Spyros called me in September.
His property had been empty for four months. Good area, good condition, fair price. Plenty of enquiries had come in but many of them had pets. And his answer was always the same.
No.
“I’m worried about damage,” he told me. “You never know what they might do to the place.”
I understood him. That fear is natural. But there was something Spyros, like most landlords, hadn’t factored in.
The damage he feared was hypothetical. The empty property was real.
What experience and research actually show about tenants with pets is not what most landlords expect to hear.
Pet-friendly properties rent faster. Only a small percentage of rentals on the market allow pets. That means a huge pool of tenants is searching desperately for something they can’t find. When you open that door, you don’t compete, you stand out. The vacancy fills.
Pet owners stay longer. Much longer. Because they know firsthand how hard it is to find a place that will have them. When they find one, they don’t let it go easily. For you, that means fewer turnovers, fewer vacant periods, less cost and less hassle.
They’re willing to pay more. Demand for pet-friendly housing is so high that many tenants will accept higher rent or an additional deposit without hesitation. Your income goes up, not down.
Responsible pet owners are usually responsible tenants. Someone who feeds, walks, and cares for an animal every single day has learned to be attentive. That habit doesn’t stop at your front door.
And there’s one more thing that rarely gets said. When you ban pets outright, you don’t make them disappear. The desperate tenant brings the animal in secretly. And then you have no knowledge, no deposit, no clause in the contract. Just a surprise when they leave.
The difference between risk and opportunity here is not the pet. It’s how you manage it.
Small pet only. Additional deposit. A clear clause in the tenancy agreement covering damage. Evaluate the tenant first, the animal second. With those four things in place, the risk is manageable. And the opportunity is real.
Spyros eventually accepted a tenant with a small dog. We signed a contract with an additional deposit and clear terms. The property was rented within ten days. A year and a half later she is still there, still paying on time, every month.
He told me recently that he still can’t understand why he held out for four months with an empty property, out of fear for something that never happened.
We are now in June 2026. The rental market in Cyprus is active and the demand for pet-friendly properties is real and largely unmet. If your property is sitting empty and a “no pets” policy is part of the reason, that policy may be costing you more than you think.
If you’d like to understand whether opening that door makes sense for your property, send me a message. A short conversation could change the way you see your vacancy, and the income you’re leaving on the table every month it sits empty.
If you know a landlord who has had an empty property for a while, send them this. The answer may have been in front of them all along.
