To expect to find a short term let with a dog and three cats?

[blackkitty1234]

Help! We sold our house but it looks like our new house may fall through due to seller pulling out. It looks like we may have to find temporary a accommodation while we look for a new house. I am in my third trimester of pregnancy, we have a dog and three cats. I feel like we are screwed. Any advice or suggestions welcome?

@2021optimist

You're not desperate though OP, you just don't want to pay the costs of a kennel and a cattery, who could solve your problem instantly.

No. That’s not the case. To board all the animals would be fifty pound a night. We can afford this only for a short period but not for months and months. I can’t magic more money up sadly.

You have various options:

Lose your buyer and move later, say your chain broke. Or delay the sale until you find a suitable place to buy/rent if buyer can wait.

Pay for boarding kennels and cattery.

See if an animal charity can put them in foster care.

Find a rental that takes pets (highly unlikely but not impossible).

I don’t think hiding a largish dog and 2 house cats is possible. Most landlords/agents do inspections of rentals and it’s not hard to detect there are pets present! Then there’s dog walking, noise, smell of litter trays that neighbours may notice. It’s also very unfair to a landlord who doesn’t want pets (and most don’t, any more than they want people smoking indoors) the smell is very hard to remove and makes it harder to let in future. At best you will find yourself with a huge bill for breaking the terms of the contract by bringing pets secretly. At worst they will evict you (which may buy you a few months time but you’ll never be able to rent again as all rentals insist on references! What if you’re evicted and still haven’t secured a sale, where will you live?) And an eviction notice may affect your mortgage application when you do find a place to buy eg the bank may feel you are ‘risky’ to lend to if you’ve been evicted from a rental!

@RattleOfBars

You have various options:

Lose your buyer and move later, say your chain broke. Or delay the sale until you find a suitable place to buy/rent if buyer can wait.

Pay for boarding kennels and cattery.

See if an animal charity can put them in foster care.

Find a rental that takes pets (highly unlikely but not impossible).

I don’t think hiding a largish dog and 2 house cats is possible. Most landlords/agents do inspections of rentals and it’s not hard to detect there are pets present! Then there’s dog walking, noise, smell of litter trays that neighbours may notice. It’s also very unfair to a landlord who doesn’t want pets (and most don’t, any more than they want people smoking indoors) the smell is very hard to remove and makes it harder to let in future. At best you will find yourself with a huge bill for breaking the terms of the contract by bringing pets secretly. At worst they will evict you (which may buy you a few months time but you’ll never be able to rent again as all rentals insist on references! What if you’re evicted and still haven’t secured a sale, where will you live?) And an eviction notice may affect your mortgage application when you do find a place to buy eg the bank may feel you are ‘risky’ to lend to if you’ve been evicted from a rental!

I just had a thought. If all rentals insist on references then we won’t be able to proceed with that plan because we have been living in our own house for five years hence have no references.

Yes, it's a right game renting a house when you have had a mortgage for fifteen years. I think I had to get an employer reference to give proof of employed status/stable income or something, they do credit checks too so you have to give previous addresses.

At least when you put an offer in for your next purchase you will be a chain free buyer, that may speed things up.

It was a beautiful house we rented but the worry that the pets or children would damage it nearly did my head in.

I presume you have ruled out delaying your buyer. It might be easier for someone else in the chain (no pets) to rent.

A previous poster suggested contacting the Church of Scotland about renting a vacant manse. Have you given that any more thought?

If you were interested in that as an option I could find out if any churches in your area are without a minister and possibly looking for a tenant for the manse.

@AnyFucker

You could do a LOT worse

Are you joking? Every time I post I'm worried you'll appear and direct some withering comment at me

I let out properly and allow tenants a couple of cats but not dogs. Many LL allow cats but not dogs. Try to get a friend to look after your dog until you get new house.

I just had a thought. If all rentals insist on references then we won’t be able to proceed with that plan because we have been living in our own house for five years hence have no references.

It’s fine to say you have no reference if you’ve been living in your own property. But they will ask for dates, so if you moved into a rental after your house sale you have to give that date (and provide a reference if you want to rent again), unless of course you buy in between renting and live in your property a couple of years before renting again).

Most reputable letting agencies will want three months of bank statements, employers references and landlord references. I assume you can provide the first two ?

It’s different with air bnb , they tend to go by previous reviews.

Our next door rented properties have a dog which has covered the small garden with poo, never picked up, the previous tenants had a parrot which was allowed to mes all over the house. Landlord is not going to rent to anyone with animals again.

Tempted to just rent somewhere and not say anything. What’s the worst that could happen if they find out?

