Recently I inquired to my landlord about getting some Guinea Pigs. He wanted to charge me $25/month for the guinea pigs; when further pressed about why I needed to pay a charge (Guinea Pigs generally stay in their cage and wouldn't cause much damage) I was told they were legally required to charge for any pets, because they charge for dogs and that if they didn't it would be considered discrimination. This makes absolutely no sense to me. I don't see how it would possibly be considered discrimination. I do understand that regardless he can charge whatever he wants for pets. I'm just wondering if this is really a valid reason.
As for what the lease says about pets, under tenant obligations:
Not to keep in or about any pets unless specifically authorized as a special condition into this Rental Agreement.
So I would need to sign an updated lease in order for this to happen, which makes sense.
I did do a bit of googling and could not find anything related to pets or discrimination beyond this:
In Wisconsin, Wis. Stat. § 106.50(2r)(bm) includes specific rules about animals assisting persons with vision, hearing or mobility disabilities. It is illegal for an owner or property manager to refuse to rent to a tenant, evict the tenant, require extra compensation or harass a tenant because he or she keeps an animal that is specially trained to lead or assist a tenant with impaired vision, hearing or mobility...
This does not apply to me.