landlord and pets - unfair?

[andreaxo]

I rent and have been doing so for the past 7 months (the same house), when I moved in I was pregnant and had 2 rabbits, asked if rabbits could come too, landlord agreed.
I am a good tenant, try not to moan about things unless they become a big issue which so far has been 1 thing (the front door sticking) the landlord sends his son to do repairs as they don't live around here.
A week ago I decided I would like a kitten and did the right thing by asking the agent who then emailed the landlord to ask for permission, I got an email 3 days later saying 'unfortunately the landlord has declined your request, so a no to the cat im afraid' I feel really upset by this, I always Co operate and am more than happy to help them when they need to come round to inspect and ask me to sign things. I've even stained the woodwork in the living room which includes all skirting boards, fire surround and doors (with permission) whilst 8 months pregnant and have made the house look better. The radiator in my bedroom which is quite large does not work no matter how many times I bleed it and I've not complained as didn't want to make a fuss but now he's declined my cat and not even given me a reason I have complained as I have a newborn that sleeps with me and last night had to have 3 blankets on as it was so cold.
I just feel it's unfair he didn't give a reason, didn't offer me the option of paying a higher bond or a new term in the contract - I feel I'm a good tenant which is hard to come by as the house was up for rent months before I rented it as he could not find a tenant and was on the verge of selling the property.

I also rent unfurnished, the only thing that's in the property which belong to him are the carpets (one is out of a bedroom in the living room and blinds) the doors have seen better days and one has a huge crack in it and they have replaced 2 panels with plywood in one door which looked ridiculous until I've stained it and made it look less obvious.
I'm open to anyone's opinions on whether I am being unreasonable etc
Thanks

Special it's not the magnolia per se, it's the inability to paint walls in a home, where they will require repainting after a long tenancy anyway. I have no problem paying market rent, but I would like to make minor changes to my home. Anyway I have totally derailed the thread. I have no pets not desire to have them!

Market rents are pay through the nose so the person living there should be able to paint the damned thing any colour they please without express permission first and chuck a few pictures up when they feel like
it.

If you continue to have problems with the agents not sorting the radiator I wouldn't feel bad about contacting the landlord directly. We rent out our house, and recently had a message from the tenant, it was very polite and factual, an explained that the cooker had been broken for some time and despite repeated requests to the letting agents (which she had copies of) they had not sorted it. I was mortified that the agents we pay a fortune for had left her with a cooker that didn't function forasmuch a long time, we knew nothing of the situation until she contacted us, and we were able to have strong words with the agents and arrange for the cooker to be replaced.
Obviously I can only vouch for how we reacted, but a lot of agencies are pretty rubbish, to landlords as well as tenants, and it is perfectly possible that the landlord has no idea about the issues with the radiator etc.

ok thanks poketsized I will give them a while longer and see if they get in touch about the radiator if not will contact directly, thats not good at all your agents not doing what you pay them to do!

Our agents have been hopeless, we are in the process of changing them. Whilst I don't doubt that there are some awful, dodgy landlords out there, we are not all monsters!

We have allowed our tenant to have dogs (we previously lived there with our dog), redecorate as she sees fit (with the proviso that it is left tidily and reasonably neutrally decorated when she leaves, but it wasn't magnolia to start with so as long as it's not lurid I'm happy!) and put up pictures/brackets for TVs etc as long as any damage to the walls is made good when she leaves.

The agents on the other hand, don't respond to emails, don't follow instructions and charge us through the roof any time any minor repairs are needed. They are mostly a money grabbing waste of space as far as I can work out.

We rent currently and have a cat. LL didn't want pets; we negotiated to be allowed one cat as we were ideal tenants in every other way. Our one, tiny, utterly adorable cat has done c.£1000-worth of damage since we've lived here. She's trashed the shutters in our bedroom because she loves climbing up them, and one adventure on the mantlepiece in the living room resulted in a heavy mirror falling onto the floorboards and leaving a massive dent. We'll fix these things before we move out, because frankly our landlord is a bit of a dick and we'd rather make good than have him say they'll cost even more to fix than we know they will. I know it seems unfair but I guess the question is whether you could afford to make good that kind of damage if your cat caused it - and it probably would. Kittens climb up wallpaper, they annihilate carpets - they are incredibly cute but they cause carnage. Fine if it's your own house, but if it's not...

We do allow pets (one or two dogs or cats inside, rabbits in a cage in the garden is a non issue) and so far have had no problems. One tennent asked about having a kitten, we said yes. We think along the lines of having a happy tennent tends to lead to a longer and less problematic tendency. Plus it is their home and the more they are allowed to make it theirs the better they look after it ioe.

Most landlords do allow you to paint imo but just ask for non offensive colours. So a light green in a child's bedroom would be fine, a bright green not so much as others might not like when you leave. Also dark colours are harder to paint over so usually cost more as several coats of paint needed. But a pale blue/ green/ etc is usually fine

I think your point about pets ending up in rescue centers should warn you something.