I'm glad I'm not a landlord.

Most reputable letting agencies will want three months of bank statements, employers references and landlord references

I agree with the first 2 but letting agencies won’t ask for landlord references if you’re a home owner, unless you’ve rented within the last few years.
Any mortgage application requires bank statements and pay checks dating back several months, proof of secure employment, credit checks etc.

There’s obviously properties out there that allow pets however that many would put a lot of landlords off.

If I was renting my property out I definitely wouldn’t rent to anybody with cats because of the horrible smell they leave and completely agree with a PP that any carpets would need to be replaced - at an expense.

@thereisonlyoneofme

Our next door rented properties have a dog which has covered the small garden with poo, never picked up, the previous tenants had a parrot which was allowed to mes all over the house. Landlord is not going to rent to anyone with animals again.

That's bad owners, not the animals fault. DM has a dog and a cat, her house and garden are spotless and doesn't smell, you'd never know the animals were there.

We have cats and the worst risk is that they damage carpets, curtains and wall coverings, but the OP will know if her cats do this, not all of them do.

But its a bit far to go on about dog smell and cats chin grease, WTF is that? I don't think a neighbour has ever smelled a litter tray in someone else's house either? Is this the pet version of 'I can smell a scented panty liner at 100 paces' MN hysteria?

Hope you find somewhere suitable OP.

If I was renting my property out I definitely wouldn’t rent to anybody with cats because of the horrible smell they leave

But cats don't smell of anything? Really.

I rent with 2 cats, a dog and a goldfish (it was 3 cats when we moved in but eldest Dcat passed away recently) our landlord is very reasonable, we pay a little extra a month in rent as 'pet rent' and they live here quite happily. You may have to hunt around but it isn't impossible. Be upfront about the animals, offer to deep clean the carpets etc when you move out and offer to pay more rent to cover any potential damage. It will certainly be cheaper than prolonged kennel/cattery charges.

@DeadButDelicious

I rent with 2 cats, a dog and a goldfish (it was 3 cats when we moved in but eldest Dcat passed away recently) our landlord is very reasonable, we pay a little extra a month in rent as 'pet rent' and they live here quite happily. You may have to hunt around but it isn't impossible. Be upfront about the animals, offer to deep clean the carpets etc when you move out and offer to pay more rent to cover any potential damage. It will certainly be cheaper than prolonged kennel/cattery charges.

Thank you, That’s reassuring. I want us all to stay together so I will hunt high and low, and offer to pay extra, etc x

@BarbaraofSeville
Thanks. Yeah, I was thinking exactly the same thing. Madness. Lol

@BarbaraofSeville

If I was renting my property out I definitely wouldn’t rent to anybody with cats because of the horrible smell they leave

But cats don't smell of anything? Really.

Yeah. The dog gets smelly, but my cats don’t smell at all. I have to bath my dog, the cats will clean themselves. Cats are actually very clean animals.

You’ll never see a cat rolling about in fox poo as I am sure many dog owners can relate 😂🤣🤦🏻‍♀️

Don’t you have any friends who could take care of the dog for you ? Surely lots of people are at home at the moment and would love the opportunity to take care of him/her ?

Sneaking animals in is a shady approach - particularly as you’re talking several and not just one. My friend rented her house to a woman who brought a dog and didn’t tell her. The dog destroyed the garden which had been professionally landscaped. It’s behaviour like that which means landlords are not going to consider any animals at all - it’s just not worth the hassle.

@Divebar
Sadly not. I don’t have friends, I prefer animals to people. Lol.

Thank you to everyone for your helpful suggestions. x

Thank you, That’s reassuring. I want us all to stay together so I will hunt high and low, and offer to pay extra, etc x

It's not the impossible feat that some make out. It really isn't. It just takes a bit of time is all. It's a shame that you're not local as I'd point you in the direction of the letting agent we used, they were great. They really got that people with pets can actually make very good tenants.

But cats don't smell of anything?

They have a distinctive feline smell IMO. You can always tell if someone has cats when you enter a house, as the smell lingers in the air. And litter trays reek! Have you ever been in the same room as a cat using a litter tray?

I used to have cats as a child and didn’t notice the smell then (unless I sniffed their fur) but you get immune to smells when you live with them.
Other people will notice smells you’ve become desensitised to.

Have you tried contacting local country estates? Every estate I’ve ever managed has allowed pets in their rental properties.

Alternatively use zoopla to look for properties instead of right move. Search the area you want and then filter the results. Under the filters click ‘Letting Type’. You can filter the results to properties that allow pets.