As part of the apartment world’s concerted push to keep pace with the technological revolution, those in the industry have started to eliminate a certain phrase from their vernacular:
But this is the way we’ve always done it.
When you challenge the status quo, that’s when genuine progress can be made. The industry has discovered this on many fronts, and that includes the ways apartment communities manage their pet processes. Recently, Camden made the bold move to eliminate weight restrictions for pets at their communities. The company determined that pet-related risk factors didn’t necessarily equate to the weight of the animal and decided to allow Great Danes and their other heftier animal friends.
But that move by Camden might just be the start of a greater pet-related revolution. The elimination of breed restrictions could be coming next, and has already been implemented at a handful of properties. While that thought alone might make some apartment operators shudder and immediately say “no thanks,” an explanation of the methodology behind it just might make them consider the concept.
How It Would Work
As it currently stands, many pets are already eliminated as potential apartment occupants strictly based on their preexisting characteristics. According to a study by Michelson Found Animals Foundation and the Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI), 77% of apartment communities allow dogs but 50% have size limits and 50% have breed restrictions. But what if there was a way to evaluate pets based on their individual risk factors rather than their breed, weight, age, or any other characteristic?
Thankfully, screening platforms are in place that can make this a reality. PetScreening, for instance, evaluates pets on a household risk factor scale based on the specifics of that particular pet and its owner. After all, not all pet owners are responsible, and they can be part of the problem. After analyzing various factors, such as potential for damage, previous incidents, and even owner history as it pertains to pets, the platform offers a cumulative risk score.
Apartment communities then can determine whether to allow the pet on the property based on their property-specific threshold (some communities might not allow an animal that scores 2 or lower on the 0-to-5 scale to live at the community, while other communities might have different cutoff scores). Through this method, a pet can still be denied, but not solely because of its breed. It is based on the overall household risk of that individual pet and its owner.
Impact on Revenue
Naturally, more pets at a property equates to more revenue. Some communities have reported as much as a 40% increase in pet revenue after eliminating breed restrictions. While removing restrictions in a responsible manner aids this cause, there is an additional way that lifting breed restrictions can positively affect the bottom line.
It’s no secret that residents occasionally attempt to sneak pets into a community to avoid pet rent. But their propensity to do so is much greater if that breed is on a restricted list. Many are perfectly willing to pay the pet rent, but, because their pet is not permitted at the community, they’ll either try to sneak into the community or falsely claim it’s a service or assistance animal.
If a breed is not categorically disallowed, these pet owners will be more forthcoming with their pets. Additionally, those animals with insufficient credentials as service or assistance animals can still live at the community under regular pet-rent stipulations, assuming they pass the individual risk threshold. That differs from the current apartment model where disallowed service/assistant animals do not have the option of living at the property as pets.
According to the Michelson/HABRI study, 24% of residents with pets indicated: “My pet has been a reason for me to move.” In many cases, that’s revenue walking out the door.
Additional Benefits
Let’s face it: Pet management can be a challenge for on-site teams. This also includes the verification of reasonable accommodation requests for assistance animals. Between attempting to verify sometimes esoteric service and support animal documentation, potentially awkward conversations with residents, and the potential arguments that can ensue when you have to tell them the certificate they bought online is not valid, one can see why a leasing team member can be a bit apprehensive with regard to the verification process.
If a community has no breed or other absolute animal restrictions in place—and none apply, anyway, if the pet is verified as a service or assistance animal—on-site teams can avoid the middleman role and simply inform residents that their accommodation request has been submitted to their screening platform. Much like a credit check, a third party handles the audit, and the onus—not to mention the tedious verification process—is removed from the on-site associate.
In addition, some platforms allow for the history file of the pet or animal and its owner to be updated in perpetuity. On-site incidents, from off-leash offenses to more serious occurrences, can be logged in real time, and the profile remains active even when residents move along to another community. This also increases the chances that incoming residents will already have a pet profile as the concept continues to gather adoption. Most important for the community, the household risk score can be customized at the community level, further enabling on-site teams to evaluate on an individual basis rather than on breed or other preexisting characteristics.
Lifting breed restrictions might initially seem like a far-fetched concept to some. But when done responsibly, it can help create a more lucrative, increasingly pet-friendly experience at your community.