Pet Policy Clause
in Your Lease
What it actually means, what Tennessee law says, what's specific to Nashville - and exactly what to do. In plain English.
Quick Summary - What You Need to Know
- Tennessee sets no cap on pet deposits, one-time pet fees, or monthly pet rent - your lease is the only limit.
- A refundable pet deposit must be held in a separate account at a Tennessee financial institution used only for deposits.
- Nashville adds nothing - no Metro ordinance limits what a landlord charges for a dog or cat.
- Tennessee's URLTA covers counties above 75,000 people, and Davidson County qualifies, so Nashville renters get its deposit rules.
- Assistance animals are never pets, so no pet deposit, pet fee, or pet rent may be charged for them.
Understanding the Pet Policy Clause
The pet policy clause settles three things: whether your animal is allowed, what it costs, and what happens when a manager decides it was never approved. In Nashville, the cost side is wide open - Tennessee puts no ceiling on any of it.
What state law does control is where the money goes. Under Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-28-301, a refundable deposit has to sit in a separate account at a Tennessee financial institution used only for deposits, not in your landlord's operating funds. That single rule is most of your protection here, so the word refundable in your lease matters more than the dollar amount.
What renters assume
Most renters assume some number caps a pet deposit - a few hundred dollars, or the same one-month ceiling they've heard applies to security deposits.
What is actually true
Tennessee has no cap at all. A four-figure pet charge is perfectly legal in Nashville, while Colorado holds the same deposit to $300 and Arizona folds it into a 1.5-month total.
Tennessee sits at the no-limit end of this chart with Texas, Florida, and Illinois - nobody is going to tell your Nashville landlord the number is too high. Your leverage is the separate-account rule and whatever you negotiate before signing, because after signing the lease is the law.
Plain English Version
A pet deposit is a tab your landlord holds while your dog lives there. Tennessee never says how big that tab can get - it only says the money has to sit in its own bank account instead of the landlord's wallet.
Pet Clause Example - What the Wording Looks Like in Nashville, TN
The sample clause below is real lease language - a court quoted it word for word, and then ruled on it. What the judge decided is at the bottom of this block.
Find the equivalent paragraph in your own lease and read the two side by side. The wording will differ; the moving parts rarely do.
PETS. NO PETS ARE PERMITTED. IF THERE ARE PETS, LESSEE(S) AGREES TO PAY AN ADDITIONAL $10 PER MONTH PER CAT OR DOG UNDER 40 POUNDS AND $20 PER MONTH PER DOG OVER 40 POUNDS. ONE DOG PERMITTED, NO ADDITIONAL FEE.
Quoted from the published opinion in Oldendick v. Crocker, 2016-Ohio-5621, 70 N.E.3d 1033 (Ohio Ct. App. 8th Dist.). Judicial opinions are not subject to copyright; the lease language is reproduced in limited part for commentary under 17 U.S.C. § 107.
“IF THERE ARE PETS, LESSEE(S) AGREES TO PAY”
The ban lasts one sentence before the lease starts pricing what it just forbade. Before you argue about the price, check that Tennessee's deposit rules even reach you: the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act applies only in counties over 75,000 people. Davidson County qualifies, so a Nashville renter is covered - a renter an hour outside the city may not be.
“PER CAT OR DOG UNDER 40 POUNDS”
Nothing in Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-28-301 limits what a pet deposit or pet rent may be, and Metro Nashville adds no ordinance of its own. Weight banding, per-animal pricing, a flat fee - all lawful. The lease is the only ceiling, which makes the moment before signing the only moment you have leverage.
“PER MONTH PER DOG OVER 40 POUNDS”
Here is the Tennessee rule worth knowing. A refundable pet deposit must be held in a separate account at a Tennessee financial institution, used only for deposits - not the landlord's operating account, not a personal account, and not out of state. Landlords who treat pet money as income rather than as a deposit are breaking that rule, and it is a concrete thing to point at in a dispute.
“ONE DOG PERMITTED”
An allowance that survives only if it is written into the addendum, because in a no-cap state a verbal “the dog is fine” is worth nothing at move-out. And keep the categories apart: an assistance animal is not a pet, does not count against a one-animal limit, and carries no pet deposit and no pet rent whatever this clause says. In Westmont Mirador LLC v. Shurtliff (Utah Ct. App. 2014) a renter argued exactly that, and lost: the court held a $200 nonrefundable fee plus $20 a month bought only “the privilege of keeping [a] pet in the apartment”, and pet damage still came out of the ordinary deposit. Utah law does not bind a court here, but the reasoning is the reasoning landlords use.
The court called it what it is - an “internally inconsistent pet clause”. It bans pets and prices them in the same breath, so the court refused to read the rent out of it at all and used the parties' own stipulation instead. The tenant then won the part that matters: because the pet fee paid for pet-related risk, and the next tenant had no pet, the landlord suffered no actual loss and had no business keeping that money out of her deposit. She recovered the $640 balance plus $640 more in statutory double damages - $1,280 - under Ohio's deposit statute.
One court, one lease, one state. That answer is not automatically yours, and your lease may be worded to land differently. Use this to know what to look for and what to ask - your state's tenant hotline or a local tenant attorney can answer it for your document.
