to get a dog even though tenancy agreement says I can't??

[WannaDoggie]

I want to get my DCs a dog. For the last 3 years we have had to rent after having to sell our home and have not a hope in hell of buying again within the foreseeable future!! At our last property (different agent) we asked if we could get one and were told that we could'nt. Am thinking just to get one anyway without telling our current letting agents. I am aware that this will breach the terms our tenancy but so what we are paying lot of money to live here and should be able to live as we please. Why should my kids grow up without a pet because we rent?? We have obviously paid a damage deposit and IF there is any damage, we would rectify it whether from the kids or the dog.

Why should our lives be dictated to just because we can't get a mortgage? AIBU??

YANBU to want a dog.

YABU if you get one and breach your tenancy.

I would in your position approach your landlord; if you have been a good tenant up to now it's quite possible landlord may agree. Good long terms tenants are not always easy to find.

We've just taken our house over from a dog owner and it doesn't smell at all. But there are no carpets or curtains in it and it's quite large.

And I absolutely agree with skidoodle about the property you rent being your home. You are paying a lot of money for a home. We live in rented property all the time because of our work and moving a lot - I'm on my 10th rented house now, and treat the houses as though they were ours: taking care of them so that things don't go wrong, and putting up the pictures and furniture that we want to live with etc. It would be a very sad life if we always had to behave as though someone was doing us a favour by kindly letting us borrow their house.

We also own 2 properties that we let to tenants and we expect them to do the same. I'm sure that people who treat the house they live in as their own are more likely to take care of it.

So presumably you would be getting a puppy, with all the furniture-chewing and toilet-training that comes with it?

There are plenty of other pets that the landlord might agree to; hamster, rabbit, guinea pig. Why does it have to be a dog? How old are your kids?

Agree with skidoodle and scaryteacher.

It is the OP's home and the landlord's house.

It is frustrating renting a property. Probably doubly so if you've previously owned.

OP - no pets is a pretty standard clause in most tenancy agreements (I've had a few). So I would suggest you ask and if they say no - don't get a dog. It ain't fair. But as my mum sayd "Nobody said it was going to be fair".

As you say, if there is damage and smells the money to clean up can come from your bond.

Any landlord who has let a house stinking of dogs has probably charged the out going tenant for cleaning and then not done it.

OP_ I think you would be better off analysing why you think your DCs should have a dog. Dogs are enormously hard work and kids never look after them, ime. My kids always moaned for a dog- but I never wanted one- too much responsibility. They got a rabbit and I looked after that too...for years.

I wonder if it's you that wants the dog really and are using your kids as an excuse?

And yes, unless youare completely scrupulous dogs do leave a smell. I bought a car froma dog owner and no matter how often the upholstery was cleaned, it always had a doggy smell.

TBH you do sound as if you need to grow up and stop stamping your foot because there are rules in place which you don't like.

The whole point of this is that whilst one tenant might be a very careful pet owner, many will not be- and it's easier for the owner to say "no pets" than screen each tenant and decide if they are pet-worthy.

Does your place come as furnished or unfurnished?

Not me either. But I don't think dogs smell. And you should ask. Maybe make it a really cute one

.

Just out of interest, where are you planning to get a dog from?
If you want to get one from a dogs home, you either have to show proof that you own your house, or bring a letter from your landlord saying you have permission to have a dog in the house - simply because they don't want you to get evicted and them have to take the dog back
A responsible dog breeder will nearly always take the same view
So your options would be to get a dog from a puppy farm, or pet shop which is supplied by a puppy farm
Both options are beyond cruel and fuel a horrid, murky trade which no responsible dog owner would touch with a barge pole
Which would really prove what OPs are saying about selfishness...

i think its an extremely selfish attitude to take.

i do not understand why someone would intentionally put themselves and their children at risk of becoming homeless.

the children grow to love a pet that will have to be re-housed. ( well at least the dog gets shelter i suppose)

in law YOU would not have to be re-housed, however your children would get a nice social services roof.

( although rarely happens that way) that is the law.

the situation is unfortunate, but it is what it is.

i get very angry at people who are so selfish as t put their families in an untenable position.

then there is the dog.

they cost money, you have to purchase the dog, food, vaccines, brushes, shampoo etc.

they have to be trained, housebroken and walked.

i think that this is a serious additional responsability for someone who has a serious illness that cost them their original home.

My parents had a tenant in while Dad worked overseas. They had a dog against my parents' wishes. When we got back, Mum was still able to smell it months after we returned. If you don't like dogs, you don't like the smell either. It is their house. YABU.

custy makes a good point- how old are your DCs?
If you are so ill or classed as disabled that you cannot work, then how could you manage to look after a dog and walk it twice a day?

