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Original poster

Renting with a dog

48 replies

Spidey66 · 20/07/2023 09:57

We're currently in London. I'm late 50s, my husband early 60s, no kids.
😢
We're keen to move to the Somerset area ASAP. We currently live in a 2 bed flat with a small garden. We've been here since mid 90s so the mortgage is paid off.

Our plan is to sell our flat and move into rented in the short term so we are cash buyers.

I've been looking online and have hit a problem. We have a medium sized well behaved dog, and it seems landlords don't like dogs 😢. We really can't bear to be parted from her, we'd miss her too much and she us (we left her a night with a relative at the weekend and while she was OK, she did show signs of missing us (looking round for us on a walk and hiding in her bed.)

We're actually only looking for a short term letting, estimate of 6 months.

Has anyone successfully found rented accommodation that allows a dog? I assume it's easier if the property has hard floors and would be prepared to pay for a deep clean after. It seems dogs are the new smoking!

OP posts:
Original poster
Spidey66 · 20/07/2023 15:16

Right if my current plan is impractical.....

This is going to make me look completely stupid! I've not sold and bought at the same time before, we've lived in this flat since the 90s and a council property before so we were 1st time buyers.

So we're living in a mortgage free property atm. We have some savings until the move.

I'm 57, he's 61, we don't want a mortgage at our ago to buy our next place. So how can we configure being cash buyers until we've got the actual cash?

OP posts:
user1471538283 · 20/07/2023 15:20

Landlords cannot accept more deposit but you can pay pet rent!

When we were renting I rang around and offered pet rent and quite a few were interested. I paid £25 a month extra for both cats. They were older, tame and trained.

Deathbyfluffy · 20/07/2023 15:22

Maddy70 · 20/07/2023 10:21

There was a law passed recently that prevents landlords from excluding dogs.

No, there wasn't.
The law says that there has to be a reason to deny the renter a pet - but something like my severe dog allergy (I am a landlord) is fine as one day I'll have to live in the house again, so I don't allow pets.

It's not a blanket 'you have to allow pets' law - far from it.

kitchenhelprequired · 20/07/2023 15:32

Spidey66 · 20/07/2023 15:16

Right if my current plan is impractical.....

This is going to make me look completely stupid! I've not sold and bought at the same time before, we've lived in this flat since the 90s and a council property before so we were 1st time buyers.

So we're living in a mortgage free property atm. We have some savings until the move.

I'm 57, he's 61, we don't want a mortgage at our ago to buy our next place. So how can we configure being cash buyers until we've got the actual cash?

You can't. You are mortgage free but not cash buyers if you have a dependent sale.

KievLoverTwo · 20/07/2023 15:41

user1471538283 · 20/07/2023 15:20

Landlords cannot accept more deposit but you can pay pet rent!

When we were renting I rang around and offered pet rent and quite a few were interested. I paid £25 a month extra for both cats. They were older, tame and trained.

Oh, that's all changed now too.

I still see some asking for £25 a month to cover pets. A couple saying £45.

But I see others asking for 5% of the rental income as extra to cover for pets. We pay £1600 a month, that would be an extra £80!!

Any way they can find to exploit tenants, they will.

Original poster
Spidey66 · 20/07/2023 15:59

@kitchenhelprequired which is why we were planning to sell our flat so we would be cash buyers, and moving into rented short term while we bought but we would still have the cash required not to need a mortgage. Its the interim period I'm struggling with, with the difficulty of both leases being a year and being a dog owner.

OP posts:
RidingMyBike · 20/07/2023 19:15

Spidey66 · 20/07/2023 15:16

Right if my current plan is impractical.....

This is going to make me look completely stupid! I've not sold and bought at the same time before, we've lived in this flat since the 90s and a council property before so we were 1st time buyers.

So we're living in a mortgage free property atm. We have some savings until the move.

I'm 57, he's 61, we don't want a mortgage at our ago to buy our next place. So how can we configure being cash buyers until we've got the actual cash?

You are cash buyers, it just means you won't need a mortgage to buy the property. The EA will want to see evidence of cash so you'll need to show your sale stuff - it'll be clear that it's cash as your mortgage is paid off and presumably the new house is less than the cost of the old.

