Finding pet-friendly apartments

Although dogs and cats aren’t permitted to share a room with students on campus, plenty of off-campus apartments welcome pets—for a price.

South Terrance at Auburn, Stratford Hills, The Park at Chapel Hill, Timberlyne Apartments, University Apartments and Glen Lennox all allow pets.

The cost to have a pet at these apartments requires a non-refundable fee ranging from $200 to $300.

Some also require a monthly pet rent ranging from $15 to $18 dollars, such as Glen Lennox and The Park at Chapel Hill, but those include a dog park.

All of the apartments also have certain restrictions on which dogs are allowed. Breeds considered aggressive are not allowed, including pit bulls, Rottweilers, Chow-chows and German Shepherds.

The majority of the apartments, such as Timberlyne and Stratford Hills, also have a two-pet limit, which includes another non-refundable fee for the second pet that range from $100 to $150.

Dorothy Bernholz, director of the Carolina Student Legal Services, said that students considering pets should always pay attention to their leases to make sure pets are allowed.

She said if pets aren’t addressed in the lease, then by default they are allowed.

Bernholz warned that students should be careful with pets to avoid damage fines.

“You are responsible for any damage your pets do,” she said.

“If you move into a place with a pet make sure you do an inspection checklist when you move in, so if there’s stains, for example, on the carpet, you know that they’re already there so your pet doesn’t get blamed for those stains later,” Bernholz said.

“If you have a dispute, come and see us,” she added.

Claire Archer, a student living off-campus with a pet, said that having a pet is worth the hard work, especially when living with roommates who can help take care of it.

“This way I didn’t have to constantly worry about coming home from campus as soon as possible to feed her and make sure she wasn’t destroying the house.”

“Despite the time we spend caring for her, our kitten is definitely worth it. She makes home feel much homier, and it really is nice to care about something other than tests and homework for a change.”

Junior Kristen Howe, a student living off-campus, said that it is definitely manageable to have a pet while attending school.

“We haven’t had any trouble balancing two cats and living off campus. Cats aren’t very high maintenance so they haven’t been a hassle at all,” she said.

“It might be different if we had a dog because then you’d have to walk them or take them out to use the bathroom but cats are pretty easy.

“Pets are so worth it to live off campus. We wouldn’t have it any other way,” Howe said.

Contact the desk editor at university@dailytarheel.com.