Pet Rent in San Diego: What Landlords Can Legally Charge in 2026

9 minute read. For San Diego rental property owners deciding whether to allow pets — and what they can charge if they do.

The short version

• Pet rent is still legal in California. AB 2216, the bill that would have banned blanket no-pet policies and prohibited pet rent, was amended repeatedly and never passed. A lot of owners think it became law. It did not.
• There is no statutory cap on pet rent. Most San Diego owners land between $25 and $75 per pet per month.
• AB 12 is the rule that actually changed your math. Since July 1, 2024, total security deposit is capped at one month’s rent — and a pet deposit counts inside that cap, not on top of it.
• Service animals and emotional support animals are not pets. No pet rent, no pet deposit, and no-pet policies do not apply to them. This is the piece owners get wrong most often, and it is the piece with real legal exposure.
• Roughly two-thirds of renters have a pet. A no-pet policy is not a neutral choice — it is a decision to shrink your applicant pool.

Start with the bill everyone thinks passed

I still get this question monthly, so let me clear it up first.

In 2024, the Legislature considered AB 2216. As introduced, it would have stopped owners from advertising blanket no-pet policies, required a reasonable justification to deny a common household pet, and prohibited charging additional rent or deposit for one. It got a lot of press. It got amended significantly. And then it died — it never made it through.

So as of today, in San Diego and everywhere else in California: you may decline to allow pets, and if you do allow them, you may charge pet rent. Nothing about that has changed.

I mention the history because bills like this tend to come back in some form, and because I would rather you make your pet policy decision on the economics than on a rumor about a law that does not exist.

What you can charge, and what you cannot

Three different things get lumped together as “pet fees,” and they are treated completely differently under California law.

Charge	Legal in CA?	The catch
Monthly pet rent	Yes	No statutory cap. It is ordinary rent, so it is taxable income and it counts toward rent for other calculations.
Refundable pet deposit	Yes	Counts inside your AB 12 one-month total deposit cap. It does not sit on top of it.
Non-refundable pet fee	No	California does not permit non-refundable deposits on residential tenancies. Calling it a “fee” does not fix it.

That third row is where I see owners get into avoidable trouble. A one-time, non-refundable “pet fee” is a common practice in other states and it does not travel to California. If you want one-time money for pet risk, the compliant path is a deposit — refundable, inside the cap, and accounted for at move-out like any other deposit.

The AB 12 squeeze nobody planned for

This is the part worth slowing down on, because it changed the arithmetic quietly.

Before July 2024, an owner could take a security deposit and then add a separate pet deposit on top. Under AB 12, for leases signed on or after July 1, 2024, your total deposit is capped at one month’s rent. Everything is inside that number.

So on a $3,800 rental, you have $3,800 of deposit to work with, total. If you want $500 of it earmarked for pet damage, that is $500 you are not holding against everything else.

There is a narrow exception: an owner who is a natural person (or a family LLC where all members are natural persons) and who owns no more than two residential properties totaling no more than four units may still collect up to two months’ rent. That exception does not apply if the prospective tenant is an active-duty servicemember — which matters enormously in this county.

The practical consequence: under AB 12, pet rent has become the more useful tool than the pet deposit, because monthly pet rent is not capped and does not compete with your general deposit. That is a real shift in how to structure a pet-friendly lease, and most owners have not adjusted.

I covered the deposit rules more fully in the San Diego security deposit post.

Assistance animals are not pets. Full stop.

This is the section to read twice.

Both the federal Fair Housing Act and California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act require owners to make reasonable accommodations for tenants with disabilities who need an assistance animal. That category covers trained service animals and emotional support animals, and under these laws they are simply not pets.

What that means in practice:

• You cannot charge pet rent for an assistance animal.
• You cannot charge a pet deposit for one.
• A no-pet policy does not apply to one.
• Breed and weight restrictions generally do not apply either.

You are not powerless. Where the disability or the need is not obvious, you may request supporting documentation from a provider with actual knowledge of the tenant’s condition. And you remain entitled to charge the tenant for actual damage the animal causes — an assistance animal exemption covers fees and rent, not destruction.

