No pets!

[Skeppers]

We are currently looking to move house to a larger (rented) property as I am almost 5 months pregnant.

We've found a number of houses we really like, but have been told- in no uncertain terms- that there is a no pets policy. We have been renting our current house for 10 years with our cat. He hasn't caused one bit of damage- doesn't scratch, wee, etc. During the day when we're at work he's outside and in the evenings he lies next to the fire with us in the lounge. We're loathe to rehome him as he's getting on a bit (nearly 13) and he's well and truly part of the family. Does anyone have any tips as to how we could possibly negotiate this with potential landlords? As far as I'm concerned it makes no sense that they're not happy to have a cat in the house, but they're happy to have a baby/toddler which no doubt has the potential to make far more noise, draw on walls, etc.!

Do any landlords have any advice?

I'd lie about it but I know from previous posts on here that I'm in the minority.

Yeah, that was my initial thought, but don't want to risk being turfed out with a newborn!

I do work for a letting agent - the issue may be to do with allergies. One landlord was severely allergic so much so that when someone had cats (without permission) when they took the house back they had to have all the carpets replaced...out of the tenant's deposit. So just be careful.

Offer to pay a leaving/moving in fee of x amount to get carpets/floors cleaned.
My friend paid approx £400 which seems lots BUT she was able to keep her cats.

My experience is: view property, offer deposit, then 'oh by the way I have a dog - that won't be a problem will it? I can offer references from prev landlord and clean carpets etc when I leave'. This often works as letting agents will often have a blanket no pets approach to initial enquiries but once they've found a good tenant won't want to have wasted their time and start the process again and are more likely to actually call the landlord to discuss it and suggest you seem like a good tenant even with a pet.

Thanks for all the feedback. I phoned about a house we really love yesterday and asked about the pet policy; the agent said that he wasn't sure and would check with the landlady (it didn't say 'no pets' on the website)...but haven't heard back yet. I explained the situation, that he was getting on a bit and was mostly an outdoor cat and I did say to him that we'd happily pay an additional deposit if necessary, so fingers crossed that they come back with good news! Baby is due in August so want to get in somewhere and start nesting without leaving everything to the last minute- as per usual...

Interesting perspective GaryBaldy, I hadn't thought of it from that point of view before. Someone with that level of allergy must be pretty rare though, right? (hopes)

Anyway, I think that this house we're looking at is all wooden floors, so hopefully we'll dodge that bullet.

I've not had this issue at all, usually you have to agree to pay for a deep clean on leaving but that's fair enough.

I was open with agents and told them up front. One actually phoned me saying "how attached are you to your pets"...uhhh! Like I'm going to ditch them for a property.

Well, exactly Siarie. We had disregard a really lovely house yesterday because the landlady was adamant that she didn't want any pets in the property. When the letting agent called to let me know, he was kind of hinting the same thing...WTAF? Seriously? Our pet of 10 years is part of the family and is a darn sight more important than this particular house and your commission, mate! Hopefully another one will come along eventually which will have a more tolerant approach; our current landlady is testament that it can happen.

Sorry, but I've had my fill of rude, pushy, arrogant letting agents at the moment (not just about the pet issue, but a number of things, exorbitant admin fees being one of them). Can you tell?

it makes no sense that they're not happy to have a cat in the house, but they're happy to have a baby/toddler

People tend not to be allergic to babies or toddlers (I know lots of people with pet allergies) and babies and toddlers tend not to have fleas.

My cats were treated and yet I came back from holiday to fleamageddon in my house. Horrific.

Lol @ 'fleamageddon'...

Don't lie. We allow pets in ours- never been a problem.
We do a thorough clean when someone leaves anyway and don't charge more for pet owners.
Just ask and provide a reference if necessary (we've never asked for one- a pet reference- whatever next! ).

don't commit fraud by lying, or if you do take what you deserve which will be eviction. You are going to be parents, set a decent example. But then I would hope you aren't as crooked as the 'lie to the landlord' thieves who think they are so smart.

I've had a lot of damage to a property caused by a cat, not all of which was covered by the deposit. This was news to me. As a result I now don't allow cats.

BUT - you say your cat doesn't scratch/wreck, they don't all do it. So offer a higher deposit, sufficient to cover destroyed carpets and woodwork. No damage, it all comes back, job done. Elderly cats do tend to become incontinent as you may know, so think about limiting room access. Cat urine goes right through to floorboards.

That said, the landlord doesn't get the entire value of the carpet back unless it was almost new - carpets in rentals are assumed to be totally trashed after 6-8 years. But replacement of woodwork would not be expected as it is not 'wear and tear'. So you can do some sums on a suitable deposit based on this.

ps just saw you are currently in rental. Great - your current landlord can confirm the no cat damage. Take photos too.

Oh, and for future ref wall-scrawls are not wear and tear, and DON'T buy bath crayons because they don't come off.

We didn't tell landlord about our cat. She didn't destroy anything and they never knew. Such ashame landlords don't like people having pets, seeing as so many people rent these days.

"That said, the landlord doesn't get the entire value of the carpet back unless it was almost new - carpets in rentals are assumed to be totally trashed after 6-8 years."

