My neighbours are hiding a dog

[user87382294757]

We live in an apartment in an old building which is split into several others. Five in total.

In the lease it says we are not meant to have pets with four legs. We all have the same rules...recently a couple moved into the ground floor flat. They are letting the flat through an agency.

Last weekend we saw them walking a dog in the park and Dh says he has heard it also in their flat. We never see them going in and out with it though, wonder if they usually take it our after dark or when no-one else around!

No pets with 4 legs is a really weird rule.

A hangry snake and screeching parrot would be fine then.

I would never report a pet owner unless there was evidence of cruelty or the pet created a disturbance on a regular basis. I think people should be allowed a pet cat / dog.

I think there is good reason to have pet free accommodation and if I choose to live in a pet free zone I shouldn't have to put up with secret pets
similarly if you choose to live in a zone which allows pets then presumably you won't mind putting up with other people's dogs and cats?

As long as the dog is well cared for it's nobody else's business - except the landlord's and he or she doesn't have to find out. Good luck to them.

If the dog doesn't cause nuisance (is that even a word😅 sorry)then is wouldnt report it. If it is; i probably would.

Oh just let them be. We're turning into such a society of snitches. It's scary.

I wouldnt say anything either ,but surely it will just be a matter of time before word gets out there is a dog !.I have a dog myself (Not in rented accomodation though),so feel sorry for them .However dogs can be unpredictable .and if he causes damage to the flat they will be liable.

The fog is clearly not a nuisance if the only reason you know it's there is because you have seen them walking it in the park.
Maybe they are dog walkers or are dog sitting and it's not actually their dog.
I'd leave it be unless it becomes a nuisance.

Hopefully the LL will do a check and discover there is a dog which goes against the rules of tenancy. If I was renting out a property and stipulated no animals, I would be very pissed off if my tenant ignored that.

Everyone who says 'so what'... so what then if everyone of those tenants in the 5 different flats decided to ignore the tenancy agreement and have a dog or dogs, or cats, is that OK?

I am a huge animal fan, I've a house full of rescues, but I can see the other side too. It's stupid to sneak a dog into a property without permission. Unfortunately the only thing that will lose in this situation is the poor dog. So many end up chucked into rescues for this reason. It is tough finding properties that take pets nowadays, a lot of estate agents have blanket "no pets" rules.

It might be worth saying something to them. Say you've noticed the dog, you aren't going to say anything, but would have to if anyone else notices and complains. It kind of gives them a heads up that they might need to think of an alternative.

I'm a confirmed dog-lover and would never want to separate someone from a loved pet, but the property owner has a right to stipulate whether or not pets are allowed.

There are a number of reasons aside from noise and "accidents". Some people have severe allergies to cats or dogs, for instance, and some animals can be very destructive. (I've known more than one dog to eat holes in walls. Not my own, thank goodness!) Some animals leave a very strong and unpleasant smell, and to go back to "accidents", if they're urinating indoors frequently (and possibly not being cleaned up after thoroughly enough), the smell can be horrible and quite difficult to remove.

It might not be easy to find a pet-friendly rental, but many aspects of life become less convenient and more expensive when you decide to have pets. It's simply a fact of pet-ownership!

I wonder if they are dog sitting for a short while.

This animals in rented accomodation is daft. I rent a few houses one of them has a single mum who keeps a dog, very nice old Labrador and the place is spotless and the dog is very well trained, not that it stops a lab having a try on to see if any grub is in the offing!, but if they look after the place and the animals not causing a nusicance, then wheres the problem?..

Maybe the dog has 3 legs

No pets with four legs is ridiculous, you can have as many ostriches as you want but not a mouse!

never understood why landlords don't allow pets but are happy to allow babies and children which make more noise and can have just as many "accidents" on a carpet as a dog or cat

Children don’t tend to stink a house out permanently! You always know when you’re in a house with cats and dogs - cats especially. The smell lingers until the house is repainted and furniture replaced.

