To think that people with pets get a raw deal in the lettings market?

[Vallhala]

I live in a privately rented house and as a dog and cat owner as well as a mum am lucky enough to have a fantastic landlord who is happy to let his lovely house to someone with both pets and children. However, finding a suitable home was a nightmare. So many landlords I approached just wouldn't entertain the idea of letting to people with pets. Agencies were even worse, to the point of rudeness.

Today I have learned of a man who owns a well behaved dog. He have been consistantly rejected by private landlords and/or their agents because of his dog and has had to take his best pal to rescue as a result.

This may not seem relevent to MN because this seperated gentleman's DC will remain in the family home with Mum but there are plenty of families who experience the same problem. But what IS the problem?

I have in the past(and have advised others) to offer an increased deposit, extra rent, written assurance of carpet cleaning, rented home insurance especially tailored for pet owners and personal references from professionals related to the species who know the family and their pet/s and yet still we have faced knockback after knockback from landlords.

Isn't it time that landlords started to look at these offers seriously and consider them on a case by case basis instead of rejecting the proposal of pets in their houses out of hand? Heaven knows, when a family is moving, especially as a result of marital breakdown, children need all the comfort and continuity they can get and the loss of a much-loved pet on top of their already upset lives can be heartbreaking.

Landladies (and landlords), please take time to consider prospective pet owning tenants as individual cases.

spikeycow - no tenant is guaranteed to be problem free. Tenants can look perfect on paper and be a nightmare or look rather questionable and behave perfectly. But with a pet there is a clear risk to the property not present with tenants who are pet free.

Can't exactly say 'no humans' though can you spikeycow?

QS My niece is allergic to cats. She sleeps at my house occasionally and so long as I hoover properly and air the house out before she comes (and send the cat to my mums for the night of course) she is fine.

I sort of understand why LL say no pets. But then as another poster pointed out why allow children? I adore my house. It was derelict when we bought so it truely is my house. I designed every room and chose all the furniture.

I'd happily rent it out to people with pets if we had to move. But that is because I designed the house to be dd2 proof. Dd2 causes far more mess and damage than my pets do. We have no carpet, the only upholstery we have is leather or imitation leather. The only thing I would do differently is buy a cheap dining table, because mine cost a small fortune and any self respecting lab could eat it in an hour or two.

I don't understand why LL rent out houses with carpets and soft furnishings that can a) be damaged easily (like carpet) and are b) not second hand and cheap as chips.

I got my dog through this issue. She was in a rescue center due to her owners, who had her from a pup moving to a place they couldn't have pets. I got her when I was living in a home I owned however a year later my relationship ended and I had to move into a rented property. I didn't have any problem getting a flat that time, I didn't have any children but it did rule some places out but got somewhere with no problem and then again a year later when dh and I moved in together however we did start to have problems when we relocated from Liverpool to Oxfordshire, Every place seemed to say no pets, we found a house we really liked, it said no pets but I asked the agent who talked the owner into it as at first she had said no children, no pets but as the house was sitting empty for a while she went back on the children so when she was asked about us she agreed as she wanted tenants, we offered extra deposit but they didn't want it, just wrote a couple of extra bits into our contract about pet damage and cleaning on exit, when we left that property a year later it was fine, no issues which helped as we stayed with the same agency so the landlord was quite happy given the lack of issues with the last place.
We have been in this house for 4 years now and have just renewed for another 2 years, we now have 2 children as well as the dog, the owner is happy to have secured long term tenants who pay the rent!
So, YANBU, it would be nice if all landlords looked at pets on a case by case basis rather then a blanket ban, some homes are not pet suitable but some will depend on the pet and the owner.

Qs I see your point and in that situation I probably would have moved before getting the cat. However our flat was unfurnished, already had a catflap and was bought as an investment by a ll who couldn't be arsed with even basic repairs so actually I don't think I was unreasonable at all. When I asked the agency they just said it was a blanket ban on pets without even asking the ll.

That's why I'm saying landlords should meet whoever it is first. If they have reservations about children and see them out of control then it would be a no goer. Same for dogs. The blanket policy is discrimination and shouldn't be allowed. Letting agents are directly contributing to the amount of animals placed in rescue.

Exactly, the lls are not asked most of the time. Most lls like good families in their properties, especially in London.

Marjee, then that is different.

Furniture cheap as chips..... Would not get many tenants through the door with furniture cheap as chips. Or, I would get tenants who dont care, and really low rent, with furniture cheap as chips.

I did buy leather sofas this time around. And chairs with no soft fabric for the dining room.

Carpets? All living space tiles or laminate flooring. All bedrooms have carpets. Dont think many people want to live in house without carpets in the bedrooms. Freezing toes in the morning. ugh.

Based on our familiy experience I wouldn't let to pet owners. Dh is so allergic to cat and dog hair that just hoovering and booting the cat out is not enough. The stuff gets under the carpets and into the cushions. It's misery for him. I am similar but not quite as bad as him, although by the end of an evening in a cat house I am on the ventolin.

We have moved into two houses that previously housed dogs. Getting the old carpets out was a major issue.

We don't rent, but when booking holiday cottages I have to go for ones that have a no pets policy. Which actually seem to getting thinner on the ground than they were as people want to be dog friendly in holiday lettings.

I became a reluctant landlord earlier this year after relocating overseas - right after we had renovated the house from top to bottom including new double glazed doors.

We said no cats because there is nowhere in the house to put a catflap without compromising the new doors (and the effectiveness of the double glazing).

