An Open Letter to Landlords
I am a renter. A responsible one. I pay my rent on time, I’m quiet and respectful, I take care of lawn and snow maintenance promptly, and I deal with small repairs and minor issues myself without bothering my landlord. I have no children and I tend to live without roommates…without human roommates that is. Unfortunately, since I have two cats I am automatically denied from viewing around half of the available rental properties. I don’t even get a chance to. I hit a brick wall by way of “No Pets Allowed” being included in the ad.
In Ontario Canada, where I have lived for almost seventeen years, 30% of people rent their home. According to ACTO (Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario) in Toronto that number jumps to almost 50%. In the coming years, due to career and income disruptions from the pandemic, even less people will be able to afford to buy their own home and we will see an influx of renters.
On rentals.ca, a search for available housing that specifically allows pets within the GTA returns a result of 2,982 properties. With the “No pets allowed” box checked the result is 1,658. So that means on a website with “rentals” in the address pet owners are automatically excluded from 36% of the available units. Excluded from even being considered for.
On kijiji.com which has an extremely active real estate market, the numbers are staggering; with pets being allowed in 3,675 rental units, and a whopping 7,613 excluding any pets. That’s 67%…nearly 70% of the available housing automatically being denied without any option to the renters except to lie to their would-be landlord.
Is lying a good way to start a professional relationship with someone who’s home you’ll be living in? Absolutely not. And both landlords and renters know this.
As a landlord, think of all the potentially amazing renters you might be missing out on simply because you insist a Labradoodle is a dealbreaker.
According to the Canadian Animal Health Institute approximately 41% of households include at least one dog and around 37% include at least one cat. It’s no secret that humans love animals. Pets, particularly in the west, have become a huge part of our societies. Pets are often as much family to us as our human members. And yet when it comes to housing, pets are stigmatized against without recourse.
Currently in Ontario it is illegal for landlords to evict tenants if they obtain pets after moving in. This is a pretty liberal policy regarding pet ownership compared to other provinces. However, in an utterly baffling show of incongruent law, landlords are well within their right to deny a renter based on pet ownership prior to moving in.
It is time the stigma against pet owners is fully addressed.
The concerns landlords express about pet ownership boil down to noise and damage. Dogs bark and dig up yards or scratch holes through doors. Cats urinate inappropriately and ruin floors, or claw up window screens or banisters. These are valid concerns for homeowners wanting to provide suitable homes for renters without incurring unnecessary renovation costs.
But let's be honest, when a person decides to become a landlord, they understand there is risk involved. And if they don’t understand that, they need to back up that investment truck mighty quick! Any tenant can cause issues of noise and damage. Any tenant can damage a property, with or without pets, with or without children, and regardless of their income or background. Discrimination against tenants is nothing new and all the prejudice needs to stop, but with 57% of households in Ontario owning pets this is a massive issue. If a landlord cannot handle (either financially or emotionally) the risk associated with being a property owner, they should not be one. Full stop.
Of course landlords are allowed to and should be concerned about the well-being of their properties, but not at the expense of a tenant’s rights to exist peacefully.
Let's look at this logically. The pet industry is booming. Pet owners are becoming more responsible with each passing year. They are more concerned for the health and wellbeing of their pets. More concerned about the possibility of losing their pets. And more concerned about finding a safe place to live with their pets. Some pet owners keep as much watch over their pets now as parents do their children; with pet-sitters growing in popularity and the use of new gadgetry in the form of pet “nanny” cams connected via mobile apps to distribute treats and play with pets when their owners are out of the house. Dogs are crate-trained, cats are given elaborate and beautiful cat towers to climb and perch on. Safe outdoor enclosures, or “catios” are being erected for our feline friends. There is a ridiculous array of toys available for various income levels for all manner of pets. These days animal behaviour is much more understood and our pets are given enough stimulation, as well as healthier diets, so that they are as mentally healthy as they are physically. Mentally healthy animals do not exhibit all those destructive behaviours we’ve all seen so much of in the past.
I mean, holy cheese and rice, it’s 2020. Pets are Instagram stars!
As more young people opt out of parenthood they are opting in for pet ownership. For many of these childfree people, pets effectively become surrogate children. Ever heard the phrase “fur baby?” Studies show that especially for single people, the elderly, or people who live alone, owning pets contributes to greater life satisfaction and mental health outcomes. Animal neglect and abuse is often viewed just as severely as child abuse in many people’s eyes these days. There is more reporting happening of unethical pet ownership, and more seizure of pets from unsuitable homes. And this is something a landlord can and should employ if they are concerned their property is being damaged due to pet neglect.
Pet owners are being unjustly excluded from renting homes for no reason other than they have a family member that does not fit into standard definitions of what makes up a family.
This is a new era of pet ownership that needs to be taken into consideration regarding fair housing laws.
Landlords think by restricting pets they’re protecting their properties, but in actuality they are just restricting themselves from finding what might turn out to be the best tenants they’ve ever had.
It’s time for the bigoted discrimination towards pet owners and their family members to stop.
#EndNoPetsAllowed
#FairHousing
Written originally for and sent to the Ministry of Housing in Ontario, Canada.
Photo credits:
paulbr75, greiceoficial, and LouLou-W
