jackymedan ???????????????? what even is pet rent? you mean you have to pay an extra fee just to me allowed to own a pet? ???? that’s ridiculous

You wouldn’t have to pay it if you had a fish or a rat or something. But for a cat or dog, yeah, most apartments in this area have that. Including the one I’m in now. 

This is how ridiculous it can get. When I moved into my current apartment, I had to pay I think a $150 pet fee AND a $150 pet deposit, and I currently pay $10 a month in pet rent. I had to move my Basset hound back home to my mom, but when I got Arthur, I didn’t have to repay any of that, nor did I have to pay anything extra when I got a cat. 

But a lot of the places I’m looking now, you have to pay a fee and a deposit PER ANIMAL. So I’d have to pay a $200 dog fee, a $200 dog deposit, a $200 cat fee, a $200 cat deposit, AND around $15 per month per animal. In addition to the application and admin fees, I’d have to pay over $1000 at some places to just move in. 

(If anyone is STILL wondering why Americans my age aren’t buying homes, this is it.) 

Then there’s breed and weight restrictions. I get not wanting to have aggressive dogs around, though I think a strict leash code would solve most of those problems, but a lot of places have a 25 pound (~11 kg) weight limit. I’ve seen cats that weighed more than that. And when Arthur got attacked by a group of dogs a few years ago, every single one of them was under that weight limit. I’ve never had any problems with any of the big dogs in the area, but I’ve had nothing but problems with the smaller ones. 

I think basically, they either don’t want to deal with pets or they want to bilk pet owners for as much money as they possibly can. Maybe a combination, though I think it’s more that second one.