We did initially consider dogs but it is a small house and some of the prospective tenants were proposing to leave their dogs at home inside all day. I don't find that acceptable given our newly plastered and painted walls, new carpets etc. So, we opted for no pets - unless someone could persuade us otherwise. In the end, we let it to a couple where the man took the dog to work with him each day and where the man's employers agreed to get the carpets professionally cleaned at the end of the tenancy, as well as act as guarantor for any damage.

If we'd only had the usual (small) deposit, I don't think I would have taken the risk tbh. Not being malicious, we just can't afford it financially if we have to put right damage over and above the bond sum.

I'm really shocked, reading this thread, at how many people think it is OK to lie to landlords (and I speak as a current tenant). I would definitely terminate a tenancy if someone lied to me, if only because of the breach of trust - if a tenant lies about pets, what else are they lying about?

The idea that the smell of a person with BO equates to the ingrained smell of two cats living (and shitting) in a flat for a year is ludicrous. It doesn't go with one clean, it takes weeks.
It's like smokers only realising how much it stinks when they've given up for a while. People with pets truly don't understand the smell.
Marjee why would you get flamed for your cat shitting outdoors? It's cruel to keep cats indoors all the time, they are territorial animals and need to be outside at least some of the time.

I think if you asked 1000 landlords who their ideal tenants would be they would mostly say

"Non-smoking professional couple"

If they can get that, they'll take it. It doesnt mean that anyone else will trash the house, just that in their experience, and those of most letting agents, the NSPC are the least problematic tenants across a spectrum of potential problems- rent default, noise issues and damage to furniture being at the top. Just by the very fact that they're at work all day they cause less wear and tear.

There will always be exceptions but just like insurance companies, landlords have limited information on tennants, so they have to generalise.

That's the thing. Even when I have gone through an agent, I have always met the landlord aswell. That's when I've mentioned the pets. Once they met us, in 3 cases, they weren't bothered about pets. One had the home I live in now trashed previously but still had enough common sense to go on individual merits. It's how you present yourselves.

I'm sure that all mn pet owners are responsible and thoughtful, but unfortunately many are not and I wouldn't want to live in a house that had had a smelly dog in it. Equally I wouldn't live in a house that had had a smoker in it. Non smokers and non pet owners can be very sensitive to the smells if those things. So, as a landlord, I do not let properties to pet owners or smokers. The amount of redecorating and cleaning needed to rid a building of the smell of smoke is huge, and dogs and cats can cause similar problems I prefer not to let to people with children too as they often cause a disproportionate amount of wear and tear, and I have been on the receiving end of landlords not wanting children when we moved to a new city with 2 children and needed to rent

You would if you met me. I've a great record with charming landlords, dogs an all

FWIW I can understand why LL renting furnished dont want cats in the apartment- I wouldnt, and I have 2 cats of my own. The fur is a PITA and does get ingrained in (eg) sofas if not hoovered very frequently.

Mintybadger- buy your friend a bag of the crystal cat litter- they hate it at first but is the only one I've ever found to be totally odour eliminating (assuming you change it regularly). I agree the smell of cat litter trays is foul, and that's a LL's basic problem. He has no way to know if his tennant is a "crystal litter daily disinfector" or a "cheapo litter once-a- weeker".

Mintybadger that comment referred to recent threads about cat shit in people's gardens, I suspect my neighbours get frequent visits (and presents) from my cat

2nd hand furniture needn't look cheap though. If you look about enough you can get some great deals. I have a gorgeous, expensive looking cream leather corner sofa. It cost us £180 and came with a free double bed inc mattress, a fridge freezer, an oven and a coffee table. We sold the bed and the coffee table because we didn't need them.

I don't think my house looks cheap. The vast majority of my furniture and my fittings are 2nd hand or bought as a bargain when the sales were on.

Shiny, I am sure it is possible to find great second hand stuff. Not possible for me though, as an overseas landlord. It takes time and commitment to source such stuff.

I use www.furnishmyproperty.com Next day delivery and assembly included in the price. It is for trade customers only.

I'm a landlady, and a tenant.

I have an elderly cat who I lie about in the same way bratnav says, because I will not pay any more money for an animal that is definitely cleaner and much less disruptive/destructive than most humans.

As far as my own tenants go, if they want to have a dog living in my property with them then I would ask for a slightly higher deposit, as dogs are sometimes less well house-trained (not all dogs though, I know!). For any other pets, I wouldn't ask for more deposit, and just be content to be covered by the standard deposit.

Lions, tigers and bears are out though

I was a reluctant landlord through circumstances and let out my brand new build house that I had only stayed 2 nights in . I specified no pets and when I visited 3 months later my lovely house was scratched and damaged to the point that the new stair banister required to be replaced (only 3.5 months old !) , it was honestly so badly marked that a paint job would not have covered it. Tenant had brought their cat, I didn't know they had one, they assured me they were happy with the no pets rule.

So I am sorry to say never again.

MAdaboutQuavers your cat's hair will still be ingrained into the carpets and soft furnishings.

I can understand the no pets thing for animals that can cause damage. Annoying as it is. However we have caged pets and come up against the same resistance - they couldn't damage the property.

We are OK with pets in our place but that is because our house is rented unfurnished and has mostly slate flooring, would feel differently if there we soft furnishings/carpet involved.

We have a cat and rent here, but once again our own furniture and wooden floors.

I would never rent to pet owners. I'm allergic to cats and no matter what people say, they do cause damage. I am at people who are affronted at being asked for extra security because they have a pet.

Marjee - you may feel entirely justified in what you did, but it is people like you who give tenants a bad name and make landlords untrusting because you have no respect for the terms of the contract that you have signed.