A woman from St Louis has revealed her landlord charged her an extra $200 one-off fee for having a goldfish in her apartment, as well as a $15 monthly rental increase for owning a pet. Nicole, who now lives in Kanzas City, shared the details of her monthly rent statement on TikTok, causing the video to go viral. The rent statement says that the fish is not an aggressive breed, according to one news source, highlighting the issues that some tenant aquarium owners face when their tank is categorized in a one size fits all rental agreement which is more properly aimed at dogs.
Are fish pets?
Strictly speaking, a pet is classed as a domestic or tamed animal kept for companionship or pleasure, and typically in your home. Goldfish are both domestic and tamed animals that are kept for pleasure in our homes so in this case the Landlord may have poor Nicole on a technicality. If it was a saltwater aquarium most fish are neither domestic nor tamed, some saltwater fish can be aggressive, venomous even, and we’re sure that if Nicole’s landlord knew that corals can be aggressive to each other too he would have his mind blown.
We’ve been in lots of similar situations in a lifetime of fishkeeping and we make sure any potential landlords are aware that we WILL have an aquarium, and it may be worth checking insurance too for what happens if your tank bursts several floors up and your insurance company wasn’t aware you had one.
Being forced to pay extra rent for an aquarium is of course ridiculous, but what do you think? Have you experienced anything similar from landlords or tenants and should pet fish be classified the same way as cats and dogs?
