Skip to main content

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Veterinary Humanities and Social Sciences
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fvets.2024.1465682

Barriers to finding and maintaining pet-inclusive affordable housing: Tenant experiences in Houston, Texas

Provisionally accepted
Tess M. Mascitelli Tess M. Mascitelli 1Taryn M. Graham Taryn M. Graham 2*Lauren Loney Lauren Loney 3Jennifer W. Applebaum Jennifer W. Applebaum 4*Christa M. Murray Christa M. Murray 1Miranda Binns-Calvey Miranda Binns-Calvey 1Sloane M. Hawes Sloane M. Hawes 1Kevin Morris Kevin Morris 1
  • 1 Institute for Human-Animal Connection, Graduate School of Social Work, University of Denver, Denver, Colorado, United States
  • 2 Independent Researcher, Toronto, ON, Canada
  • 3 Humane Society of the United States, Washington D.C., District of Columbia, United States
  • 4 University of Florida, Gainesville, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The city of Houston, Texas has a growing deficit of available and affordable rental units for low-income residents. Due to pet policies, the shortage of affordable housing potentially puts renters who own pets at greater risk of housing insecurity. In this qualitative study, we use a community-engaged approach to document the lived experiences of finding and maintaining affordable housing among 24 current, former, and aspiring pet owners. The majority of the participants identified as female, were aged 44-60 years, identified as Black, had a high school education, and were on disability or government assistance. Many expressed having experienced homelessness in the past and/or having lived in several different types of affordable housing over their lifetime. Participants highlighted challenges in finding pet-inclusive affordable housing, emphasized its importance, and discussed issues faced, such as high pet charges, size and breed restrictions, and confusion surrounding pet policies. Landlord relationships and living conditions varied, with safety concerns prevalent. Having one’s pet designated as an Emotional Support Animal made tenants feel safe and secure, knowing they could not be refused, evicted, or otherwise charged extra. Participants shared what is working well and what could be improved. This study concludes with recommendations for fair application and awareness of pet policies in affordable housing, drawing on participating tenants' experiences and existing efforts for policy and practice improvements.

    Keywords: Pets, Affordable housing, Tenants, policy, housing insecurity

    Received: 16 Jul 2024; Accepted: 08 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Mascitelli, Graham, Loney, Applebaum, Murray, Binns-Calvey, Hawes and Morris. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Taryn M. Graham, Independent Researcher, Toronto, ON, Canada
    Jennifer W. Applebaum, University of Florida, Gainesville, United States

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.