For many pet lovers, finding a suitable rental apartment can be something of a struggle. Unfortunately, many landlords are wary of allowing certain pets, such as cats and dogs. From damaged furniture to dubious odors, pets and apartments aren’t an ideal mix in the minds of many landlords.
However, if you’re a pet owner looking to rent, it’s not all bad news. While apartment owners might typically enforce strict pet rules or even outright bans, landlords of single-family homes tend to be far more lenient.
With a typically larger footprint, often complete with outdoor space, single-family homes are somewhat more pet-friendly. As such, renting a single-family home could be the best move for pet owners. Let’s take a closer look.
1. Plenty of Outdoor Space
Unlike apartments, a good number of detached, single-family homes come complete with a yard. This can be an ideal space for various pets, such as dogs, cats, rabbits, or even chickens. The biggest concern that many landlords have when it comes to pets is the potential damage they may cause to anything from hardwood floors to upholstered furniture.
However, with outdoor space being easily accessible, many of these concerns can be softened. It provides a place for pets to stay when their owners aren’t in, ensuring they can’t cause damage inside due to boredom or separation anxiety.
And don’t worry, many owners won’t mind if you build a small shelter for your fluffy companions in case of bad weather. Having an outdoor area also ensures your pets have somewhere to do their business, reducing the risk of smelly accidents in the home. Just be sure to clean up after them to keep odors at bay.
Most importantly though, having access to a front or back yard enables your pets to get the fresh air and exercise they may be craving at pretty much any time. Plus it provides the opportunity to take on a far wider array of pets than if you only had access to indoor space.
2. More Space Inside Too
It’s not just about the outside space either. A typical single-family home is likely to have a larger footprint and more rooms than your standard apartment. This indoor space can be easier to keep clean, as you can designate pet-free areas in rooms that have carpets, expensive furniture, and anything else that could potentially be damaged by claws, teeth, hair, or talons.
For the landlord, this is great news, since they’ll know that pets aren’t roaming throughout the property. And for you, it’s easier to clean smaller pet-friendly areas compared to an entire home. To make it even easier, the rooms that pets are allowed in can be protected with hardwearing floor and furniture covers.
And it’s not just about typical pets either. For those with more exotic companions, a single-family home provides space for aquariums, vivariums, and terrariums. You might even be able to designate an entire room for them, fitted with temperature and humidity control and adequate lighting to ensure they’re in the best conditions.
3. Less Likely to Upset the Neighbors
When renting an apartment, you’ll generally be living in close proximity to your neighbors, typically sharing at least one wall with them, if not more. For pet owners, this can present a bit of a problem. No matter how well-trained your pets are, the walls, floors, and ceilings can be thin. For neighbors who are sensitive to noise, even the tapping claws of a cat or dog walking about can become upsetting. But if you have a dog that frequently barks or birds that squawk at all hours, you can expect the noise complaints to come flooding in.
However, with a single-family rental, your home will be completely detached, ensuring that all but the noisiest of pets will go unheard by your neighbors. That doesn’t mean you get a free pass, people will still be well within their rights to complain if your dog barks in the yard or you decide to adopt a cockerel.
Be aware also that complaints are necessarily restricted to noise. Some people will find certain animals, particularly larger dogs, scary. In an apartment with common areas, you’re more likely to run into other people. But in a single-family rental, that’s not such a big issue.
For the most part, if you ensure your pets don’t make too much noise, especially at night, and you keep your yard clean and odor-free, you’re unlikely to have problems with the neighbors as a pet owner in a single-family rental.
4. Easier to Install Pet Doors
If you own a cat who longs to roam outside, a single-family rental can be ideal for them. With private access to your home, you don’t need to worry about your cat wandering into the wrong apartment or getting lost in a communal area. Instead, they can head straight out into the yard and begin their adventure.
Plus, if you speak to the landlord, there’s a good chance they will allow you to install a cat flap. This will generally be at your own expense, and once you leave, you may be required to return the door to its original condition. But, it allows your cats the freedom to come and go as they please.
5. They Provide an Intimate Final Resting Place
All pet owners understand that there’s a good chance they will outlive their pets. And while this is a sad fact of life, knowing that you have somewhere close to your heart and your home to bury them or spread their ashes when they’re gone can be a great comfort.
If your single-family home has a backyard, you can lay your beloved companions to rest in the place they loved and where you can grieve them easily. Just be sure to speak to the landlord first to ensure they’re okay with you doing so.
But by erecting a headstone in the backyard, you can visit them any time. This can be invaluable for children learning to understand loss and grief.
