For many renters, pets are more than, well, pets. They’re family members. This has led multifamily owner-operators to incorporate pet-friendly policies that boost occupancy and retention.
However, that same report listed unintended consequences of allowing Rover or Fluffy in rental units, which is why Foxen issued its first Multifamily Pet Management Trends report.
“The same operational pain points repeat across portfolios, but there hasn’t been a clear, data-backed view of where the industry stands on this issue, especially when it comes to systems, enforcement and revenue capture,” Foxen CEO Kevin Jacobson told Connect CRE. “Saying ‘pets are welcome’ and building a system to manage them are two different things.”
Semi-Antiquated Policies and Perception Gaps
While apartment properties indicate that they’re pet-friendly, they also have restrictions. According to the survey:
- 89% of respondents have a pet limit
- 72.5% reported breed restrictions, while 66% had weight limits
Restrictions are in place due to liability and insurance concerns. But what surprised Jacobson was that 38% of those surveyed had no idea why breed restrictions exist. “These are policies that directly affect who can rent at a property, and more than a third of the people enforcing them can’t explain the reasoning behind them,” he commented.
Additionally, while 76% of respondents indicated their properties were pet-friendly, 72% percent of renters complained they couldn’t find pet-friendly housing. “Calling yourself pet-friendly and actually delivering a pet-friendly experience are very different things in practice, and renters know it,” Jacobson commented.
Then there may be red tape involved in pet management. Jacobson explained that today’s systems are mostly manual, with 34% of operators relying on phones, 48% on email, and 45% on paper forms to collect information and enforce policies.
Additionally, pet management wasn’t always considered a financial item that includes pet deposits or higher “pet rent.” “When you treat it as revenue or risk, you start to see the leakage from problems like unreported animals, inconsistent ESA (emotional support animal) documentation or fees that should be collected but aren’t,” he said.
Help from Proptech
Jacobson explained that multifamily owner/operators made the right decision to open their units to pets. The problem is that intent has outpaced infrastructure. One way to do this is to ditch paper and adopt pet-management technologies.
Back to the survey, 63% indicated an interest in software to help collect and organize pet information. However, only 10% reported having a system in place.
Jacobson said that moving from a manual process to a tech-enabled solution requires time and commitment. Furthermore, the selected technology should fit into portfolio operations, policies and pet rules to be effective. “The right platform should reflect how your communities actually run, rather than forcing a one-size-fits-all approach,” he added.
More Pets, More Tech?
As renters continue to treat their pets like family, owner/operators will cater to them by adding pet-friendly amenities and incorporating policies and requirements. Jacobson said that multifamily managers can increase efficiencies and potentially reduce challenges by using the right technology tools.
The operative words are: “right technology tools.”
“What I would caution against is thinking that a basic data collection tool solves the problem,” Jacobson advised. Real pet management technology needs to work across the entire leasing and renewal lifecycle, integrate with the PMS operators already have in place and create a consistent, defensible process for things like ESA documentation.”
On the other hand, properly integrating pet-oriented software platforms with existing systems offers a host of benefits. “It can give leasing staff time back, protect NOI, reduce liability exposure and actually make housing more inclusive,” Jacobson said.
The post Pets and Apartments: Challenges for Multifamily Owner/Operators appeared first on Connect CRE.
