Ginger has a good life, at a comfortable home in Kaimuki. But she’s not welcome in many condominiums throughout Honolulu.

At Hawaiki Tower in Kakaako, she’d be too heavy.

At Four Paddle in Waikiki, Ginger would be too tall.

And at the Mauna Luan in Hawaii Kai, she is the wrong species — meaning she isn’t a house cat.

Ginger is a domestic dog, specifically a Dalmatian-pit bull terrier mix weighing 57 pounds and standing 20 inches tall.

Any pet owner knows residences have rules permitting or not permitting animals. But the range of pet rules among Honolulu condos is more mixed than the most mixed poi dog.

Kristian Nielsen, owner of real estate brokerage firm Honolulu HI 5, recently compiled and posted online a list outlining pet policies for 320 condos, from low-rise townhomes to dense high-rises, between downtown and Hawaii Kai. The post is at bit.ly/1Qk3xm8.

“As a Realtor dealing with homebuyers, I get asked (about details) on pet policy every other day,” he said.

Weight, height limits

According to Nielsen’s tally, 145 condos don’t allow any cats or dogs. The other 175 are pet-friendly, though the definition of friendly depends on the species, size and number of pets as well as some rather unique limitations.

More than a dozen condos on the list, including Foster Tower, Moana Pacific and Allure Waikiki, impose a 25-pound weight limit per animal. Other weight limits per pet are 20, 30, 35, 40, 50, 60 and 75.

Some condos restrict pets by measurements, such as 909 Kapiolani where residents are permitted one dog fewer than 20 inches in height at the shoulder, or the Diamond Head at Pualei Circle condo where two cats or one dog are allowed by residents as long as each is no taller than 21 inches at the shoulder.

A couple of condos use both height and weight restrictions, such as the Four Paddle where two pets are allowed as long as each weighs no more than 25 pounds and is no taller than 15 inches at the shoulder, or the Waikiki Sunset where one pet is allowed as long as it isn’t heavier than 30 pounds and no taller than 20 inches measuring to the top of the head.

Some condos allow only cats. None on Nielsen’s list allow only dogs.

By number, either one or two animals is most common, though many condos don’t specify quantity. At the Ala Wai Terrace, residents may have one dog or two cats unless they live in a penthouse unit, where two dogs are permitted.

Pet fees, insurance

Nielsen said he read through some vague or meaningless rules such as prohibition of “aggressive dogs” without that term being defined. Another rule said large dogs are discouraged but not prohibited. “That basically means nothing,” he said.

For pet owners, it’s important to understand specifics relating to animal rules before buying or renting to avoid problems, Nielsen said, noting that a fair number of condos have no pet weight limit but require that owners carry their animals in common areas such as hallways and elevators.

Other requirements can include a pet fee and pet liability insurance. At Hokua in Kakaako, pet owners are charged $50 a year per dog or cat to defray additional costs for cleaning a dog park and other common areas. At a nearby tower called Ko‘olani, pet owners must have homeowner’s or renter’s insurance with a $300,000 liability limit covering pets.

David Wo, the owner of a 9-pound Maltese named Angel who lives in the pet-friendly Punahou Chalet, said his friends have dealt with the difficulty of finding compatible places to live with their pets. “It’s hard,” he said. “You call up (and hear) ‘no dogs or no animals allowed.’”

According to the Hawaiian Humane Society, 60 percent of Oahu households have pets and 43 percent have dogs.

Gauging demand

Whether to allow pets, and if so under what conditions, is typically determined by the developer of a condo before a project is sold and built, but can later be changed by unit owners through their association of apartment owners.

Richard Emery, a veteran Hawaii property management industry executive, said the biggest consideration by developers in recent decades seems to be whether a project is targeted more to local residents or vacationing second-home buyers. The former, he said, generally will more often permit pets.

Condos on Nielsen’s list that don’t allow pets are largely in Waikiki, though there are some in more local neighborhoods such as 215 North King St., King’s Gate in Moiliili, Makiki Palms and Punahou Manor.

Emery, who is government affairs vice president for Associa Hawaii, a firm representing 500 condominium associations in the state, said newer condo projects aimed at local owner-occupants appear to be allowing pets more than older projects, in part because of more demand from prospective buyers. However, a decision to allow pets still affects the pool of buyers because some may be afraid of or allergic to animals.

In all cases of pet restrictions, residents with service animals are exempted.

Let residents decide

Regarding weight limits, Emery sees little value in them. “The real issue is the demeanor and sanitation of a dog or cat,” he said.

Rick Stack, vice president of development for Alexander & Baldwin Inc., said the company prefers to make its Honolulu condo projects open to pet owners as a selling point while letting unit buyers collectively decide whether to make any restrictions beyond the number of pets.

“We’d rather leave it to the association board because they’re going to be the ones in charge of enforcement,” Stack said, adding that some boards can go overboard focusing on how much someone’s pet weighs.

Stack said four A&B towers in Honolulu — Lanikea in Waikiki and Keola La‘i, Waihonua and The Collection in Kakaako — were brought to market with no weight restrictions, though association boards later imposed a 30-pound limit at Keola La‘i and 40 pounds at Waihonua.

Other developers, however, still like to regulate the size of pets in projects they are building. According to Nielsen’s list, six condo towers either under construction or expected to start construction soon in Kakaako have pet weight limits: Symphony Honolulu (two pets at 40 pounds each), Keauhou Place (two pets at 50 pounds each) and Park Lane Ala Moana, Waiea, Anaha and Ae‘o (two pets at 60 pounds each).

So for Ginger, decent options exist for moving into this future bunch of towers in Kakaako. She’d be excluded from only two, Symphony and Keauhou Place — unless she gains more than 3 pounds, that is.