We, the pet owners of San Francisco, know the mythological power we have. After all, our city is ostensibly home to more dogs than children. Yet we have very little power when we try to rent apartments, beaten handily by non-pet owners, even in places that claim to be pet friendly. But wait! Don’t risk violating the terms of your lease by dressing your pet in baby clothes and trying to pass him/her off as deformed offspring. SF and surrounding cities do welcome pet-owning renters. You just have to look hard, and most often, pay more. Lets look at some of your options.
Corporate Complexes
You've seen this structure hulking over Market at 9th, close to Hayes Valley, Union Square and SoMa offerings (not super dog-park-y, FYI. Bit of the concrete jungle). Also rather close to 6th Street offerings, which are definitely not dog oriented and also largely not very safe. On the plus side, an on-site Starbucks and fitness center! Price tag for this uber-urban living? 450 square foot studios run $2000-$2,200 a month, and parking (if available) is extra, as is the pet in question—another $50 a month.
2. The Argenta:
Here's a Civic Center complex, very swank, with rents to match: 1 bedrooms, under 800 square feet, run $2710-$3479; 2 bedrooms run up to $4302. Terrace garden, 24-hour fitness facility, and garage parking available if you’ve got the cash available as well. Dogs/cats (up to 2 per unit) are 50 bucks more per month. So yes, your pet will need to get a job.
3. Avalon Towers, another corporate complex, has locations in the Inner-Sunset and Diamond Heights, easier locations for dog owners, truly, since parks abound in both areas. Features include Energy-Star appliances, a pool and sauna(!), fitness and laundry facilities. Pets are (in keeping with our theme) $50 on top of the monthly rent: a studio for $2040, $3164 for a 2-bed.
Property Management Companies
SFRent has multiple pet-friendly rentals all over the Bay Area, with current units in Oakland, Pleasant Hill, SF (largely Tender areas, whether Knob or Loin) where studios are in the $1400 range. An example listing in Berkeley is in the Renaissance Villas building, which has a tenant approval rating of 3.7 out of 5 stars. Prices run as follows: 1 bed=$1465 and a 2 bed =$2210.
Local Insight
If you’re looking for the scoop from pet owners themselves, and no, we don’t mean that kind of scoop (Eww!), you can view conversation threads on good options for pet owning tenants on:
1. Apartment Therapy
2. Yelp: SF
3. Yelp: Oakland
The Lists
These lists below are dedicated to pet-friendly rentals of all kinds, including AirBnB!
1. Dogfriendly.com
2. AirBnB
3. Humane Society
We know we've only scratched the furry ear of the surface in terms of resources for apartment leasing with pets. So tell us, renting readers, how do you find a place for you and your feline and canine companions?
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