I bought a dog when I lived in a property I owned, after I split with exP I couldn't afford to keep the house, but I kept the dog as he was less interested in it than he thought he would be.
Now I know how hard it is to find a rental property with an animal, but I already love my dog and the thought of re homing him used to upset me every time my rent went up and I knew there were other cheaper properties which would suit us well, but were unlikely to accept a dog, every time I hoped to re signed my tenancy I crossed my fingers harder because if I had to move it could mean having to give my dog away. Pets often last longer than tenancies do.
I'm very lucky that a friend who is a LL recently bought a property for me to rent, so it is permanent and reasonable, but still if anything happened to my dog now I wouldn't get another pet unless I owned.

landlords can't evict for 'invasion of privacy'.

'pay through the nose' is London.

yawn.

Art any time I have asked for permission to paint I have been told it can be white or magnolia! Granted most of my renting has been in Ireland. I must try asking again here and see. Looking at finally moving my DD into her own room and I would like to make it more homely.

I Don't think white isn't homely tbh. When we moved into our place we asked for it to be painted all white. It's very homely. In a child's bedroom you can add bunting and pictures, hang material or similar. By the time they have accessories of different curtains and bedding and a rug you barely see the wall colour and most more than white looks cluttered by the time everything else is in

I know it can be, I'm just sick of white walls in every room! I do have pictures, bedding etc but like a nice soft colour in bedrooms/sitting room. I know it's fairly minor in the greater scheme of thing, just would like a change every so often.

It's not really a question as to whether white is homely or not, is it though? It's a question as to whether a person should be able to decorate their own home to their taste, especially given that they are either paying off the mortgage on said home for someone else's benefit or alternatively funding someone else's retirement plans with the money they work for and hand over to a landlord every month.

....on a property that the landlord wasn't actually given by the fairies...

anyway, while I'd never give a tenant permission to paint again after the mess the last lot made, I would expect to repaint the property every five years or so, or perhaps sooner if there is more frequent turnover. If there's a tenant there at the time (and they want it painted) I'd ask for some input into colours. But if it was purple with spots, feature walls or inspiring slogans everywhere, they would probably be out of luck unless they are on a 10 year tenancy with no break on their side.

BTW all those who say 'lie and get a cat anyway' that is tenancy breach and IS a reason to get the OP put out on her arse.

I have no objection to paying rent, and certainly wouldn't want the hassle of being a landlord, otherwise I would have bought years ago (my job requires frequent moves for the first 10-15post graduate years). But equally landlords need to realise that renting out a property should entitle the occupier, who is paying for the use of the property, to make non-permanent changes. I understand that there are plenty of tenants who do not treat a property with the respect it deserves, but equally there are plenty of excellent tenants like me who make the valid lifestyle choice to rent longterm rather than buy and we deserve to make a home, not feel like we are (paying) guests in somebody's house.

See that's why I like council houses. Fair rents and the option to cosmetically change anything I want.

I mean I could paint my arse purple and leave an imprint on every wall in the house if I want. I can take off skirting boards and replace without permission and change doors/kitchens etc.

No way would I put up with a landlord telling me I can only decorate every 5 years (!) and tell me what I can and can't have while I'm paying for their old age.. It's unreasonable.

I think you have to accept it but you don't have to accept the maintenance issues. Start asking for things to be done and keep on at the agent until they are.

Gamer - well that's wonderful, but many people can't get a council house. If I asked for one they would just just laugh at me or offer a shitty damp mouldy flat 14 floors up

Getting a kitten when you have a newborn is a bad idea. LL said no to a cat. You have to deal with that or find another place to live.

That's it, I'll just move into a council house...

I'm with agent/landlord in saying no to a pet, based on experience. It's just not worth the hassle and I've yet to find a cat or dog owner who says they're not responsible, good owners/the pet is well-behaved etc, but of course, things often go wrong, so it's a blanket no to everyone now. Also, many properties, if leasehold, will have a no pet rule written into the lease, particularly in blocks of flats and, again, it's not worth the hassle with the management company and breach of lease.

Your should expect your radiator to be fixed in a reasonable time. It's sometimes the agent's maintenance department which isn't organised, so keep contacting them daily to find out when a plumber will be round to sort it. As a landlord, and in this weather, this would be a top priority but I only get to find out about issues when the agent tells me, which isn't always that speedily.

I'm easy about decoration. As long as the property is returned to the original colour by a professional decorator then I don't really care what the tenant does in this regard.

not get a kitten while you have a new born baby firstly
Indeed!
And the LL is well within his rights - the tenant after you may be allergic to cats - many are.

Sorry I should have said. So many threads where people bang on
People giving up their secure tenancy in SH when they earn over a certain amount and here I am reading how you pay a fair bit more than the 500 quid I pay but have to stare at white or magnolia walls for years and years because you have no say?

No thank you

I started typing a response to gamer, but what's the point? It's not going to change her myopic point of view. When social housing tenants move into places they usually have to decorate as nothing is done for them these days, no matter how bad the colour scheme or poorly executed the decorating. Is that fair?