I would email and say that as per the contract they signed, no pets are allowed in the property. I would say that you feel strongly about this issue and although it might be disappointing, you expect this condition of the rental agreement to be adhered to and that if they feel strongly about getting a pet, you will understand if they give notice to vacate at the end of their fixed term.
I would ask them to reply to acknowledge receipt of your email. And if they do t reply, I would ask for acknowledgement again.
I would also ensure that a property inspection occurs within the next few weeks so you can see if a dog is living there.
There is a reasonable liklihood that they will ignore you and get a dog anyway. It will be useful to keep the communication about this as unfortunately it might be that you will need to evict over this issue.
When letting properties, as well as terms like no pets being in the contract, I would always emphasise them verbally to prospective tenants, along with no extra adults to move in without permission and no sub-letting.
I would also provide a property file in the property. This would contain things like manuals for applicances, details of bin days and who the current utility suppliers are (but stating they are free to alter the supplier) and details such as the date rent is due and what items the landlord is responsible for in case of breakdown, plus a reiteration of anything such as no pets, no sub-letting. It would also contain a copy of the tenancy agreement standard terms.Such a file is rarely looked at, but if a tenant asks a question such as if they can get a dog, it is often easy to give an answer and remind them they have the file with all this information laid out.
It is unfortunate if you said you’d think about it, when it’s already in the contract. The simplest thing would have been able to point out that the issue is already dealt with and they have already signed up to your policy on this. The issue then becomes less emotional and disappointment ting and just matter of fact.
For those who want a pet or feel it’s not right that landlords say no, it’s an issue to take up before a tenancy begins. If a landlord has said no pets in advance and it’s clear in the contract, there’s no real point then being disappointed a few months in if you ask and get a no.
For those who find the issue difficult, I think the problem is that a landlord simply cannot know if a pet will cause damage or not....and a tenant who hasn’t even got the pet yet can’t know either. Extra deposits aren’t allowed and even if they were, the damage that can be caused by let’s can far exceed this. Some of the issues to do with smells deep within carpets can remain for years after the tenant with pets moves out and result in significant extra costs which fall on the landlord not the tenant if even after the deposit is withheld, the costs aren’t fully covered. There is a significant liklihood of this kind of thing. That’s why most landlords aren’t keen. And that’s before even getting into the question of whether certain properties are even suitable for certain types or sizes of pets, especially when other residents are in the same building.
As always, clarity in advance about expectations and clarity in communication is key. Op, you haven started the conversation entirely clearly but now you must be clear about what the contract permits and that you intend to hold the tenants to it.....if you don’t make it very clear, there is a higher liklihood of that tenant just getting a dog anyway. If you are clear and ask them to acknowledge your terms and that they understand and expect to adhere to them, you put yourself in the best position moving forward.