Pet Deposits and Pet Fees: What Tenants Need to Know

A pet deposit is refundable money the landlord holds against pet damage, a pet fee is a one-time charge you do not get back, and pet rent is a monthly charge added to your rent. Which ones a landlord can charge depends on your state: California counts any pet deposit or pet fee as part of the refundable security deposit and its cap, New York and Massachusetts bar upfront pet fees, and Colorado limits a pet deposit to $300 and pet rent to $35 a month or 1.5% of rent, whichever is greater. For an animal trained to assist with a disability, federal fair housing guidance bars all three charges, though a landlord that charges tenants for damage can charge you for damage the animal causes.

Pet deposit, pet fee, and pet rent compared

A deposit cap limits the money a landlord holds as security, so it can reach a pet deposit, and in California a pet fee, but not pet rent. Of the states below, only Colorado caps pet rent directly.

What each state allows

What this means in practice:

• California: if your rent is $2,000 and the landlord already holds a $2,000 deposit, it cannot add a pet deposit or pet fee unless it is a small landlord (an individual, or an LLC owned only by individuals, with no more than two rental properties and four units), which can hold up to $4,000 in total. California landlords can require you to carry insurance that covers property damage your pet may cause.
• Colorado: at $1,800 rent, 1.5% is $27, so the pet rent cap is $35. At $3,000 rent, 1.5% is $45, so the cap is $45.

Our overview of state security deposit laws explains how deposit limits vary by state, and our guide to nonrefundable deposits and fees explains how to tell whether a "fee" is legally a deposit.

Service animals and emotional support animals

These charges work differently when the animal is a reasonable accommodation, meaning a change to the landlord's rules that a tenant with a disability needs to use and enjoy the home.

• Trained service animals. The 2004 joint statement on reasonable accommodations from HUD and the Justice Department, still posted as Justice Department guidance, says a landlord may not require a fee or a security deposit as a condition of allowing an assistance animal. The landlord can charge you for damage the animal causes, or deduct it from the standard deposit all tenants pay, if it charges tenants for damage they cause. HUD's May 22, 2026 enforcement memo presumes that a request to waive pet rules is reasonable when the animal is individually trained to do work or tasks related to your disability.
• Emotional support animals. The same memo says HUD no longer presumes such requests are reasonable for untrained support animals, and HUD now pursues charges on federal complaints only when the animal is trained. Fee waivers are decided case by case: in a 2025 Louisiana federal case the memo relies on, the court did not require a landlord to waive a $400 one-time animal fee after it had offered a payment plan. You can still file your own Fair Housing Act lawsuit within two years after the discriminatory act occurred or ended.
• State law can protect more. California's Civil Rights Department says a landlord may not charge a pet deposit, pet rent, or any other fee for an emotional support animal, or require liability insurance for it, though you can be charged for damage the animal causes beyond ordinary wear and tear.

Our guide to service animals vs. pets in rentals covers what a landlord can ask you to show and how to make a request.

How pet damage is judged at move-out

The landlord can deduct the reasonable cost of repairing damage your pet caused beyond normal wear and tear, the same as damage you or a guest cause. California's tenant guide states that tenants must repair damage, other than normal wear and tear, caused by their family, guests, or pets. Typical lines:

• Damage: stains and odors in carpet from pet accidents, badly scratched or gouged wood floors, and torn or missing screens, in the Northwest Justice Project's comparison; a door jamb chewed by a dog, in a California guide example.
• Cleaning: California's guide lists eliminating fleas left by a tenant's animals as a reasonable cleaning cost.
• Normal wear: carpet worn by ordinary foot traffic and scuffed wood floors, which no tenant can be charged for, pet or not.

The item's age still limits the charge. In one Northwest Justice Project example, a pet stained and tore a carpet that had not been replaced in 20 years, and the guide says the tenant can argue for no charge because carpet lasts 5 to 15 years. Our guide to normal wear and tear vs. damage shows the useful-life math.

Watch for blanket clauses. In California, a landlord cannot charge you for professional carpet cleaning unless it is reasonably necessary to return the unit to its move-in condition, excluding ordinary wear and tear, so a clause billing every pet owner for carpet shampooing does not hold there. Also check whether your lease or pet addendum limits a separate pet deposit to pet damage, since a limit like that can keep the landlord from applying it to unpaid rent or other charges. See also our guide to pet clauses in rental leases.