I used to regularly walk a relatives dog around the park. Sometimes I would take the dog home with me for the afternoon, but it wasn’t my dog and it never lived with me. (It did pee on my rug once, but that’s another story lol) The dog used to get lonely while his owner was at work, so I kept him company and he helped me to get fit.

It would probably look like it was my dog to some people, but it actually wasn’t .

Oh just let them be. We're turning into such a society of snitches. It's scary.

This - get a life 🙄

I would only report if the dog barked all the time. Having lived next door to a bastard Jack Russell I would have happily reported the thing to a landlord but sadly they owned. I fantasised about driving it to Scotland and leaving it behind. Thankfully they've gone now!

If the dog is quiet then I wouldn't say a word.

escapade1234 not all cats smell, mine certainly doesn't whereas dogs, especially big ones, often stink. If I was a landlord I'd rather rent to someone with a cat than a dog.

I own my home and the rules say one caged bird or fish is all that's allowed

The reason why even more Landlords say no pets is because of the Tenants Fee Ban, which now stops landlords asking tenants for a higher deposit in case the pet causes damage to the home, which they invariably do, speaking from a landlord who does allow pets, with permission.

They also can't stipulate the tenant must fumigate and professionally clean the house at the end of tenancy meaning they can't then rent the house to someone with allergies.

We did try to tell people that banning ALL fees would have unintended consequences, this being one of them.

The dog lover in me feels sorry for the dog living in the flat. The landlord in me is quite cross they have breached their tenancy agreement.

If I were the tenant I'd be seriously worried because they can now be evicted quite validly, for breaching their agreement.

it's disgusting that some landlords make people have to choose between giving up their pets, or not having a home.

landlords are not making you chose anything, they offer a property on the market for people without animals. If it's not suitable, don't take it.

Same for a holiday accommodation of any kind, no one is telling you to give up the dog when you go on holiday, just find something suitable!

Dogs can cause a lot of damage, you would need more than adding a bit to the deposit to cover it. (and I have 2 dogs!)

Is the dogs name Gerald? I know him, he won’t do any harm so just mind your business

In my country it's considered abusive and illegal to forbid pets. If someone is renting the place, it is their home. They get to do what they want in it so long as they don't damage the property.

If there are nuisance such as excessive barking, of course you can demand they take care of it and keep noise to a reasonable level. And if pets damage furniture... Well, I don't see how that's different from a smoker burning holes in the furniture because they're careless, honestly, or any other type of damage. This is what deposits and lawsuits are for.

As for what you should do, tattling on other people when they hurt no one is not an attractive trait.

And for people who choose housing because they don't like pets, well, no one asked you to approach the dog. Odds are, you'll hardly ever even see it. If it's in the neighbour's home and going out once a day, that's a twice daily one-minute time when you might walk past it in the building. Not exactly a huge imposition...

Givemeallthegin8
I read that thread too

*The reason why even more Landlords say no pets is because of the Tenants Fee Ban, which now stops landlords asking tenants for a higher deposit in case the pet causes damage to the home, which they invariably do, speaking from a landlord who does allow pets, with permission.

They also can't stipulate the tenant must fumigate and professionally clean the house at the end of tenancy meaning they can't then rent the house to someone with allergies.

We did try to tell people that banning ALL fees would have unintended consequences, this being one of them*

This. We allowed dogs in our house but one caused quite a lot damage so we added an extra deposit after that. Now we cannot do this we probably won't allow dogs in future.

This is what deposits and lawsuits are for.

many landlords also ban smoking in this country, and rightly so.
As already said, landlords are not allowed to fix the deposit they need. Why should they have to waste a fortune in a lawsuit?

It's going the wrong way round, the least the landlords are able to impose, the less lenient they will be towards tenants. If you could just easily and cheaply and quickly get rid of bad tenants, you would a lot less strict in choosing tenants.