by Stephen Ursery

PetScreening, a first-of-its-kind screening platform that empowers property managers to outsource their pet risk assessment and assistance animal validation processes at no charge, today announced it has partnered with RAM Partners to implement its platform at approximately 48,000 apartment homes spanning more than 200 communities.

RAM Partners is an Atlanta-based property management firm that manages apartment communities in 19 states with a growing portfolio spanning several regions of the country. The company ranked No. 32 on the National Multifamily Housing Council’s 2022 Largest Apartment Managers list and came in at No. 4 in the most recent Division I ORA Power Rankings, which measure portfolio-wide online reputation.

“Pets continue to become a more significant part of the rental-housing landscape, and a community’s pet policies often serve as a tiebreaking factor for prospective renters,” said Steven Nelson, director of ancillary services for RAM Partners. “With that in mind, it’s critical to have forward-thinking pet policies reflective of the modern renter, along with efficient ways to track the onsite pet population and manage accommodation animal requests. We’re delighted to partner with PetScreening, which will assist with all of the above while remaining a free service to operators.”

PetScreening is the nation’s only centralized database that analyzes pet-related risk in rental housing. Through PetScreening, a rental applicant enters information about their pets during the application process and the platform weighs various pet-related factors, including a community’s specific restrictions, such as breed and weight, and analyzes the behavior history of the pet and pet owner. This provides property owners with a streamlined process to comprehensively assess a specific pet and pet owner who want to live at a rental property. PetScreening also uses a team of experts to handle assistance animal accommodation requests for property teams.

Non-pet owning residents also fill out a free profile to declare they do not own a pet or animal, and that they formally acknowledge the community rules, whether they acquire, foster or sit for a pet/animal during their stay.

“We’re eager to partner with a RAM Partners organization that has always been on the plus side of the innovation curve,” said Pat Patterson, senior director of multifamily for PetScreening. “As RAM continues to grow, we believe they will have a competitive advantage in their respective markets due to their forward-thinking pet policies and the intuitive way they manage them. Pet owners are becoming an increasingly discerning bunch, and they know which rental communities will be the best place to call home.”