Can Landlord change mind about pet?

[justanotherusernamehere]

We rented a house earlier this year and a large draw was that we were told we could have a pet. (a dog) we have this in writing via an email from the estate agent they used then.

Estate agent retired and we were moved to a different agency. Not heard much from them but then nor have we had much reason too.

Just before Christmas we had a minor issue with a fan and contacted the landlord who sent her son (who does some sort of trade not sure what) Son said a new fan would be needed and he would let his mother know. Again no issue Just after Christmas we received a letter from the new estate agent stating we had the dog illegally and we were to rehome him within 2 weeks. We can only assume that the son mentioned the dog to his mother.

We have sent a response with a copy of the email that states we had permission (landlord now denies this permission was given - however, we have this in writing) We have now received (rather expectedly) a notification of them wishing to inspect the house. The Dog has not made any damage to the house we have been very careful with this. We do not permit the dog on the carpeted area (only downstairs where it is tiled) and we are currently training him to use a dog doorbell for when he wants to go outside to ensure that he doesn't scratch windows/doors We have placed soft tubing over any wooded area dog might be tempted to chew on to protect this (pipe insulation type) and have generally done everything we can to ensure that the dog does not do any damage to the house.

We have heard nothing back from the estate agent with regards to the letter with proof we had permission to have the dog. We are obviously a bit worried and googling have been a bit complex as I realised the law has somewhat changed on this issue.

Can the landlord change their mind about a pet? I am aware that our landlord is under a lot of stress with 2 sick relatives so there is a chance that they simply forgot that they had agreed. We obviously do not want to get rid of what is a very loved family pet and we would not have rented the place had they said no as one of our big reasons for moving was we wanted a dog. (we were in a monthly notice where we were prior so were not in a hurry to move)

I can see the landlord could say they won't renew our lease after 1 year is up. However, I am really more concerned about our dog and the right now.

The title was meant to say " Can the landlord change their mind"

Keep a tight hold of that email. I can't see how they can change their mind after the event having previously granted permission.

Let them inspect- it might just ease their worries if they think the dog might cause any damage.

God this is unfair
I can't see how they can change their mind if they've previously given permission. Are you on a rolling contact or one that you renew after every 6/12 months?
As I guess if it's one that you renew he could change the terms but otherwise I can't see how he could change it

The problem is it sounds like the agency agreed on behalf of the landlord when the landlord had never agreed.

Ultimately, there is nothing they can do at all but give you notice, that is if you're not on a fix term.

Sadly the issue might be with the smell. Some homes really smell of dogs which the owners are used to so don't smell themselves.

I recall the agency stating they needed to speak with landlord first and it took a little time before we got the response. So I do think landlord was asked but has forgotten l. Obviously I cant claim the house doesn't smell of dog as well he is my dog. when I have asked friends they never say it does. We keep the door open a lot to freshen up and use zoflora daily. We really have tried our hardest to ensure the dog doesn't do any damage to the house

What does your contract say about 1) pets and 2) lease term and notice and 3) variations to contract?

Putting it bluntly... Where does the dog go to shit? If in the garden how quickly do you clear it up?

repeating the chorus - what is in your tenancy? That is the legal agreement between you and the landlord. My tenants had a dog and the tenancy states 'permission given for 1 dog'.

a legal agreement such as this cannot be changed unilaterally. The email MAY give you some ammo.

If your fixed term has expired and you are in England the landlord can issue a section 21 for a no fault eviction. This would be a bit daft if there is no damage/smell as they will then be left with a void.

be aware that due to the changes in the law capping rental deposits, future landlords won't be keen on pets. Well done, Shelter.

What the tenancy states may not be relevant - I've rented with cats for the last 10 years across many different properties. Most of them have issued a standard tenancy which says no pets allowed and then I've been given a letter which gives permission for the pets which I have at the start of the tenancy. This usually includes a description so for eg 2 black neutered female British short hair cats, 3 years of age only. I just stapled the letter to my copy of the tenancy agreement and made sure I kept a copy as insurance.

Did you have to pay an extra amount on the deposit for pets? As this can be additional proof it was agreed that you could have the dog?

I hugely sympathise, renting with pets is really hard. We have hens and a lot of landlords understandably were worried about their gardens.

I hope you manage to get it sorted, just hold onto that email and use as your proof.

12 month contract

we offered a higher deposit but was not taken up on this (also in email)
Notice is 2 months from us 1 from them.

Unsure re variation and not at home to check

Contract they quote stated no animals however old estate agent said email was enough to change this. (I do not have this in writing)

Dog goes in garden and gets cleaned up straight away. We check regular that there is nothing we missed. Lots of fox poo gets cleaned up too.

Imwe are looking into buying it's about 2 years earlier than we planned (kids almost done w school and will soon have their own homes so we need fewer rooms) however we are discussing squeezing it for a few years so if they say no to extend lease so be it inspection tomorrow I guess we will see after this.

I believe, a section 21 notice for eviction gives you a 2 month notice period. The one month notice will be what you must serve, not them. May be wrong but when we served a section 21 to our tenants they had 2 months as standard to vacate. X

Sorry yes I placed it the wrong way around

As PP have said if you are on an AST (which it sounds like you are) then there isn't really an argument to be had about the LL changing their mind, they can just issue you with a s21 notice after your fixed term is up. I would remind them of the email, show them that no damage is being done, remind them of what good tenants you are otherwise (always paying rent on time etc.) and offer the higher deposit again. Hopefully they will realise it is not worth the effort of finding a new tenant.

Already offered the higher deposit again. If they say no more after the 1 year it is not the end of the world for us we were looking at staying here 2 but you roll with the punches :)

Thank you, everyone.

They cannot and should not accept a higher deposit as this is now constrained by law under the 2019 tenancy fees act.

The email acts as a variation of contract as long as the agent was authorised to do so...but that is for the landlord to sort out

Yes they can give notice but only at them12 month point unless they claim breach if contract and I doubt a) they would bother with the legal cost and b) a judge would take a dim view of them trying with the evidence you have if contract variation

I wanted to give an update. We received a phone call today from the new estate agent. We will be allowed to keep the dog, they are sorting a variation of the contract to specifically include the dog. They stated they had been impressed with the amount of stuff we had put in to ensure that the dog did not damage the house and only asked for reassurance we would put anything right if the dog damaged (and yes, of course, we would - like we would anything we had damaged)

So overall a good day.

Tenancy is irrelevant. They cannot evict you for having a pet.
Regardless you have permission for the pet. Hold tight!

“They cannot evict you for having a pet. ”

Don’t be daft. Two parties agreed and signed a contract that states no pets. One partly broke the contract. The argument here was that she didn’t realise she did break the contract because an estate agent had spoken (without authorisation) on behalf of the other party.

OP has now managed to amend the contract to include the one pet and both parties are happy. Yay.

the update sounds like the landlord lit a rocket under the agent telling them not to be so stupid - driving you out just leaves an empty property which means no income, doesn't help anyone.

glad it all seems to have worked out because the new deposit cap means that renting with pets is going to be much harder.