They also cost a huge amount of moeny to feed, and in vet's bills so if you are not very well off and cannot get a mortgage, how can you afford a dog?

Surely the long-term answer is to get back to work and buy your own home? or even find a job that allows you to work from home if you are too ill to go out to work.

because someone is trusting you with their home. it is an incredibly expensive possesion and you should be bloody gratefull to have been allowed to use it.

if you ask and they say no then accept that.

but you wont because from the attitude displayed n your posts i can see you are an ignorant selfish twunt who seem's to think that the world owes you a favour simply because you lost your own home.

who do you think you are? quite frankly if i were the landlord i'd evict you for ignoring me simply through principle.

"- do all dog owner's houses stink "

Yes. As a matter of fact they do. But as the dog owner living there, you cant smell it yourself. But guests can.

It is like garlic, you smell it on other people, but not if you have also eaten garlic yourself!

I have never owned a dog. When we were househunting, we went into many a house, and we could smell DOG the moment we entered into a home where a dog lived. Even houses which were clean from top to bottom and with the dogs sleeping quarter moved to the shed. The smell of dog gets into walls, carpets, fabrics, much like the smell of sigarettes. But a smoker wont notice.

We are currently letting out our house while we are abroad. I would not come home to a house smelling of dog. I am allergic. My kids are allergic.

when I lived at home with mum and 3 dogs I never noticed the smell of the dogs . Now when we visit I notice how the place absolutely reeks of dog! You do get used to it after a couple of days.

Most of the time it is not the landlord's home though, is it?

The landlord has bought a property to make money from and never lived in it.

As a tenant you are always aware of damaging something and the money being taken from your bond. But it is my home. Not the landlord's.

The OP is frustrated. I understand that. To go from owned to rental must be horrible.

""Most of the time it is not the landlord's home though, is it?

The landlord has bought a property to make money from and never lived in it.""

What a crass statement. How do you know what the landlord's circumstances are? Most people I know who have rented out their homes either live abroad due to relocation, have moved-in with a partner , or maybe inherited the house. SOME will buy as an investment and good luck to them.

In all of the above cases except the last one, the owners fully intend to move back in at some point.

I think that debating over the is it a home or a house just splits hairs. Home is where the heart is, as they say, but the house does belong to another person and you simply have to respect that.

Crass? Maybe a generalisation. But not crass.

All the rented properties I have lived in were buy to let or the landlord will not live there again.

Have you ever lived in rental property? Some landlords are very hands on and if not the letting agent will chat genrally about their circumstances.

Home and house is not splitting hairs as most renters will agree.

Great! If you go ahead with your selfish idea there will be yet another dog waiting at the gates of a rescue which is too full to take him when the landlord finds out and threatens you with eviction unless you get rid of him.

Or will you take him to the nearest council pound, where they have the legal right to kill him the minute you sign him over (and believe me SO MANY DO). Or just throw him on the streets when you decide that keeping the roof over your head is more important than giving him a home for life and keeping him alive?

My opinion may offend but it is based on first hand knowledge of working with rescues across the country, getting dogs out of pounds who would otherwise be killed and dealing with owners who ignored their tenancy agreements.

it must be great being a tenant in the uk

you should do it abroad. now that's crap.

it's not great being a tenant in the UK, especially a private let tenant.

you have about 4 months when your accommodation is secure and after that you're pretty much always 60 days from having to find another place to live.

but you are within your rights to ask the landlord is you can have a pet and if so what kind.

i don't see why is has to be a dog. as custy pointed out, if you are so ill you lost your home and cannot work how are you going to look after the poor dog?

at least your landlord has certain responsibilities

sometimes i feel at the mercy of tenants

put it this way: there's a no dog clause in our lease
if the tenant gets a big dog that damages the house we can serve notice, they can refuse to leave and stop paying the rent, so we can go to court then get them out

court expenses, no rent and so on plus damage to house

we've had lovely tenants and we are nice landlords but i think we've been lucky

we usually give the whole deposit back even if there is damage more than wear and tear, so long as it's not too bad

I am a land lord and although I never intend to live in the property I let out I dont allow pets for the reason I once did allow a tenant a cat. When they left there where cat hairs every where that took ages to get rid of then we discovered we had flies in the house which was not pleasent for the new tenants.

Yes while you live there it is your home but at some point you will move on and I want the next tenenants to feel it is there home straight away and not be dealing with sorting out what someone else has left behind.

If you want to do as you please then the only answer is to buy while renting you have to except that you are borrowing someone elses very expensive asset and treat it with respect and abide by their wishes - I did when I rented.

Er, that can happen in the UK too mmrsceptic.

How about trying to move house and trying to get your 1k plus bond from your landlord who 'too busy' to pay it back so you can afford the bond for your next home?

Works both ways.