To ask about having a tenant with a staffy

[aboutadog]

Name changed for this but regular poster (cancel the cheque, Mexican house thief etc)

I have a one bed flat I've spent loads of time doing up to make it lovely, reclaimed wooden floorboards, newly painted, nice new furniture, new kitchen bathroom etc and which I rent out. I have a prospective tenant who has a staffy. I know nothing about dogs (I have 2 cats) but I'm worried the dog will wreck everything and whether the flat will smell. I hope I'm not offending anyone but I really don't know anything about having a dog!!

Can anyone tell me their experience of having a staffy? Any problems I should think about? He says it won't be left alone as he takes it to work and it goes everywhere with him. Thanks in advance.

I have a staffie, my second, and neither of them ever chewed the furniture (and they were rescues so not trained by me from puppies). They are short-haired so don't smell particularly - probably a bit though so I have an ioniser to take away dog smells. I've had my current staffie for three years and if we moved there would be nothing to show she'd been here.

I think you need more info, how old is the dog? References from previous landlord? Is the dog left alone when the owner is at work?

Staffies have short hair and don’t tend to smell as much/leave as much hair as other breeds but you could make it a condition that there’s a higher deposit to account for any potential damage and a deep clean is required at end of tenancy.

Also to the PPs saying a dog shouldn’t be kept in a flat, or that a responsible owner wouldn’t have a dog in a flat @LolaDarkdestroyer, @Pootles34 etc - don’t be so ridiculous. I have a dog in a flat. My flat is a lot larger than most of my friends’ houses (three bed flat in London, plenty of friends have tiny two up two down houses with a courtyard garden which are literally less than half the size of my flat...). I have direct access to my garden. I work from home so my dog isn’t left alone much at all. Do I need to go on? You don’t know the individual circumstances, you don’t know the size of the flat, the garden, the owner’s circumstances etc.

Friends of mine have two staffs and they are honestly the loveliest dogs I've ever met. They come and stay with us when their owners go on holiday, we have two dogs, cats, rabbits and children and they are impeccably behaved.

I honestly think it's more about the owners - if the tenant is going to take care of the flat and behave respectfully, odds are the dog will too.

Staffies really stink. My Nan had one which smelled like rotten fish and it permeated everything. She also chewed the sofa. I wouldn't in a million years

Yes there's no garden and I agree having a dog in a 1 bed flat isn't ideal. Although he says it goes to work every day with him I can't guarantee that will happen and I really can't face the dog having accidents. The floorboards have small gaps between them and would soak up urine and then smell. Not to mention scratching / chewing on things. I think thanks to everyone posting I have made up my mind that it's just not worth the risk. I put so much effort into making it a nice home that I would be really upset if it got ruined and needed work doing to get it back into a good state. Thanks so much for all your posts. Really helpful to make up my mind 😊😊😊

Very wise decision, op.

I wouldn't accept dogs if I was a landlord, no. The breed wouldn't be an issue for me. But in a newly done up flat with nice floors and walls, nope. There will be plenty of other possible tenants I'm sure. It wouldn't be work the extra hassle for me.

Swiftier I do know the size as OP said it was a 1 bed, and has now confirmed no garden. Of course your 3 bed flat with a garden is entirely different, and sounds ideal, that's not the case here.

This would be a no from me. Flat not ideal place for dog and it's not ideal for other tenants either.

I knew a lady with a staffie and whilst it was a lovely friendly dog, the house did smell of dog. Not sure this thing of not smelling is true for all staffies!

Forget the breed - makes little difference. NO NO NO. Not suitable at all for a nicely decorated flat with wooden floors - kiss goodbye to those for a start, even with the most well-behaved dog. Not fair on neighbours with potnetial noise too. Don't do it.

Plus, one of the first things that occurs to me is... you've been clear on the ad that it's no pets, and this guy is already trying to get you to move your clearly stated boundaries? Pushy and entitled then? Red flag - don't let to ANY tenant who starts negotiations not by trying to show you that they are good and trustworthy, but by trying to get things their way. 'Oh but this won't hurt, I don't see why you can't change what suits you for my sake' - BYE FELIPE - don't let to them. Thin end of the wedge.

I rented for 10 years with my staffy. He never damaged any property, prior landlords always happy to be a referee as well neighbours. Neighbours loved him as he only barked when there was a reason. I got him as I had a stalker at the time, so he always slept inside next to my bed.

