Aibu - pets in a rental

[Brightsparx03]

Hello

This is my first aibu so please go easy!

I am currently renting a flat in a block (12 flats in the block over three floors). When I took over the tenancy it stated no pets or smokers. The contract states no pets, but the other remaining 11 flats all have dogs. Some of my neighbours have 2 or 3 dogs each. I adore animals but unfortunately suffer with allergies. At the time of moving in I didnt realise there would be dogs in the building and at the start all was well. However, over the summer period I have noticed my allergies worsen. The communal areas smell quite strongly of wet dogs or fur (if that makes sense) and I have used draught excluders etc by the front door to keep our flat as sterile as possible. My other bug bear is that the dogs howl during the night which is waking myself and OH up.

We have given notice to the landlord today and received quite a brusque response that they were under the impression that we were looking for a long tenancy (we have been here 9 months) and they would have to pay for the flat to be advertised again and that would impact them financially due to our indecisiveness. I mentioned the pet dilemma and was told that the building is no pets so wouldn't have been an issue. I don't feel that we should lose any of our deposit due to leaving the flat (we are on a rolling one month tenancy after a 6 month AST) as it was falsely advertised. So I guess my AIBU is to ask whether I refuse to contribute towards the cost of the flat advertising as the landlord expected us to be long term tenants? Just to clarify we stated that we were living in the area for 3 years due to our job contracts but never discussed anything further than the initial 6 month AST as we were new to the area and wanted to scope out the place.

Thank you

Does the landlord own all the flats? If so what did they say about dogs being in the other flats?

YANBU to refuse - it was miss sold

you shouldn't pay towards advertising you've given the right notice and not leaving a contract early so stick to your guns

Stick to the contract - you owe nothing.

He’s trying it on. Just adhere to the terms of your contact with your notice period and cleaning etc and then he has no claim on your deposit.

If it’s a leasehold and the lease says no pets then he needs to take it up with the freeholder. Seems odd that every single flat has dogs though.

It was falsely advertised
But even if it wasn’t, why should you be liable? You gave notice in accordance with the contract?

mmm... your contract states no pets.

You have no idea at the point of signing that, if anyone ELSES contract states no pets.

It may well be they asked permission and were granted it, it could be that previously pets were permitted and subsequently that has changed for new tenants coming in.

On the other hand you are on a rolling tenancy and as such only need to give the required notice for that, you are not ending a long term contract early, so no you should not be required to pay any extra.

Of course you shouldn't contribute!

You’re allowed to leave! High turnover of tenants for any reason is a risk of being a landlord.

The LL would have to prove financial loss to the deposit protection scheme and there isn't any financial loss as you have the right to give notice for any reason as you are now out of the fixed term.

The dog/allergy issue is irrelevant so no need to discuss your reasons at all.

Thank you everyone for your responses so far.

The leasehold states no pets but the flats are let or owned by different owners / landlords. I appreciate that everyone has their right to enjoyment and might have pets etc. I guess I just presumed that the whole block would abide by the rules. There are another four blocks on the site and no one else has dogs. We opted to end our tenancy (given the correct notice) as we respect that other owners live there with their pets and we are just passing through so to speak. I guess I felt disheartened that the landlord refuses to believe there are dogs at the property (as it goes against the lease) and that he will be trying it on.

Thank you for taking the time to read

Has the landlord said he's going to charge you for advertising? The way I read your conversation is that they moaned about the cost, but they didn't actually say they were billing you.

As others have said, you're not liable for reletting costs.

we are on a rolling one month tenancy

That's the only info you need.

"Dear landlord. As contract is now considered a onr month rolling tenancy, 1 month notice is all we are obliged to give.
We will expect full payment of bond in due course, failure to do so will result in dispute.
Our facts of the dispute will be put clearly as follows:
One month rolling tenancy
Other tenants pets causing allergy issues
All rooms and surfaces clean and as moving in condition.

Sincerely
Tenant."

Ensure all exit photos are time stamped and detailed, more of them you take, the better.

If the landlord wanted you to be tied in as a long-term tenant he should have got you to sign a longer tenancy agreement. As it is you had no guarantee that he wouldn't throw you out after 12 months. And he had no guarantee that you wouldn't give notice. That's the point of having a tenancy agreement. If one side wants something guaranteed they should put it in the agreement.

Hi @NoBaggyPants he stated that he would have to recoup costs for the advertising due to our indecisiveness. My OH and I might be overthinking this as the only way we could think of is through the deposit return. I just wanted to seek some opinions at the offset and see whether we were being unreasonable for not wanting to pay advertising costs so posted on here as we thought things through.
:)

Your only obligation is to give the correct amount of notice (1 month in this case) and leave the flat in the condition you found it

All else is down to the landlord. Don't be bullied.

Are you in London? It's really common here that tenants lie about pets as landlords are so anti them. Your contract didn't specify a fixed term lease so if you gave the correct notice & leave the place in OK condition its all fine: you don't owe him anything.

You're not legally obliged. You have no responsibility to pay. They cannot hold any of your deposit for this purpose.

Has your landlord given you the appropriate documentation to prove your deposit is protected? If not, he can be liable to pay you up to three times the cost of the deposit.

Info - and legal steps to take - here: www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/advice/my-landlord-wont-return-my-security-deposit-what-can-i-do

If he tries to take it out of your deposit, don’t let him; let the scheme it’s protected by deal with it. There is NO WAY they’ll side with him.

@Brightsparx03 all you need is to stick to your contract. Give the correct notice. The deposit will be protected. If the landlord tries to deduct for readvertising raise a dispute with your deposit scheme. He will be laughed out of the tribunal (metaphorically- as it's held on paper)

Like a pp stated he's trying it on. And unless there's an explicit clause in your contract about paying for readvertising, he has no legal right to charge for this. Don't let him get away with it.

Landlord needs to change his advert next time but you don't owe him any contribution. His lies are affecting your health...

He wouldn't have a leg to stand on if he tried to deduct from the bond for advertising fees when the contract is out of a fixed term
Not a chance.
He's trying it on
If you are unsure of anything else he comes up with, contact shelter for factual advice