Most pet owners that rent have a difficult time finding a new place to live. Most places do not accept pets and if they do, there are additional fees and restrictions on pet breeds, size, and temperament. But in Los Angeles, a property owner only rents to pet owners.
According to L.A. Daily News Judy Guth, the property owner or a North Hollywood apartment complex, doesn’t care if the applying tenants have outstanding references and pay the rent on time, if they don’t own a pet they are not getting one of her apartments.
Guth’s tenants have lived in her 12-unit apartment house for more than a decade and whenever one of the furry friends crosses over the rainbow bridge, Guth herself takes the renter to an animal shelter to select and adopt their next four-legged roommate.
If there are no pets, the tenant will have to move out. That’s the rule.
“My experience has told me you get people with a lot of love in their hearts when you get pet owners,” said Guth.
The property owners believes that pet owners tend to move less often and always pay their rents on time, so for her, doing business with animal lovers is a no-brainer.
“I’ve talked to other rental property owners about it, but they just laugh,” she says. “They’re stupid. The only vacancies I’ve had are when people had to move because the economy forced them out of state for a job.”
If you think Guth is violating a law by discriminating against people that don’t own pets, rest assured this big-hearted woman is not breaking any laws. The Federal Fair Housing Act makes it illegal to discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, familial status, and disability, but it says nothing about discrimination based on pet ownership.
Tenants are allowed to have two dogs of any size or up to three cats. All pets must be up-to-date on their shots and must wear ID tags at all times. Pets are interviewed before moving into the complex and they must be well behaved pet citizens. Guth loves animals but her dog tenants must not be persistent barkers.
Now, there are hardly any vacancies, so good luck trying to move in. However, we should encourage other property managers into thinking a lot more like Guth.