Navigating Pet-Friendly Rental Challenges

Unfortunately, the realtor returned at lunchtime with disappointing news. Another family made an offer on the apartment, and they chose them.

No one will say it to my face, but it's clear the presence of pets played a role in this decision. It’s really disheartening.

On one hand, I understand the owners. They don't want to deal with figuring out how well-behaved my cats and dogs are, whether someone will urinate on the carpet, or how the tenants will behave in such situations. But on the other hand…

Starting May 1, it will be officially prohibited to discriminate against tenants based on pet ownership, which I find quite silly. If someone doesn’t want people with pets in their apartment, they’ll find a way to make that happen—there are plenty of interested renters out there.

As a result, people with cats and dogs will have to waste their time looking at apartments they won’t be able to get. It’s just that the realtor can no longer say in messages or over the phone that the apartment isn’t pet-friendly.

In this situation, all I can promise is that if I ever have a rental property, I’ll rent it only to people with pets. The more, the better!

My parents rent their apartment to a family with a parrot! My mom says he lives in luxurious conditions—he doesn’t even stay in his cage and flies around his own room all day.

I imagine Lucy and I walking by that house every morning, and she poops right in front of their gate. To be honest, even in my fantasies, I feel embarrassed and end up going back to clean it up.