Pets contribute to the aura of a rental community just as much as the rooftop deck, club-quality fitness center, resident lounge or any other amenity—perhaps more so, in the eyes of many. But managing the increasing number of furry family members is no small task for onsite teams. 

Today, leasing teams are keeping track of pets that arrive when a new resident moves in, but it’s more challenging to track pets that were acquired during a resident’s stay. Convincing residents to properly register their pets with the community is another challenge. 

Tech tools can help with that, and also can provide onsite teams with a snapshot of previous pet and pet owner behavior when they apply at a rental community. Here are some of the ways to close the pet loophole and create the most pet-responsible and pet-friendly experience for residents:

Proper pet audits

Many apartment communities believe they have their pet population fully accounted for, but oftentimes, that’s like believing there are no bears in the forest just because you don’t immediately see them. Odds are, there are more than a few unregistered pets on your property, particularly because no comprehensive screening methods were available until recently. Taking inventory of all pets at the property can be a tricky task without being invasive, but an audit has immeasurable value. 

Blowing a dog whistle and seeing which apartments have barkers isn’t a good strategy, but a few ways exist to help with a pet audit. These include revisiting a resident’s pet situation at the time of renewal, inviting a pet photographer onsite to snag professional photos of all registered pets, and offering a moratorium on pet rents for those who have at least one pet and want to properly report it. The idea is to account for as many pets as possible, and residents are likely to have a more positive reaction if it doesn’t appear that you’ve audited them for punitive reasons.  

Require non-pet owners to acknowledge the pet policy

One of the quickest ways unauthorized pets arrive at the apartment community is by way of the non-pet owner. Many rental communities do not require pet-free residents to acknowledge pet policies, but what happens when that resident acquires a pet a few months into their stay or even has a regular weekend visitor that brings his or her pet for every stay? Because they didn’t acknowledge the pet policy upon move-in, they might not even know that they are subject to pet rent and are required to register the pet with the community. And if they do know, they could still claim ignorance because they haven’t signed a binding agreement. 

Fortunately, screening platforms are now available that assist rental communities in requiring all residents—pet owners or otherwise—to formally acknowledge a community’s pet guidelines at the time of application. When these renters acquire a pet or engage in pet sitting, they will be fully aware of the need to report the pet activity to the community and can’t feign the “didn’t know” response. 

Keep an industry-wide database of pet owners and behavior

Your credit score follows you everywhere you go. When residents apply at a community, it’s the first criteria leasing teams use to determine if you qualify for the lease. As an onsite associate, it would be nearly as valuable to have that applicant’s pet-related behavior history readily available. That database is available, becoming larger on a daily basis and can be updated in perpetuity by property managers. 

Stellar behavior, bad behavior and owner behavior, such as off-leash offenses and failure to pick up pet waste, can be tracked and remain an active profile as residents move. Outstanding pet and owner behavior—such as no reportable incidents over a year—should be rewarded, while property managers have a right to know about any previous disruptive or neglectful behavior.   

Apart from the constant drive to provide the best possible resident experience, managing the pet process is one of the primary challenges at a rental community. The steps above will increase accountability, provide benefits for onsite teams and transform previously haphazard pet procedures into a streamlined, efficient process.