Rules for charging 'pet rent'

Q: I'm interested in a rental that describes the rent in an odd way: First, the advertisement lists the rent, then it adds "pet rent." Is this legal? --Rigoberto R.

A: It's perfectly OK for an ad to specify that if a tenant has a pet, the rent will be a certain amount more than the stated rent (unless, of course, the property is subject to local rent control, as explained below). The rent is the rent, whether the landlord chops it up into little pieces ($200 for the ceiling fan, $100 for keeping a dog, etc., for a total of $X,000 rent), or simply announces one flat sum. That said, a few things need to be kept in mind:

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