FAQ
Working at the intersection of housing justice, animal welfare, and social policies, Shared Home Project advances equity-driven solutions through original research, holistic program development and evaluation, and policy advocacy. We partner with advocates, service providers, researchers, and policymakers to design and evaluate solutions for all families.
What problem is Shared Home Project trying to address?
For a majority of renters, there is a systemic lack of access in the U.S. to rental housing that is both truly affordable and inclusive of their pet(s). Tenants with pets systemically struggle to acquire and maintain housing that is both affordable and inclusive of their pet(s).
Who is most affected by the problem of housing descrimination against families with pets?
There are three types of stakeholders most affected: renters, pets, and social services systems, including animal shelters and rescues. The majority of the country are working class citizens who own a pet (94 million+) and an increasing proportion of those are renters as more people are priced out of home ownership. As a result, more pet-keeping families are subject to the discriminatory rental market; pet relinquishment due to loss of home and rental housing insecurity are on the rise; and animal shelters are paying the cost of this domino affect by managing excess amount of relinquished pets due to housing insecurity.
One Shared Home Project client is a statewide animal shelter that spent nearly $1 million caring for and rehoming pets relinquished due to housing issues over just 2 1/2 years.
What's the difference between "pet-inclusive" and "pet-friendly" rental housing?
Pet-friendly is equivalent to “some pets allowed” under certain strict conditions, "pet- inclusive" permits companion animals of any breed, size or weight and at no extra cost to the renter.
What are "junk fees" and why is pet rent considered one?
"Junk fees" are excessive or hidden fees on top of rent that are usually bucketed as "mandatory convenience fee" and can significantly raise monthly rent for a tenant. Junk fees do not reflect the actual cost of any service or amenity provided. Research suggests that corporate and larger landlords, in particular, impose many fees. As these types of housing providers continue to make up a growing portion of the rental housing sector, they are also making rental housing increasingly unaffordable for a majority of renter households in the U.S.
Pet rent is rightfully considered a junk fee. Landlord-focused websites consistently cite to pet rent as one of most important "revenue streams" for rental properties, and there is no evidence that the amount charged to renters is proportional to any costs related to pet amenities or pet-related upkeep. Research from Texas shows that pet rent and fees disproportionately impact low-income renters and that these renters are more likely to be paying non-refundable fees than their higher-income counterparts.