That said, as a young dog he needed a proper yard. I moved into a unit (I own it) when he was 10/11. Still has a 200 sq metre yard, so not miniscule.

If the dog goes to work with him, fair enough. But if there is not outdoor toilet area, I wouldn't be keen myself.

Don’t do it. You will regret it.

There are no positives to allowing tenants to have pets, but there are many negatives that can be extremely costly and ruinous for you.

can't believe all the anti dog people here, even those who own dogs!

Ffs let the guy have the flat. Even looking at it commercially, the rent you'll lose looking for another tenant more than covers a new carpet when he moves out, if even needed. But it's just the right thing to do.

What’s your gut feeling about the tenant? Have you met him face-to-face?

If it wasn’t for Covid I’d say suggest you go and meet the dog at his current home. My current tenant contacted me and mentioned her dog right away, explained it’s daily routine and invited me round to her current home to meet the dog (obviously it was more her way of saying “come and see how I keep my house”.

A good tenant with a dog is better than a bad tenant without one

When I owned a rental property, I allowed dogs if:

The owner could prove the dog was insured;
Provide a reference from their vet;
Agreed to extra terms in their tenancy agreement to have the floors cleaned (carpets) professionally every 6 months and on departure.
Generally, be a responsible pet owner (ex. not leaving poo in the garden, not leaving dog home barking all day).

That worked really well for my first tenant, everything was fine when they left (moved area for work).

The second tenant unknown to me, the letting agents told them it was no pets, which it never had been, and didn't tell them the pet rules/requirements.

So they snuck in a dog without telling me and left an utter shithole, garden practically ankle deep in mouldy shit, and I found out when my neighbours complained about the barking and the stink.

So in my experience, being up front about accepting pets with reasonable rules is better by far than blanket no pet rules that people can and will break!

No way. Your floors will be ruined by scratches from it's claws. Our floors - Parquet - will never be the same and need to be completely resanded after having a very well behaved lab walking over them for the last 3 years. and if it getes locked in a room it could try and dig it's way out and ruin your door too.

in my old flat we were allowed dogs but had to pay an extra £200 deposit and £25 per month if we wanted one

Their claws are going to run your lovely floors. I have a bull breed, very well behaved, but he still has a big impact on my house

This thread might be pointless as your freeholder will probably say no anyway.

As a freeholder we say no to all dogs due to the issues they can cause other leaseholders with noise and the fabric of the building (such as communal areas etc...)

As a landlord you will still have to abide by your long lease conditions to the freeholder. So if they say no noise or disturbance but the dog barks all the time you could be taken to court for breaking your lease conditions (the freeholder has no contract with the tenant only with you). This could result in forfeiture of your long lease in extreme situations and I am sure your mortgage company (if you have one) will not appreciate losing the asset they hold as security.

In a flat always say no to dogs. It is a lot easier all round.

Moved into a rental after a staffy owner left. The internal wooden doors and kitchen cupboards had been badly chewed.

Yes I think it's too risky. I feel stressed about it already... I don't think a tiny 1 bed flat is really suitable. Freeholder may say no anyway as people have pointed out. Thanks all.

I don’t think it’s breed of the dog it’s just dogs in general. Are you happy for a dog to be in your property?

Also cats can be worse than dogs. As you probably know cats scratch at things like carpet etc, sofas etc. Dogs don’t really do that. They might chew things but again my adult dog doesn’t chew anything that’s usually more of a puppy thing

Any decent tenant and dog owner would look after the house.

My neighbour has 5 large dogs in a rented property. He had to pay an extra deposit to have them live there. He looks after the house just fine.

You are either house proud or your not. A family without pets could wreck a house.

I have a dog. My house is spotless. Always hoovering. I don’t think my house smells like dog😂 I hope it doesn’t anyway! I regularly hoover, I shampoo my carpets, I keep soft turnings washed etc and regularly wash dog bedding. My dog is only small though!

I'll add that I only ever rented (then bought) properties that suited the dog - not places where the dog had to change to make them work. That meant large, fully fenced yard was a necessity.

You won't want a medium sized dog left alone in a one bed flat all day - if that is what will happen.

Have a chat to the tenant and see what you think. Some dogs do nothing but sleep all day, others are chewy. You could look at doubling the deposit and insisting that he deep cleans the house when he leaves.