Muscatine

Obviously there are two sides to this.  The person who is renting does not want his property messed up in anyway and this can happen without pets.  Some landlords do not require an extra deposit if a cat is involved because always require them for dogs.  The key here is to rent to responsible individuals but this is hard to do.  In the end it comes down to finding a place to rent that will allow pets.  As far as the deposit is concerned, landlords are required by law to return the deposit if the rental is left clean and in good shape.  If the place was more clean when you left than when you rented, the landlord can be dealt with legally.

Yes, a deposit is to cover such things, but also to ensure that they have that money in case you don't give the 30 day notice that you are moving. I had the most wonderful landlord/lady for a period of time - when I moved they not only gave me my deposit but gave the the interest that had accumulated from that deposit from the bank account. Positively unheard of huh? God rest their souls - they have gone to their rewards but I just wanted to share that there are some really great people out there and I guess I just got lucky!

There is an association of landlods in Muscatine - I have seen notices in the paper of their meetings but honestly know zip about them - but that might be someplace to start your research. Good luck!

Ah, finally a subject I would LOVE to talk about! Landlords not returning deposits duely owed!

When my son rented his second apt, my sister who is a professional cleaner (and the best in Musc.) cleaned his apt. 6 months into the lease and cleaned when he moved out. We took pictures and video tape of the apt before the keys were handed in. They called him later and said he would not get his deposit back. I called them back and they insisted that he would not get his deposit back. I then informed them that my son had no money to fight them in court, but I did. I also informed them of the pictures and video I had. He got his deposit promptly returned to him. (P.S. They used some bullcrap that the apt had to be professionally cleaned. I informed them that it was.)

When he moved out of his 3rd apt, he got his full deposit back promptly. No problems there, but I did discover to use a newspaper in the pics or videos to verify the date.

So take pics of your place before you move in and after, and use a newspaper to verify the date. And ALWAYS read the WHOLE lease before you sign it. Ask the landlord for a checklist of stuff to clean when you move out.

I had a couple of landlords from hell when I was younger and I didn't want my kids brow beat by trash like that. A landlord should appreciate a clean place when a tennant moves out and not try to screw people out of their deposits.

in re: NO PETS: I truly appreciate the advice and input from you all, my problem is, i still can't convince a landlord that our dog is tame and house broken and registered and our cats are litter trained and have a scratching post they use and to accept my soon to deliver a baby girlfriend and myself out of this 2 room house we live in now. They don't care if my pets are well behaved, one person makes them distrust all.