That's interesting, specialsubject...we've been in our current rental for 10 years now and the carpets have never been replaced and they are virtually threadbare (were old back when we moved in!) so they'd better not take money from our deposit to replace them or I'll be 'aving words!

Thanks for the other tips, especially the one about bath crayons! Don't worry, I wouldn't lie about having pets in reality, I'm such a bad liar. I'm too scared to jump the train fare even if I'm only going one stop and everyone else is doing it, just in case I get caught! It's nothing to do with 'setting a good example', just good ol' cowardice!

Finding I agree. Believe me, we'd love our own place (and a puppy!), but with current deposit costs it's just never going to happen- partly driven by the extremely high number of buy to lets around here snapping up any affordable housing there may have been- it's a vicious circle! We are paying the same in rent every month as we'd be paying on a mortgage... In some cases, we're paying significantly more to rent our 2 bed terrace than friends/colleagues I have who own 3 bed detached places pay on their mortgages. That's a little bit grating, because we both earn a decent wage. We just don't have £20k lying around for a deposit and- with the amount of rent we're paying- it would take an age to save that.

We made our peace with never owning our own home a long time ago, but it would be nice if the rental market as a whole was a bit more flexible (seeing as they've pinched all the houses we could have bought ...). Gone are the days when rentals were just for people 'in between' situations or waiting to buy their own place; more and more people these days are looking for a proper home to settle in for a good few years. I know we are.

Assuming your deposit is protected (and you will of course have confirmed this) then there's no argument about carpets. I rented out a place with a good brand new carpet and it was worn (although not threadbare) after 8 years. Not damage, just from people walking on it. Hence the timescale seems about right to me. although the iron mark and huge stain on another carpet was a different matter

Landlords have not 'pinched' all the houses you could have bought. Rental used to be a lot cheaper than mortgage. Currently in some places it is the other way round. If interest rates go up rental may be cheaper again.

to whoever it was: running a rental is a business. It is not a matter of 'like' or 'don't like' it is a matter of business sense. I quite like cats but I don't have one in my own house because I don't want the damage.

I would go and see the letting agent and explain. When I was at university, my then-boyfriend and I moved into a rental flat. The advert said no students, no pets, no smokers. We were both students, he smoked and I had a cat! We met with the agents and they said the problem was more with dogs or groups of students rather than couples. We only had to assure them that there would be no smoking inside, and they (and the landlord) were fine with it. Just make sure that it gets added into your contract that a cat has been agreed.

I'm a bit about people advocating lying to a prospective landlord about not having any pets.
We are landlords. The last tenants did the "oh, by the way, we have a dog, is that okay?" . This was after they'd moved in.
Made me bloody angry as we stated 'No pets' but we felt like we couldn't say no. They'd shipped the dratted thing over from bloody Canada, we couldn't really tell them to ship it back! (They were here working for two years).

I'm not going to lie to the landlord! Never have done, never will do! Sheesh. Not all rental tenants are liars. Some are just honest, hard-working people looking for a decent and secure place to live...if they really hammer home the no pets thing we'll go elsewhere! I just wanted advice as to how we could improve our chances to those who may be open to the idea which some people have, kindly, provided.

Sorry to get defensive, but trying to find somewhere to live in the current market when everything gets snapped up so quickly (let alone being 5 months pregnant) is a little bit stressful!

So stressful for you :( I know exactly how you feel. I can't see how having a cat is going to ruin a rental property, unfortunately I've had bad experience with renting where the landlords don't keep the house up together but expect you to still live in it happily paying a lot in rent. Seems so unfair.
Seeing as so many people rent these days I think maybe they should just ask for more deposit if someone has a pet rather than ruling out all pet owners. Good luck with finding a home :) x

I would just say what you have said in your OP.

Landlords are people too and they aren't saying no to pets just to wield power over their potential tenants.

We are landlords. I will happily allow a cat, but I wouldn't allow a dog - to my mind the property is just too small for a dog. We have had a tenant ask to get a puppy after moving in, and we had to say no - the tenant already had three cats, and we felt there wasn't the space. I felt guilty saying no, but the tenant knew our stance on dogs when he moved in.

In your situation, I would be fine with it (good luck finding somewhere by the way!), but obviously there are landlords that wouldn't and that doesn't mean they are evil. At the end of the day, it is their house, and if they would prefer to remove any risk of it being damaged, that is up to them.

I can't believe people would lie about it. Surely better not to get off on the wrong foot with the landlord straight away!

I'm not saying that anyone is evil! I totally get the landlords side of things. It sounds like you consider things on a case by case basis which is fairer than having a blanket policy. But I also get why people do this too. I just want to know how to get 'in' with the first bunch!

Apart from letting agents, of course. They are purest evil.

BTW my property is advertised as no pets (this is standard) but one prospective tenant had dogs and I would have accepted her. She talked me through her plans and for reasons I won't detail because it might out me, it was fine. (She didn't take the place in the end for other reasons, nothing to do with the property)

OP - for the avoidance of doubt (as they say) I didn't assume you'd lie! Hope you can get this sorted. It is indeed case by case and a tenant that can easily afford the rent, has run a home and doesn't smoke is 90% of the way there already.