Camden has been trending toward having no weight limit for pets at most of its suburban communities for a few years, particularly in high-density markets.

“Our experience with larger breeds is that behaviorally they pose no significant issues (besides the obvious) and we provide convenient pet waste stations,” Tom Sloan, Senior Vice President, Operations, Camden. “In many (most) cases, a 70-pound Labrador is a terrific apartment dweller.”

Previously, Camden set its weight limit at 60 pounds. Sloan says just less than half of Camden’s residents pay pet rent, that most of those are dog owners and no residents have complained about oversized pets at Camden communities.

“We have experienced a marginal increase in dogs since introducing the policy,” Sloan says. “We track specific customer comments on social media and through resident move-out surveys and we have not experienced negative sentiment based on the size of dogs.”

This weight-limit policy is mentioned on the communities’ websites. Sloan says he’s seen an increasing number of competitors follow a similar approach to pet policy.

Camden charges $300 to $500 in up-front fees for pets and pet rent of $25 to $50 per pet monthly through the lease term. Instituting this policy did not result in a resident fee increase.

Sloan says Camden will continue to monitor the policy through customer sentiment, occupancy percentages and income.