Tennessee Law on Pet Policy Clause
- Tennessee sets no maximum on security or pet deposits.
- URLTA rules apply only in counties above 75,000 population, which includes Davidson County (Nashville).
- Deposits must sit in a separate account at a Tennessee financial institution used only for deposits.
- Assistance animals are not pets under fair-housing law and carry no pet charges.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-28-301 - statutes change; verify the current text for your situation.
Tennessee's Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act is about how deposit money is handled, not how much of it there is. There's no statutory maximum on a pet deposit, no limit on monthly pet rent, and nothing stopping a landlord from charging a nonrefundable pet fee on top of both.
Compare Colorado, where a pet deposit can't exceed $300, must be refundable, and pet rent is capped at $35 a month or 1.5% of rent. Georgia caps all deposits together at two months' rent, and Arizona at one and a half. Tennessee gives you none of those numbers - just § 66-28-301 and its separate-account requirement.
Tennessee Tenant Protections
Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-28-301 requires your landlord to keep a refundable deposit, pet money included, in a separate account at a Tennessee financial institution used only for deposits - never commingled with the business's own funds. URLTA applies in counties above 75,000 people, and Davidson County clears that threshold, so Nashville renters get statutory deposit protections that tenants in small rural Tennessee counties do not have.
Federal fair-housing law puts assistance animals entirely outside the pet clause, meaning no pet deposit, no one-time fee, and no monthly pet rent can be charged for a service or emotional support animal.
What's Specific to Nashville
Figures are the state rule, or the stronger city ordinance where one exists. Verify the current law for your own situation before relying on it.
Nashville adds nothing. There's no Metro ordinance capping pet deposits, pet rent, or pet fees, and no local rule forcing a landlord to make the charge refundable - Tennessee's URLTA is the whole story in Davidson County.
That matters in a rental market this competitive. The apartment boom across the Gulch, Germantown, and East Nashville made monthly pet rent close to standard, often stacked on a nonrefundable fee, and a full applicant pool means a leasing office has little reason to negotiate. Breed and weight limits usually come from the building's insurer rather than city hall, which is why the same dog gets approved in one Nashville building and rejected two blocks away.
Refundable makes it deposit money under § 66-28-301, so it must be held in a separate account and can come back to you.
Breed, weight, and the pet's name in the lease or a signed addendum is what stops a new manager from later calling your dog an unauthorized pet.
Tennessee caps neither one, so this combination is legal and costly. Negotiate before signing - afterward you have no leverage at all.
A clause letting the landlord withdraw permission anytime can force you to rehome an animal mid-lease. Insist the approval be written and permanent.
Sources
The law this guide relies on, and where to read it. Statutes change, so confirm the current text before you act on it.
- Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-28-301. Tennessee publishes its official code through LexisNexis; there is no free government edition.
Red Flags to Watch Out For
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Deposit renamed a nonrefundable fee
The separate-account protection in § 66-28-301 attaches to refundable deposits. Relabeling the same money a fee moves it outside that rule, and the label controls.
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Uncapped monthly pet rent
Tennessee sets no limit on pet rent, and it renews with every lease term. Colorado caps the identical charge at $35 a month or 1.5% of rent.
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Pet money mixed with operating funds
A refundable deposit must sit in a separate account at a Tennessee financial institution used only for deposits. Commingled money is a statutory violation.
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Per-day unauthorized pet penalty
Daily fines for an animal management says was never approved add up fast and usually arrive attached to a lease-violation notice. Get written approval at signing.
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No assistance-animal carve-out
A flat no-pets clause with no exception isn't enforceable against a service or support animal. Assistance animals are never pets, and no pet charge applies.
Your Rights as a Nashville Tenant
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Your deposit must be held separately
Under Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-28-301, a refundable pet deposit belongs in a separate account at a Tennessee financial institution used only for deposits.
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URLTA covers Davidson County
Tennessee's landlord-tenant act applies in counties over 75,000 people. Nashville clears that easily, so its deposit rules are yours by law.
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Assistance animals cost nothing extra
Service and emotional support animals sit outside the pet clause under fair-housing law, so no pet deposit, one-time fee, or monthly pet rent applies.
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The written lease is enforceable both ways
With no statutory cap, your signed lease is the ceiling. A charge that isn't in the lease is a charge your landlord has to justify.
What To Do - Step by Step
Read the exact pet clause
Hunt for the words refundable and nonrefundable. That one distinction decides whether Tennessee's separate-account rule protects your money at all.
Separate deposit, fee, and rent
List the three charges apart: refundable deposit, one-time fee, monthly pet rent. Leasing offices quote a lump sum because the pieces follow very different rules.
Negotiate before you sign
With no cap in Tennessee, your lease is the only limit that exists. Ask for the fee cut or the deposit made refundable while you still have leverage.
Get pet approval in writing
Put the animal's name, breed, and weight in the lease or a signed addendum. Verbal approval from a leasing agent disappears the day management changes.
Document the unit and the animal
Photograph floors, carpet, trim, and doors at move-in and move-out, and keep vet and grooming records. Pet damage claims are where deposits quietly vanish.
Push back in writing after move-out
If your deposit is withheld or was never held in a separate account, send a dated written demand and contact a Nashville legal aid office or tenant hotline.