant bill aimed at reshaping pet policies within rental housing. The chair of the California Legislative Renters Caucus, Matt Haney (D-San Francisco) has introduced legislation that prohibits blanket pet bans in rental units in California. AB 2216 will require landlords to have reasonable reason(s) for not allowing a pet in a rental unit and only allows landlords to ask about pet ownership after a tenant’s application has been approved. If passed, this legislation would bring about substantial changes to the rental housing landscape in the state, impacting both tenants and landlords alike.
Pet Policy Reform Under AB 2216
- The Pet Numbers in California: California has the second highest number of tenants in the country, with 17 million families and individuals renting — close to 12 million, or 70% of these renters are pet owners. Roughly 30% of available rentals in any given city are pet friendly. In San Francisco 21% of the available rentals currently on the market allow for pets. Similarly in Los Angeles, which has close to 3 million pet owning renters, only 26% of Los Angeles rentals allow for pets, according to Matt Haney, the author of the Bill.
- Rental Applications May No Longer Require Pet Information: AB 2216 aims to prohibit blanket bans on pets in rental housing which would include eliminating inquiries about pets on rental applications. Most rental applications today include fields for prospective renters to provide information about the number, kind and breed of their pets who will be occupying the unit. The Bill would only allow landlords to ask about pet ownership after a tenant’s application has been approved.
- Elimination of Pet Rent and Pet Deposits: The bill intends to remove additional monthly fees commonly referred to as “pet rent” and restrict landlords from collecting separate security deposits for pets. Many owners today collect an additional pet deposit ranging from $100 to as high as $1,000 and require additional monthly pet rent, mostly to hedge against the potential damage that can be incurred by pets residing in a small apartment home.
It should be noted that California residents who have dogs or other animals with an Emotional Support Animal (ESA) letter from a licensed medical professional are already entitled to live in any kind of housing with their animals, even if their landlords have a “no pets” policy.
However the lack of pet friendly housing has apparently caused more than 829,000 tenants to have pets in their units without the knowledge of their landlord. This Bill has only been proposed (not passed) as of now.
