When it comes to an apartment’s pet policy, you will often find that there is no conformity from apartment to apartment and all pet policies will vary depending on the landlord/letting agent and the actual pet breed.
Therefore, when asking the question of whether birds are allowed in apartments our recommendation would be to always check your rental agreement as there will be a specific pet policy included.
Birds are allowed in apartments when the rental or building agreement clearly states this and if no pet policy is in place. Most bird policies will specify that caged birds are allowed as this will prevent damage to the property, though the type of bird will also play a role as noisy breeds could cause noise complaints from neighbors.
Birds being allowed in apartments can have a range of complications and rules that will vary drastically based on the city, apartment complex and managing agent. In this article, we are going to run through some of the key considerations that you need to be aware of when looking at whether a bird is allowed in apartments.
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Are Birds Allowed in Apartments
The quick answer as to whether birds are allowed in apartments is that it depends. This might seem like a very unhelpful answer so let us elaborate on this and give some context.
Whether you are renting or purchasing an apartment, there will always be specific rules outlined in a contract/agreement because an apartment building is a shared living space. Therefore even if you own an apartment, your actions can still have direct implications on your neighbors in terms of noise, hygiene, etc..
These contracts and agreements will vary depending on the landlord, letting agent or building manager and therefore a pet policy should always be your first point to check. Most apartments will have a pet policy and some will give great detail as to the type of pet you are (or are not) allowed.
These will mostly be dependent on noise and damage to property (specifically when renting) and birds can often fall into a grey area due to the fact that there are so many breeds with different characteristics.
Are Birds Considered Pets when Renting
You’ll find that a lot of tenancy agreements can have clauses that allow caged or enclosed pets as this will restrict any damage to the property. Fish, hamsters, guinea pigs, reptiles, insects and birds all come under these categories.
As you can likely tell, a bird is the most likely from that list to cause noise or damage and therefore it’s worth checking with your landlord or building manager whether they will accept caged pets under a specific clause and in particular, birds.
Most landlords will likely allow pets during a friendly request and if you can show that the birds will cause no damage to the property or result in complaints. When negotiating having a pet bird in your apartment it’s worth noting that you will likely need to pay a higher deposit fee imposed by the landlord to cover the possibility of damage.
Tenancy Agreement
Your tenancy agreement (or buildings contract for owners) will always specify the pet policy and if it doesn’t specifically mention birds, we’d still check with the landlord for clarification on this rather than trying to be sneaky and risk it without getting caught.
A lot of people will often go down the route of trying to find loopholes and sneakily try to keep pets that are restricted, this can not only cause tensions with a landlord but if it’s direct in breach of your tenancy agreement, it could result in eviction!
The reason we are mentioning this is that most birds will make some form of noise when chirping and it’s very easy for neighbors to recognize when noise is coming from inside the building.
Neighbors & Noise Complaints
Trying to hide a pet bird is a recipe for disaster when it comes to apartments. This is because the noise will travel easily throughout a building and if you have a particularly noisy breed of bird, then this will be flagged by neighbors almost immediately.
Noise complaints from birds are very common and this Reddit thread gives a few tips on positioning cages to avoid noise complaints (and you’ll also find people sneaking in birds which we’ve just advised against above) but it’s always worth keeping in mind that noise complaints could be a likely scenario from neighbors which could lead to new pet policies being imposed if they become too frequent.
Therefore, even if your apartment does allow birds, we’d still recommend taking cautions in order to prevent noise complaints from neighbors.
Best Birds for Apartments (And Worst)
There is no denying that there is a wide range of birds that you can potentially have as a pet, this can be further expanded as there are also birds that are suited to cages and those that are free to roam safely (though this can be where issues with property damage come in).
We’ve therefore compiled a quick list of the quietest and noisiest birds from reference as these can either be the best for apartment living or you might find that you own (or want) a breed that is just not suited for apartment living.
Quietest Pet Birds
According to thesprucepets.com, the best birds for apartment living are:
- Budgerigar
- Canary
- Finch
- Cockatiel
- Parrotlet
- Pionus Parrot
- Bourke’s Parakeet
- Senegal Parrot
Noisiest Pet Birds
The noisiest birds for apartment living are by far members of the parrot breed with some breeds reaching decibels of 120db. This is loud enough that you’d need protective ear muffs if subjected to it for long periods of time and also loud enough to significantly affect neighbors due to noise.
Some parrots are really noisy at night!
Therefore we’d say the following breeds are not suitable for most apartment buildings:
- Cockatoo
- Macaw
- Eclectus
- Amazon Parrot
- African Grey
- Lorikeet
- Ringneck Parakeet
Take Home Message
Birds being allowed in an apartment is a tricky subject, whilst you can get caged birds which will minimize the potential for damage to the property, there is also the issue with noise depending on your breed of bird.
Therefore if you need to know whether a bird is allowed in an apartment, it’s best to first check your tenancy agreement, if nothing is specified then a conversation with your landlord or building manager will be the best course of action.
For the most part, birds are allowed in an apartment but it will be at the discretion of the landlord and you’ll find that some landlords are amazing and carefree whereas others are strict beyond measure.
We’d, therefore, recommend getting a quiet, caged breed of a bird as these are most likely to be allowed after some negotiations.