Buildingthefuture · 20/07/2023 19:32

I’ve done it a few times, with multiple dogs. I paid twice the deposit required, offered to pay the first 6 months up front and had all carpets professionally cleaned when I left. They were all rural though, rented through big country estates. They tend to have lots of properties and are fine with dogs. I didn’t pay any more rent and I left all the houses immaculate so I got all my deposit back. It’s more tricky but it is doable.

Original poster
Spidey66 · 21/07/2023 11:56

We have now tried with the owner of the holiday let. She lets it via Sykes and the contract states it can only be for no longer than 28 days.

Trying to navigate the maze that is Airbnb.

OP posts:
Maddy70 · 21/07/2023 12:13

Allthegoodnamesarechosen · 20/07/2023 10:24

Yes, but there hasn’t been a ‘law’ passed saying that the landlord has to choose the person with the dog instead of the person without one.
Of course, it may be different in Spain where you have a rapturous existence, as you keep telling us.

Show quote history

Why the snippyness ?

somersetsoulgirl · 21/07/2023 15:27

If you need help navigating Airbnb feel free to let me know - and if you're completely stuck we are free from September

CatchCatchThePigeon · 21/07/2023 15:32

it's impossible

we had to move out of our house for a renovation and could find not one landlord that would agree to us moving in with the dog. Every single time we got turned down despite being 2 professionals!

in the end, we had to use an Airbnb at vast expense. We did actually do 2 weeks in a caravan and I would have stayed there longer (it was cheaper and nicer tbh!) but we couldn't commute to work from there!

watermeloncougar · 25/07/2023 12:22

You are cash buyers because you're not relying on a loan, but if you want to tie in selling and buying at the same time, you're obviously not going to be attractive to the vendor as a buyer who has already sold and has the money in the bank.

I would move heaven and earth to find somewhere that you can move to short term as an interim, if you want to be in the best position.

JWRL · 28/09/2023 14:18

Intriguing ! What additional work is required after a dog has been residing in the property out of curiosity?

meatandtwoveggies · 28/09/2023 14:26

I really wouldn't attempt to do this it will be VERY stressful. I would go for the chain scenario.

BlackcatsAndPumpkins · 28/09/2023 14:26

Maybe not tell them?
To be honest l did this, a neighbour grassed me up but landlord was actually ok about it when he found out. I kept the place immaculate, sometimes it's the only way. When landlord did random check l would always be told in advance so moved dog out for day to my parents house. She was a small lurcher, no trouble, very quiet.

meatandtwoveggies · 28/09/2023 14:28

Oh and IME it will probably take you longer than 6 months.

Soverymuchfruit · 28/09/2023 14:31

Take out a small mortgage on existing property. This is now your deposit. Plan to take out 2nd mortgage on new property, using this deposit. Pay off both mortgages when you sell. Choose mortgages that allow early exit.

This makes you a "cash buyer". What matters for "cash" is not whether it's your money or the bank's money but whether or not you're in a chain.

You'd pay a bit of interest on the mortgages in the middle bit, but probably less than you'd pay out in rent. And you'd move straight from one property that you own to another, not twice.

And no landlords or dog issues.

Soverymuchfruit · 28/09/2023 14:32

Or maybe I've got the terminology wrong but the key thing is chain free. That's what sellers want. This is a way to achieve that without renting. Another way is a "bridging loan".

EarthSight · 28/09/2023 19:43

Contact them anyway and double your deposit amount - this will show them you take your responsibilities seriously.

It's so hard to rent. Landlords can truly cherrypick who they want in rural areas and small tows due to lack of affordibility on the housing market.

Original poster
Spidey66 · 28/09/2023 22:44

Oh I didn't realise there was new posts here.

We had recently considered a bridging loan for another matter....fortunately we didn't need it in the end as I was concerned about the high interest rates.

I doubt we'd get a mortgage as my husband is retired and I'm semi retired.

My property is still on the market. Usually properties in my area sell quickly but of course because of the rise in interest rates the market is poor.

We did visit the area last month and spoke to a couple of EA who were actually more positive about renting with a dog.

OP posts:
RidingMyBike · 29/09/2023 09:32

You can still get a mortgage when you're retired. We worried about this last year but the bank doesn't actually care as long as you'll have paid it off before you're 85. We thought being over 60 would be a big no for a new mortgage but the bank didn't bat an eyelid!

Pension is a guaranteed income so more reliable than someone working.

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