Renting with a cat - insurance for damage

[bettybat]

Hi all,

Just want some advice really - we've only ever rented, so don't really know how much things cost to repair or replace. We have a cat, and have insurance for her that - if in the event she causes any damage - would pay out £500 in repairs.

We need to move, and I'm trying to think from a landlords point of view in order to negotiate....if the property was unfurnished, the major concern would be soiling or infestation of fleas. Would a £500 payout be enough for cleaning carpets/replacing carpets/pest control? It's likely to be a one-bed flat, to give an idea of size.

My cats have never caused that much damage!

I know, right?!

But landlords in London seem so bloody precious about pets. She's a tiny little cat who is outside for 16 hours a day. But some places are all - no pets, not even fish! No discussion! NO!

Hahaha.

Hmm - tbh I think £500 would not be enough to replace carpets in a one bed flat - if your cat were one of those cats who like to use the carpets to sharpen their claws. (I am sure she is not!)

Maybe look for flats with wooden floors?

Yeah, that is definitely the practical solution. I'm just so anxious about it. Our current landlady is so lovely, we've been here for four years but desperately need to move across London. I'm so worried we won't get anywhere and have to give her away.

Some days, I think - we will find a nice, reasonable landlord who is a human being and understands we'll do whatever we need to do to give them peace of mind about us having our cat. Other days it feels like the end of the world :(

I have a cat and rent. There has never been any suggestion of needing to pay anything extra in terms of her doing any damage. Can't remember if we offered to pay extra but definitely haven't done.

I rent my house out to cat owners, but no dogs. I don't look for any extra insurance, but would want it watertight that the house would be deflead if necessary and all carpets cleaned and scratches made good before you went.

Even if you have insurance your landlord has no guarantee that you'd pay to repair any damage or clean and de-flea carpets. An insurance claim would have to be instigated by you and if you decided to refuse your lanlord would be relying on your security deposit covering the damage. That's why, as a landlord, I'd be making sure the deposit was big enough. If necessary I would ask for a larger deposit.

OK so we could offer to include in the contract full professional cleaning and deflead for good measure, when we leave? And offer a larger deposit, which we're happy to do. We're happy to do whatever we can to give the potential landlord peace of mind....but we can't even seem to get into that part of the conversation to negotiate!

I just rang one lady this afternoon....her words before I'd even finished saying we have a cat were "no animals, no children!". GOD.

We rent (moved recently to a house with large gardens) with two big dogs and a cat. We offered to pay double the security deposit to cover the animals.
Landlord lives nearby so we walked the dogs round to introduce them (to show they were clean, groomed and well behaved). Cat is 15 so sleeps 22 out of 24 hours.
I keep the house spotless and all pet bedding clean and we spend a lot of time making sure the back lawn isnt showing too many signs of wear and tear.
I know what you mean about not renting to people with pets, I'm taking all the above care in the hope the landlord will give us a good reference for our next move (whenever that may be).
I done think its fair that a handful of renters who dont look after the house or pets ruin it for those of us who do.
The Times property section did an article a while ago saying landlords were penalising themselves by not allowing pets.