A property manager has revealed that parents, rather than pet owners, are more likely to be turned down for a rental because children cause more damage than pets.
Taylored Property Management founder Skye Taylor, from Adelaide, said she has seen multiple types of damage caused by children of all ages that pets could never cause.
Ms Taylor explained her position to Daily Mail Australia, calling it a “logical” conclusion.
“Children can access many more areas of the property than a pet can,” he said.
“The risk is also higher due to different age groups, which can range from young children to teenagers.”
Taylor believes other rental managers discriminate if a prospective tenant has children because of the harm they are known to create.
“As a single mother, when looking for a rental property, I found it challenging and wondered if the stigma around children was what was causing it,” she said.
“It had a solid rental history and there shouldn’t have been any concerns.”
Property manager Skye Taylor (pictured) says children cause more damage to rental properties than pets
The mother of two (pictured) would never discriminate against applicants with children, but believes some property managers do.
Taylor said that while the damage pets cause tends to be “close to the ground,” such as scratched floorboards, dirty walls, chewed baseboards and going to the bathroom indoors, children have many more ways to cause harm.
“I’ve seen hair straighteners left on carpets, nail polish spilled on the floor, text drawings on walls and window sills, as well as text dripping on the floor, which is common,” she said.
‘Once a teenage girl had oil in a saucepan on the stove and she forgot it and it caught fire.
‘Thankfully the kitchen only suffered smoke damage and needed to be painted, but it could have been much worse.
“A pet has never done that.”
The property manager said that generally whenever the floor is damaged, it needs to be replaced, which can be beneficial for the tenant.
Skye Taylor (pictured) said it stands to reason that children cause more property damage than pets because they have access to more areas of the home.
‘It’s usually a replacement for that particular room or area.
“If it’s text or nail polish, you won’t be able to remove the stain when the property manager looks at it unless it’s treated right away.”
The mother of two also said children can damage the floor if they wear soccer and soccer cleats, as well as tap shoes indoors.
And because children can be “dirty,” surfaces like walls and light switches can become permanently dirty.
“Many people don’t realize that if parents don’t clean the paint regularly, over time it can cause deeper damage to the paint and the stain line can’t be removed,” he said.
“In the long run, you may need new paint if you neglect it.”
Ms Taylor said tenants should also be aware that their children wear blue tac, which can leave a greasy residue, and tape, as it can remove plaster.
But the property manager admits that when pets cause damage, it’s usually bigger and more expensive.
‘I had a property where an animal had been chewing the skirting boards in one area and using the skirting board as a toilet in another area.
“We had to replace the baseboards in the bathroom area and the connecting floorboards. I think it cost about $5,000.”
Taylor also said that cat urine causes the most damage due to its strong odor and corrosive nature.
The property manager (pictured) said that although children cause more damage than pets, the mess left by pets that are not properly cared for by their owners is often more expensive to fix, such as replacing concrete subfloor due to cat urine
“Floorboards are the worst (for cat urine) because it seeps through the joints of the boards,” he said.
‘I know of a situation where there were 27 jacks and the subfloor (the concrete under the floor) had to be completely replaced.
‘We had to replace all the window sills because they were at ground level. It had just seeped into everything.
But the property manager has noticed an interesting thing about Australian renters: people are much more likely to clean up after their pets than their children.
“I have found that most tenants with pets will go above and beyond because they are so grateful to have their pets and will take care of the property to make up for that,” she said.
‘But that doesn’t seem to be the case with children. Obviously, there’s more acceptance of children in rentals, so tenants aren’t nervous around them like they are around pets.’