{"id":115010,"date":"2025-04-08T02:11:37","date_gmt":"2025-04-08T09:11:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rentcafe.com\/blog\/?p=115010"},"modified":"2026-04-15T03:05:30","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T10:05:30","slug":"guide-renting-with-pets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rentcafe.com\/blog\/apartmentliving\/renting-with-pets\/guide-renting-with-pets\/","title":{"rendered":"Renting With Pets: The Ultimate Guide to Finding a Pet-Friendly Apartment and Living With Pets"},"content":{"rendered":"

Article updated in September 2025<\/em><\/p>\n

Having a pet is both a heartwarming experience and a responsibility. That\u2019s because when you take a pet into your life, you need to be prepared to care for it. Plus, many aspects of your life change because of your pet, including how you live and the place you choose to call home if you\u2019re renting with pets: finding a pet-friendly apartment, taking care of all the associated pet costs, plus caring for the pet itself are all things you need to consider.<\/p>\n

Data shows that, as of 2025, 71<\/strong>% of U.S. households had a pet<\/strong><\/a>, which translated into a total of 94 million pets in the U.S. alone. Needless to say, people love their pets \u2014 and they\u2019re increasingly looking for homes that accept them.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, for those of you living the renter lifestyle but who are also pet owners, we\u2019ve compiled the ultimate guide for renting with pets so you\u2019ll have all the info you need \u2014 from finding a pet-friendly apartment to prepping it for pets to added pet costs and how to best live in an apartment with your pet. We\u2019ve also included input and insights from a number of experts for the most reliable information. Click on the links below to jump around to the sections you\u2019re most interested in:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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  • Finding a pet-friendly rental apartment<\/a><\/li>\n
  • Costs of renting with pets<\/a><\/li>\n
  • Discussing the landlord\u2019s pet policy (*Bonus: Pet CV)<\/a><\/li>\n
  • Moving with pets<\/a><\/li>\n
  • Pet-proofing the apartment<\/a><\/li>\n
  • Apartment-training your pets<\/a><\/li>\n
  • Living with pets in a rental<\/a>\n
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    • Most common apartment-related health problems<\/a><\/li>\n
    • Most common apartment pets<\/a><\/li>\n
    • Exotic pets and restrictions<\/a><\/li>\n
    • Compensating for lack of space for dogs<\/a><\/li>\n
    • Caring for indoor cats<\/a><\/li>\n
    • How to handle multiple pets<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

      How to Find a Pet-Friendly Apartment for Rent<\/h2>\n

      \"pet-friendly<\/p>\n

      The journey begins with finding a place that both you and your pet can call home. First, when browsing rental apartments, make sure to use secure, dedicated platforms that you can filter to show only pet-friendly apartments. To that end, a look at the number of listings with pet-friendly options on RentCafe<\/a> shows that 81% of apartments are pet-friendly<\/strong> and only 21% of those pet-friendly apartments have some form of breed restrictions.<\/p>\n

      Granted, you may have better or worse luck finding a pet-friendly rental depending on where you\u2019re renting. For instance, only 55% of Washington, D.C. apartments<\/a> are pet-friendly, whereas 98% of Seattle apartments<\/a> allow pets. So, if you have a certain big city in mind, it\u2019s likely to fall in between those numbers.<\/p>\n