Renting - with dogs?

[sowhatis]

Hi All,

we have decided that we will rent for a while after our house sale goes through, as there is just nothing on the market we really like at the moment.

this could be for 6mths - 2yrs.

we have decided on a town we want to live, so focusing attention to rent and then buy there and get the kids settled in school.

however, my dilema is that we have 2 dogs, and im not sure if its going to be possible to rent??

any ideas if it is just a blanket 'no dogs' rule as most of what i have seen says no pets, or 1 cat.

TIA

We've never had a problem and have rented in London and Bath, both direct and through agents. Only once did potential landlord say no dog, but then they were being difficult on everything else as well.

So guess, just keep trying.

We have two large dogs and have rented 3 different houses in London and the south-east with them, no problem.

We viewed houses and if we liked them, then told the agents we had dogs. We told them we could provide references from our neighbours on both sides (and previous landlord) to say the dogs weren't noisy or otherwise problematic. Even better if you can meet the landlord so they can get a look at you. We are terribly charming and emphasised that the dogs weren't allowed upstairs, were fully house-trained etc. Everywhere we rented has been unfurnished and had hard flooring downstairs which may have helped as the landlord would be less worried about any residual doggy smell.

Don't suggest you'll pay for any damage done by your dogs, as that will just make them think your dog is going to do some damage. And besides, contractually you will have to pay for damage anyway, so no need for you to bring it up.

Even if the listing says 'no pets' do ring and double check if you like the look of it, because if you can convince them you will be good tenants you might find it is only a marginal issue for them and they may change their mind. Most landlords just want someone who will not cause problems and be pleasant to deal with.

thank you Jimmy & sdr, its nice to know it doesnt rule all of them out, i was beginning to get worried.

they are house trained, never go upstairs and certainly arent chewers, but they are big!

i will keep my eye out and call to ask agents re dogs when i see something i like.

thank you

I am a landlord and allow dogs. For multiple dogs/any v large/clumsy looking pets some landlords up the bond slightly just in case.

I don't allow dogs, but do allow cats.

I have a larger than average labrador and rent at the moment. We also had him at the house we rented previously so obviously some landlords do allow them.

Our current LL are dog lovers themselves and all they asked was that we put down some rugs to protect the wooden floors from his claws however in their original ad it stated no dogs, so its always worth asking.

Just a hint but more rural properties seem to allow dogs than city/town dwellings.

thanks all.

will keep looking on the net.

is there any 'best' place to look (new to renting) is rightmove a good place to start?

Rightmove is a good start but would look at local paper too - sometime more independant (read flexible!) landlords in there.
Also if you know the area or can visit, ask around and look in local newsagents etc.
Or put the area on here - there are a few MN landlords

We own a place in Cambridgeshire that we let out. We originally specified 'no pets' but finished up letting it to a lady with a dog. She got in touch and said that she could provide references from her landlord/neighbours to say the dog hadn't caused any problems (although we never took her up on them) and we really just wanted to let the place quickly. Our letting agents took an extra deposit - £250 I think - but we figured that as the house isn't furnished the dog couldn't do that much damage. She has to have the carpets professionally cleaned when she leaves but I think the letting agent insists on that anyway - they are way stricter than I would be .

If you see somewhere you like I would call and ask. I do think they are more likely to agree if it's unfurnished as there's less to damage.

Actually our tenant has just handed in her notice so we will soon see whether there is any damage.

thanks all.

we want to be in stansted mountfitchet.

have a decent budget, but finding somewhere that allows dogs seems tricky.

will go over there and look in newsagents etc, wouldnt have thought of doing that! (duh!)

We rent out a house and don't stipulate no pets - the current tenant has two cats and the house is immaculate when we've been to inspect.

We do ask for a bigger deposit though and that carpets have to be cleaned to a professional standard when they leave.

Tbh if your references are good, and especially if you can supply a specific reference from neighbours to say the dogs are well behaved, you should be fine.

we have always owned, only going to rent whilst we look for somewhere to buy, so how do we go about getting references??

You'll need employer references mainly - then a credit search is usually done.

If you need to convince a landlord that your dogs are well-behaved, how about asking your current neighbours to write a letter to that effect?

Some landlords will stipulate no pets - it's worth knowing this to prevent wasting your own time - but there are plenty who don't.

All landlords want to generate income after all by finding a reliable new tenant as soon as possible - and if you also let them know that you're planning to stay for a while, that would go in your favour.

(Ime tenants stay an average of 6 months, so we've offered our current lovely tenant a reduction in rent if she signs for the next six - it costs us about £250 in finders fees to the agency every time a tenant leaves).

thank you msripley.

appreciate your help

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