But the instinct to treat an ESA letter as a scam to be defeated is where owners create liability for themselves. Fair housing claims are expensive, they are slow, and they are not the kind of thing you want to be learning about in real time. If you get a request you are unsure about, ask before you deny.

I am a real estate broker, not an attorney, and none of this is legal advice — for a specific accommodation request, talk to counsel.

The economics, honestly

We think about our own portfolio cash-flow-first, and pet policy is a cash-flow decision more than a preference.

Here is the trade in plain terms. Somewhere around two-thirds of renters have a pet. When you post a no-pet listing in San Diego, you are removing a large share of qualified applicants before anyone has toured. In a market where vacancy is sitting around 5.5%, that is not a costless choice.

Run the numbers on your own unit. On a $3,800 rental, one extra month of vacancy costs you $3,800. Pet rent at $50 a month brings in $600 a year. So the vacancy math tends to dominate the fee math — the reason to allow pets is usually to fill faster and hold longer, not to collect $50.

The other half of it is retention. Tenants with pets have fewer places to go, and they move less. Fewer turnovers is where the real money is — I broke that down in reducing tenant turnover.

The cost side is real too. Pet damage happens, and under AB 12 you are holding less deposit against it than you used to. That is an argument for a well-written pet addendum and honest screening, not for a blanket no.

How to write a pet policy that actually holds up

• Use a separate pet addendum. Identify each animal specifically — name, breed, weight, age. “One dog” is not a description.
• Set the number, not just the permission. Two pets is a different risk than five.
• Require renters insurance with animal liability coverage. This is the single most underused protection available to owners, and it costs the tenant very little.
• Check your own insurance first. Many carriers exclude certain breeds outright, and your policy may make the decision for you before your lease does. Worth reading before you advertise — see landlord insurance in San Diego.
• Document condition at move-in with photographs. Flooring, baseboards, door frames, screens. Without a dated move-in record, a deposit deduction is very hard to defend.
• Screen the animal like you screen the applicant. Prior landlord references say more about a dog than a breed does. Our approach to the rest of it is in tenant screening.

One thing not to do

Do not quietly allow a pet without putting it in writing because the tenant is nice and you do not want the conversation.

I see this constantly. The tenant is great, the dog seems fine, nobody wants friction, and so an animal lives in the property for three years with no addendum, no pet rent, no additional deposit, and no documentation. Then there is damage at move-out and there is nothing on paper establishing that the animal was ever authorized, what condition the unit was in, or what the tenant agreed to.

Undocumented permission is the worst of both worlds. You took the risk and none of the protection. Write it down — even when, especially when, everyone is being pleasant about it.

Frequently asked

Can I charge pet rent for a service dog? No. Service animals and emotional support animals are not pets under the FHA or FEHA, and no pet rent or pet deposit may be charged for them.

Can I restrict by breed or weight? For actual pets, generally yes — and your insurance carrier may require it. For assistance animals, generally no.

How much pet rent is reasonable in San Diego? Most owners here charge $25 to $75 per pet per month. There is no legal cap, but pricing well above the local market slows your leasing, which usually costs more than the extra rent earns.

Does pet rent count toward the AB 1482 rent cap? Pet rent is rent. Treat it as part of the rent when you are calculating an allowable increase — the current cap is 8.2% through July 2027 for covered properties.

Can I add pet rent mid-lease if I find out about an unauthorized pet? Not unilaterally during a fixed term. You would be looking at a lease violation process or a negotiated addendum. This is a good moment for professional help rather than an angry text.

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Amara Berg — Big Returns Property Management, San Diego. We own rentals ourselves, which is why these posts read like operations notes rather than marketing.

Amara Berg, CA DRE #01961620. This article is general information for California rental property owners and is not legal, tax, or financial advice. Landlord-tenant law changes, and local ordinances may impose requirements beyond state law. Consult a qualified attorney about your specific property and any specific accommodation request.