CLEVELAND (WJW) – The Cleveland Animal Protective League and state lawmakers held a press conference Tuesday about a new bill that offers tax credits to landlords who are more pet-friendly.
State Representatives Sharon Ray and Juanita Brent held a press conference at the Cleveland APL at 9:30 a.m. to discuss House Bill 277, the Pet-Friendly Rental Act, which was announced Monday.
The Pet-Friendly Act is meant to provide a tax credit for landlords who allow companion animals to reside in their rental units.
“Already this year nearly 100 pets have been surrendered to the Cleveland APL alone because their owners were facing challenges with landlords or had lost their homes and couldn’t take their pets with them,” President and CEO of the Cleveland APL and the President of the Board of the Ohio Animal Welfare Federation Sharon Harvey said. “Nearly 150 more were surrendered because their owners were moving.”
According to Harvey, this bill, which has passed in various forms in other states says landlords must not restrict dogs by breed or size and must not impose non-refundable pet fees or additional pet rent. That being said, landlords who don’t want to permit pets to reside on their properties will not be permitted to do so.
“We need to make sure that this bill is passed because we can’t change everything about what happening with the housing market, but what we can do is make sure we incentivize to make sure that our animals are represented and seen,” Rep. Brent said.
According to Rep. Ray, under this bill, landlords would be credited $750 per unit up to a max of $7500.
For more information about State Representatives Sharon Ray and Juanita Brent, click here.
