News & Events

Gen Z and Millennials are renting longer, have more households with pets, have more pets per household, and will only continue to grow as a component of multifamily renter households. Are you poised to welcome this growing market group?

Emily faced a new challenge—finding an apartment of her own. Simon, with a heart as big as his 70-pound frame, knew he wasn’t just an integral part of Emily’s life—he was family. But in the world of rental homes, their bond was facing an unexpected hurdle.

Fraud is on the rise, as any rental housing operator knows only too well. With the digitization of many renter-facing processes, it has become very easy for bad players to game the system.

When a rental housing operator says no to someone’s beloved pet, you’re not just saying no to the animal. You’re saying no to the person who loves that animal and considers them a member of their family.

Many multifamily operators who have lifted breed restrictions initially assumed that their insurance coverage would present an obstacle — only to find out that no such obstacles existed. 

A seemingly innocuous question – ‘is your property pet-friendly?’ – becomes quite provocative viewed through the lens of a pet owner who is challenged to secure housing that accepts their large dog, welcomes their ‘restricted’ breed, or embraces pets without additional fees. The Pet-Inclusive Housing Initiative (PIHI) has developed a scorecard to help operators have more insight when answering this question; but more on that in just a bit.

As the housing landscape continues to evolve, so do attitudes toward pets and their place in our lives. Today, not only do more people have pets than ever before, they generally consider their furry friends to be integral members of the family; and as a result, the demand for pet-inclusive rental accommodations is on the rise.

There’s probably not a single rental housing operator who hasn’t felt like they’re constantly in the midst of one battle or another in the day-to-day operation of an apartment community. And lately, one of those recurring struggles is the onslaught of emotional support animal (ESA) accommodation requests from residents.