Landlords - would you rent to a tenant with a dog?

[Ninetydegreeseastoflondon]

A couple of potential tenants have expressed an interest in renting my house. One is a single lady with a dog. The agency have had her as a tenant before and describe her as a very good tenant. Would the dog put you off?

The house is rented unfurnished but does have carpet.

As a former dog owner it wouldnt put me off, however I would do more regular checks and include carpets cleaned at the end of the tenancy.

No

Yes we always do, and have never had a problem with any tenant with a dog.

Take an extra deposit if worried, and say that they must pay for a flea spray of the house on departure (council come in for about £40, we do this when moving any client into new home, as I have in the past had clients move into houses only for fleas to appear, so it better to do it as a precaution), we always spray between tenants anyway, animals or no animals.

I find it an advantage to have tenants with dogs, they always stay for ever as they find it hard to find dog friendly rents, and they tend to be people who care about things.

Have a chat, ask if the dog suffers from separation anxiety, check it will not annoy the neighbours, we have never had any problems with any of the properties we have had dogs in, I don't think we have any without dogs now, we are rural so it tends to be a trend.

We did and the property was trashed but had nothing to do with the dog, carpets were cleaned after by the tenant and came up like new ( shame about the rest of the house)

Yes we would, but would take extra deposit and put in the contract that carpets must be professionally cleaned at the end of the tenancy.

No we wouldn't rent to a tenant with a dog or cat.

No pets at all.

Yes, we have (and do). Just make a carpet clean on moving out a condition, and reiterate that you'll be checking paintwork/cupboards for scratches.

I know a lot of people who keep dogs without permission (lots of dog-shuffling and hiding of beds when the agent comes to inspect) so I think you're better off being accommodating at the beginning. Interesting to hear why someone wouldn't? Is that because you've just installed vastly expensive white carpets or something else like that?

I rent with a dog an had to consent to inspections. Some ll take a higher deposit.

I understand why many don't, a dog my mum rescued once ate all the skirting boards, door frames etc. it did cost a fair bit to put right but nothing like a months rent on a private rent (eg deposit)

I would second asking some questions re how long the dog is likely to be left, whether they would confine it to one room, is it a spade bitch (puppies!)

If there is garden you could stipulate that if the dog is left it is left in a kennel outside (although they may just ignore this)

Yes, but that carpets are professionally cleaned, ie not themselves with a rug doctor on leaving the property.

When we rent a property out, we go round with a digital camera, and take hundreds of photos, of every single square inch, on high as possible definition. of all internal space and external space.

I put the photos all on disk, the tenant, client and ourselves have a copy,

I am very realistic about normal wear and tear, my loo seat at home despite being good quality, seems to need replacing often, we try to be as fair as possible, things break, homes need lots of maintenance, that is the owner's responsibility.

all our tenants and clients get a fair deal, we don't charge the tenant for a repaint, when they have been there for a reasonable amount of time, but we do make sure that accidental damage is paid for,

the tenants have a detailed set of photos on their disk to look at so they can see if they have had a negative impact.

we never have had anywhere trashed, or any awful damage, our tenants are very good at letting us know when there is a problem with anything, before it develops into something bigger,

we clear gutters, but expect them to maintain garden or pay extra for a gardener,

I do do regular checks so as to keep on top of problems, we also respond instantly to any requests from tenants about maintenance, we have a plumber there immediately or new white goods on the first working day from information, because we do this the tenants have a similar attitude.

I find it cheaper long term to have one tenant, we try our very best to keep them happy, we rarely lose one.

quoteunquote I don't suppose you do rentals in the SW do you?! I wish I could find a landlord as reasonable as you!

Yes, I do rentals in the SW, I PM you if any come up (we have a waiting list as our area is so popular), which area are you in?

I have a massive dream about building passive self contained social housing, I really want to change the cost of living, I strongly dislike the implication of survival living on society, it's unnecessary and overall defeatist.

at the moment I tend to do mainly high end and restoration,

but we are looking at ways we could take a rental market into a situation where it would become forever home, and adaptable.

We currently do, it was worth it to get good tenants. To be honest it was our home beforehand and we had a cat, so I can't be too precious and it is unfurnished. We have just asked that they give it a good clean when they leave

Wow, what was the chances of that?! :o

We are in the Plymouth area. I've phoned so many places and been told "no dogs" then I found one that would take dogs but "no babies"! Feel like I'm losing the plot.

Depends on the property. I declined a lady with a puppy in a flat as; there is an elderly couple above (poss. barking nuisance), the flat had just been refurbed, the lady was pregnant & when I looked up the breed of dog it was known for not being good with children (I had visions of the dog being jealous of the baby and being left outside to bark and poop and annoy the neighbours).
In a different set of circumstances I would consider it but would be looking for a "pet deposit" for extra cleaning, repairs, flea treatment etc.

Does she work full-time? In which case no, as the dog will be shut up at home barking and destroying things. (Don't listen to 'it never barks' - it never does when the owner is at home)

you'll need to get all carpets steam cleaned after she leaves as even if the dog doesn't chew or excrete on things, the whole place will have a whiff of dog. They cannot be trained to wipe their feet either. The end of tenancy flea bomb is also good.

I like dogs. Outside.

Once you rent to a dog owner you also need to factor in that you will always rent to dog owners, unless you are prepared to have the flat empty at the end of a tenancy. We have always tried to not have the flat empty and a good relationship with tenants so we can do a viewing day before they move out. If there was a dog at the property I'd expect non dog owners to not be interested and so it restricts the pool of potential tenants. Even if they took dog out it would potentially still smell of dog and hairs/dog bowls etc wouldn't be appealing.
If I couldn't find a tenant I would consider it with appropriate deposit and professional cleaning clauses but my preference is to not have the hassle.

I would ask to meet the dog. This after renting to a tenant who claimed to have a small well behaved dog. In truth it was a teenage unruly Dalmatian, I would never have agreed if I'd known this.

I was happy to rent to people with a dog because the village that the house was in had loads of dog-owners, so I figured that the family would settle well, get on well with neighbours and fit into community. No regrets. House didn't get trashed. Agree with lonecat about meeting the dog though.

No. And I'm a tenant. We have two cats, but once they go, we are sticking to one Syrian hamster.