All landlords saying no pets?

[Pumpkinx3x]

Hi has anyway able to persuade a landlord into accepting a pet?

My partner and I have been looking for over a month and we have nearly two weeks to move. (Landlord told us we have to leave due to selling) and we have a 9 year old dog. She is literally the size of your hand, isn’t happy and just sleeps all day and yet all ads say no dog?

Has anyone got around this? Offered the deposit as non refundable? Anything? I can’t separate from her. She’s old and been with me all her life. When I took a week holiday she wouldn’t eat and waited by the door the entire time and that was a close family member but I really can’t be homeless. We have a 6 month old.

Any advice?

2 houses that I've rented have stated no pets in their ad but I've asked and they've accepted.
I've just had to pay extra deposit and the amount and type of pets have been written into the tenancy.

You will find most landlords will advertise for no pets but alot of people have pets nowadays so they have to reconsider otherwise nobody will rent the house 🙂

When we rented, we found somewhere that was accepting pets (we have two cats) We had to pay slightly more rent than market and had to pay for additional cleaning on departure (which was fair I think because future tenants might be allergic) Could you offer this? Or perhaps find somewhere that has been on the market a little longer so the landlord may be more willing to negotiate?

Good luck

You could offer pet rent, have you got a good reference from your current landlord?

We have previously successfully negotiated an extra pet deposit and signed a clause to say we would clean the carpets and have the house professionally flea treated when we left in order to get it back.

We offered this at the end of our viewing after the agent got a chance to see we were nice normal people haha. Easier to negotiate after someone has met you face to face.

They have changed the rules on deposits this year so Landlords are unable to take an extra deposit for pets. Sadly now lots are saying no to pets :(

You could try offering an increased monthly rent instead.

I refuse pets and don't accept any reasons beside legal ones. For example service dogs...Other than that absolitely no pets. Plenty of people to rent too

it will have to be additional rent. It is no longer legal to take a higher deposit than the limit which is five weeks rent in England (except in unusual circumstances). Pets can do far more damage than that. Of course the extra rent will keep costing you whatever you do, whereas a higher deposit would come back if no damage.

Shelter campaigned for fixing deposits. Ask them to fund the extra rent...

If this is England you are on six months notice to leave, assuming you've had the proper form.

Drives me mad when I see big family homes to rent "no pets no children" like who the hell do you think will rent it

Landlords are now not able to accept extra deposits for pets, Shelter campaigned for this.

It is possible for a landlord to accept a pet rent, so an additional monthly pet charge.

It is also worth asking the individual landlords directly.

It's v frustrating. A well trained dog is very unlikely to do anything bad to a house.

A couple of children are much more likely to do damage.

Yes this is a consequence of the well intentioned but thoughtless restriction on levels of deposits - most people with pets just paid a bigger deposit and hopefully got it back at the end. Now you can't pay a bigger deposit fewer landlords will agree to pets.

The solution as PP said above is to offer to pay a bit more rent than they are asking if you have a pet. The downside of course is that you are unlikely to get the excess rent back at the end of the tenancy.

I wouldn't rent to anyone with a pet.

I advertise no pets when looking for tenants. However when my new tenants moved in they asked if they could bring their cat that was staying with their parents. I agreed as it was part of their family.
If it was a large dog I may have replied differently. If yours is only a small dog explain to the landlord, they may agree to accommodate you.

@Leaannb and @AuntieMarys what's your reasoning?

Surely people will just say they have no pets and take their pets with them if it's increasingly difficult to rent with them

I would say no pets but in reality allow a cat or very small dog if asked. I wouldn’t allow a big dog or multiple pets because of the damage they can cause and also the smell which gets ingrained in the house. You should ask the landlord and see if thrrrs anything which can be done, you have a better chance with one small dog. I hope you find something!

Someone I know rented out their house a couple of years back while away with work, initially said no pets but every person who was interested had a pet so they eventually accepted someone with two dogs. Keep trying - fingers crossed for you.

Try renting direct with landlords eg something like openrent, rather than through letting agencies who are more likely to be strict.
I advertised our rental as ‘no pets’ but love dogs so always planned to be flexible if needed.
The first people to view (of many who applied) admitted after seeing the house that they had a small dog. I trusted my gut feeling supported by the fact they had been in their previous house for several years and were also only moving because the landlord was selling.
Two years later everyone is happy, no damage, and they get the dog professionally bathed and groomed every couple of months. Oh and I didn’t ask for extra deposit or rent (which I could have done 2 years ago).

Long story short- ignore ‘no pets’ adverts- look for landlords renting directly who will be flexible. Be good tenants and stick to your side of the bargain (I’m sure you already are).

Good luck, don’t panic.

I am a landlord and allow pets (within reason). I don’t advertise explicitly that I do though but our letting agent is aware that we’re willing to be flexible on this and that we’ve allowed pets in the past. Have you tried ringing around local letting agents? They’ll know which places might be options. Good luck.

I rented out my house when I was on a work placement and the tenants had dogs.
The garden was covered in poo which is unpleasant but was able to be cleaned but the carpets all needed to be replaced and despite leaving the windows open for a month the house still stank. It was repainted in the end.
Obviously they weren't responsible pet owners but nobody rocks up and says they are an irresponsible pet owner. Everyone will say their pet is well behaved, toilet trained, doesn't chew things.
If a landlord has a choice it makes sense that they wouldn't choose a pet owner.
It's a shame because actually if someone is a good pet owner they would probably stay long term due to how difficult it is to find a place.

Not sure if it's worth asking your current landlord for a reference?

I advertise no pets, but would certainly consider it if asked. If you can get your current landlord to provide a reference which states that there were no problems with your wee dog, then that would help.

Pets can cause a lot of damage to a property - I had a kitten who basically trashed the wallpaper in two rooms, and I’ve had cats and dogs who’ve damaged carpets and furniture.

I stipulated that the person renting my place MUST have a female cat. It's a victorian terrace on a busy city street and mice are guaranteed with no cat.

Last thing I needed was mice biting through wires / wood and causing chaos. Luckily my tenant got a beautiful rescue and is very pleased with both property and cat!
I wouldn't want dogs. Unfortunately they often leave a smell. I don't think I'd budge on that but it's definitely worth asking.

In the city where I live there are lots of listed buildings, and most flat owners won’t have the freehold (might have a share of the whole building freehold if lucky). Most of the freeholds ban pets but it’s not the landlord’s fault - he/she is required to pass on the conditions of the headlease. Newer freehold properties have more flexibility - something to think about if you’ve been looking at lots of historic building flats.

We said we'd be happy to rent our home to someone with a dog. Our agent wasn't happy and advertised the house as no pets.
If someone had asked me and they fulfilled other criteria I would have said yes.
You need to ask the property owner if possible.

Ask if your dog would be allowed. No pets is often the default rule, but exception are often made on a case by case basis. If you explain about your dog, and how you are a good tenant (hopefully your last landlord can give a reference) then you should hopefully find somewhere.