To want to just break stuff in anger?

[OrangeIsMyNewBlack]

Posting here partly for rage, partly for quick responses.

Household got served notice for our rental property, has knocked us sideways because we thought this was our "forever" home whilst I have my studies and we sort everything out. I've been scrabbling to find a place for 4 weeks, and we have until the end of the month in order to get a place, finalize it, pack up and bog off. What I'm supremely fucking pissed about is the standards to which we are being held as tenants. Namely, we have cats.

2 cats, both male, that don't spray, don't fight and are treated for fleas regularly. We have an extra £250 in our current bond to cover any pet issues, and we've got a glowing reference because we've never had an issue. But tell a rental agency you have cats and they shrink away like a vampire being presented with garlic...!

I'm sorry, but what the actual fuck is wrong with private landlords?! I saw one property the other day that was a four-bed property. 4 bedrooms. No students, no sharers, no pets, no smokers, no benefits, no children. So... a FOUR. BEDROOMED. PROPERTY. For a single or professional working couple?!?!?! What the fucking fuck is wrong with people?!?!

Anyway, sorry. Crux of my point is: is there anything I can do to circumvent the whole "no pets" thing, because there aren't new properties being listed regularly in my area, and every single property within a 5-mile radius of the town I need to be near is treating me like a leper who's sneezed in their face. Anybody, anywhere, know anything about how to get around this other than getting rid of my two cats?!

Pretend you don't have cats.

I think you can find properties but you'll probably have to pay more deposit unfortunately

Don't think you should pretend you don't have pets

Last time I checked landlords rent their properties to humans not animals, so perhaps wind your neck in a bit.

Cats are smelly and destructive, unlikely that you will agree but thats's the main reason landlords don't want pets.

I agree OP

There must be a steady supply of professional couples renting larger houses with no pets or the landlords would have to relax their standards, it hurts my brain.

I'd pretend you didn't have the cats. Can you stick them outside and hide all their stuff for inspections? I don't like being dishonest but you're in a shit situation so maybe needs must. After 6 months of being a good tenant you could ask if you can have a cat, we did that in our last rented place (even then we were only allowed 1 adult cat, had to pay extra deposit, etc).

I agree. We are trying to move but have a dog. It's nigh on impossible. We both work in full time, we have one teenage child, we have lived in our current house over 4 years and have an absolutely glowing reference from current landlord but we've been knocked back 21 times so far.

You might have more luck with tenancies where it's managed directly by the landlord rather than by an agency. Landlords are more likely to listen to reason and make a judgement based on the actual circumstances (your two particular pets). Letting agents will have a blanket rule that they won't budge from.

Incidentally, while I think pets and students are issues on which landlords are perfectly entitled to make their own decisions on whether or not to take them, I think it's shameful that you can legally ban children or benefits recipients.

Evicting you at such short notice is a really nasty thing to do.

But I get why some don't want to rent to people with cats. Cats can do damage to the property, so that's not unreasonable.

But I'm with you with regard to the 4 bedroom rooms with no children and no sharing allowed ... who do they rent this to? Mormon men with three infertile wives?

LemonsAndLimes123 - cats are only smelly and destructive if the owners let them be, and the state of some properties after PEOPLE have lived in there makes me feel fucking ill. I'm pissed off that literally noone will listen to reason or give us an opportunity to explain: they hear the word "cat" and suddenly their brain switches off.

MargaretCavendish - I have tried, however every single property I have managed to find has been managed by a company rather than a private landlord. I haven't been able to find a single private landlord that hasn't gone through an agency, and when I request to speak to the landlords directly it's always been met with a resounding "NO".

It's fucking ridiculous. Tenancies have gotten to the point where almost noone will qualify for their ridiculous restrictions. I even talked to one place who'd had a property up and listed since January that was still available - but apparently the landlady would rather have the property vacant than consider compromising!!

It's gotten to the point where I've started a homelessness application because I genuinely feel it is utterly hopeless.

YABU to expect to find a landlord who allows cats! Cats have a tendency to shed hair (which sticks to everything), they scratch at carpets/doors and have a strong catty smell. When we were viewing properties I could tell which had pets straight away by the smell and it's off putting. I like cats (used to have 2 of my own) but wouldn't dream of letting my tenants have them. There's also the problem of fleas, as no flea protection method is foolproof and once flea eggs get into the carpets the cycle can go on for years (we had our old house fumigated twice!)

