[LnxPrgr3]

Non-refundable deposits are.

If you really do have a model pet that damages nothing, why does the landlord get to keep your deposit anyway?

I can grant, say, compulsory carpet replacement—but even then, what if you live there 10 years and the carpet really ought to be replaced whether you had a pet or not? And do two pets double the cost of replacing the carpet?

(Also I know for a fact scroogier landlords will leave the old carpet in when they really shouldn't—when it's 10 years old, the last tenant's cat peed all over it, and also the last tenant chainsmoked indoors. But they'll still collect a non-refundable pet deposit, and probably bill for cleaning in excess of deposits even when that cleaning did not happen.)

Why is that reasonable risk management and not gouging?

[sokoloff]

If you drove for a whole year without a car accident, why does your insurance company get to keep your insurance payments anyway?

[LnxPrgr3]

Because I'm buying the service of them paying my liability, and also my own damages if I opt for it, if suddenly I crash. They sell the service of protecting you from financial risk.

A car insurance policy that costs $400 once but only pays for $400 worth of damage ever, and isn't refundable, is a bad deal. No one would buy this unless forced to.

False equivalence.