How much can I charge for a pet deposit?

I would find out what is the going rate around your area. You don’t want to be too over the top. Depending where you live, some places charge 300 to 150, for a non refundable pet fee.
Now you can ask for a rent deposit up to one month cost of rent to be held till they move out for damages and another months rent to be held and returned to them when their lease is up if they have not missed a payment. You need to find out what is legal in your state.
Years ago places use to charge up to 3 months worth of rent. Two for deposit and the first month up front. I don’t know if that is still allowed.

Renting out a dwelling is not as simple as just picking someone to live there and collecting the rent every month. There are a multitude of regulations that must be followed at each level of government, city, county, state, federal, and including the home owners association (HOA) of your condo. Please be sure you are aware of all of them, or you can face fines and fees way above what you receive in rent.

In 1996, I was charged a $150 pet deposit for one cat in a one bedroom, $400 per month apartment. Unless there are three or more pets, I wouldn’t go too high with the amount.

I have heard of people being charged $50 / month for pets plus a $ 300 cleaning / flea removal ( NOT A DEPOSIT ) that was collected at the time they signed the lease.

It depends on the state. In California, the total deposit can not excess 2X the monthly rent for a non furnished dwelling or 3X the rent for furnished. I would suggest you call it an “increased” deposit instead of a pet deposit. (Agsin I am only referring to California.). If someone gas a pet deposit, but leaves owing rent without pet damage, you would still have to refund the pet deposit. That’s why I just increase the security deposit when someone has a pet.

The cost of replacing the carpet times two.

@saint ; It depends on where you live. In California, you can only charge total deposits in the amounts I said above and they ALL have to be refundable.