I also understand the no kids thing (despite having a toddler DD) as kids cause a lot of wear and tear on a property and the noise can upset neighbours. Landlords just want tenants who are quiet, pay on time and don't cause damage to the property. When it's your own house you can do as you like!

My friend managed to find a place in similar circumstances by asking on the local FB groups.
I also have friends who had to rehome their pets and now have said they won't have pets again until they have their own place.

I'd second local Facebook groups, and also a general post about the type of place you want to all your friends, asking them to share it - if a landlord sees it who knows one of them, they might be a bit more relaxed as you'd come recommended via the mutual friend. I'm a landlord and I don't mind cats or dogs, as long as te house is kept cleans and tidy and they scratch the walls or anything. I request a couple of inspections in the first 6 months, and if we're both happy at the end of the initial six month tenancy then I extend to a year and leave them to it.

Nearly all private rents say no dss/benefits but most will accept if you speak to the landlord/the letting agency and explain so maybe is the same for cats?
I have a friend who just moved with two cats so there is hope

We are landlords with two flats and two houses currently rented out.

We do allow pets in the houses as we own them freehold so can make our own decisions. The leasehold agreement for the flats has clauses which forbid it, so our hands are tied more there.

I was going to suggest that you query the landlord directly and don't just rely on what an estate agent tells you. I have known agents to just make the assumption that we wouldn't accept pets in our properties, when we haven't actually said that.

All I can suggest is that you continue querying landlords directly wherever possible, though I see that so far you have not had much luck with that approach either. Something will turn up eventually.

I do get why some landlords are reluctant because of the damage that can sometimes occur, but it does cut you off from a large percentage of the market.

Offer a larger deposit and agree to have carpets professionally cleaned and sprayed at end of tenancy. It worked for us!

Um...you could get rid of the cats?

If you lie about you're likely to be evicted without much notice.

Sorry for your situation OP but I can understand the landlords position on this - private properties are generally let as an investment. If there are enough professional childless petless non-smoking couples out there to fill the houses available then of course they're going limit their selection criteria to protect their property as best they can. It's a business - not about whats fair or unfair. Yours may be little cherubs but pets are potentially smelly & destructive - certainly we dont have any for this reason, so I can see why a landlord would want to avoid them too.

OP, we suddenly had to rent after thinking we were firmly on the property market and had two kids, two dogs and two cats so I am hugely sympathetic.

All I can suggest is offering a larger deposit. That's what we ended up having to do (to the tune of £500 per pet so £2,000 total!!) and even then it was a struggle to find somewhere.

We did manage, though. Good luck!

Offer a larger deposit and be prepared to lose it upon moving out.

Where are you based? I'm a landlord and allow pets (within reason!)

My houses are in Lincolnshire if that's of any use?

Try an area with a high stock of lettings? Perhaps a less nice area, if you can compromise. That would describe my neighbourhood, and pretty much everyone has dogs or cats. So it doesn't seem to be a problem for local agencies.

AtHomeDad You could get rid of the cats. What a charmer (biscuit)

Have a proper one

We have both rented a house when we had a cat and have rented out a house to family with pets.
The family's dog did cause damage so I would ask for a higher damage deposit when we next do that. I would let pets in again though because it widens the market. If you are in an area with high rental demand and fewer properties it may be that landlords don't need a wider market.
When renting out we rented a cottage from an estate, we agreed to get the carpets professionally cleaned when we left.
I really wouldn't lie by omission though, it could cause all sorts of problems.

I agree op. The answer is obviously to lie. I do. My friends do.
This is a nation of pet owners and a nation of renters but no one is allowed to rent with cats... obviously we're all just lying.

This is what the deposit covers.

We are landlords and also tenants. We don't allow pets because we had to spend a huge amount of money cleaning up cat damage when we bought the house and don't want to have the hassle and expense again. Please don't lie. It's usually very easy to tell if a cat lives somewhere (hairs, smell etc.)

We don't own pets, although we'd love to. One day we might need to move and know that other landlords are likely to feel the same way about pets as we do.