Senate Bill 6064 would effectively ban pets from rental properties

In a mis-guided attempt to limit the amount a property owner could collect in a damage deposit for pets, lawmakers are proposing a pet deposit cap of $150, starting this July.

Like much of the other legislation that has been proposed this year to reduce the cost of housing, Senate Bill (SB 6064), introduced by Senator Drew Hansen (D-23), will have exactly the opposite effect.

Pet deposits are designed to cover the cost of either deliberate or accidental damage repairs to an rental property, including the additional wear and tear animals put on the furnishings. If the pet owner takes care of the fixtures in an apartment or rental property, they get the deposit back.

The amount of a pet deposit is based on the projected cost for the additional cleaning and repair to a property to return it to a comparable condition when it was first rented.

Capping the deposit at $150, which, incidentally, is barely enough to cover the cost of a carpet cleaning, will force the property owner to choose between $150 to clean and repair, or to not allow pets at all.

The risk will be too high for many property owners, and they will opt not to allow pets. This will effectively ban pets from many rental properties. For those property owners willing to take the risk, SB 6064 would additionally ban the owner from increasing rent based on pet occupancy. The result will be increased rents on the next tenant (pet or no pet) to offset the additional cost.

SB 6064 would not provide rent relief for renters and would increase rents.

– Mark Harmsworth is the Small Business Center Director at Washington Policy Center.