Nobody wants to rent to us :(

[GoblinKeeper]

Mostly looking for head pats and commiseration, although advice works too.

I'm just flabbergasted by how tremendously difficult it is to find a rental property that accepts dogs and children, and is commutable to London. We've been living with my in-laws whilst funding IVF privately - thank goodness for family! - but whilst they would love for us to live there forever, I don't think that I can stand to raise our twins (I'm twenty weeks pregnant now) under their roof. And it is so stressful to try to find a new place.

I have no idea how to convince a potential landlord that my charming, well-behaved and middle-aged darling won't be a danger to the property - offering references from my vet and training club is even less helpful than offering to pay an additional deposit, it would seem. And we can't afford to rent a house so it's going to be a one or two-bedroom flat, as I'd be worried to go over about £900/month once we're down to just one salary. We're willing to move anywhere so long as there is less of an hour's commute in to Charing Cross (it would be nice to see the twins occasionally!) and we'd like to be south of the Thames because my family are all there and dying to be helpful with the babies.

Success stories, virtual hugs and advice all welcome! I'm sure this wouldn't be upsetting me so much if not for the hormones - I'm dying to nest and set up home before they arrive.

I'll add a picture of the special girl herself, so that you can see how incredibly lovely she is.

We are at the end of the Hayes (Kent) to Charing Cross train line - it takes about 35 minutes I think.

I have friends who rent locally with dogs, they live in houses with gardens though. Good luck with your search.

Even temporarily it is our home with our stuff and family in and I pay to rent that space. I don't pay rent to be told what I can and can't do (hanging washing out is one of my clauses for example) and we are good clean tenants, most probably because we treat it as the very thing landlords seem upset about, a home!

I have swirly 70s carpets too.

The my ll is fine though, it's the letting agents that get on my nerves

Another thing that shocked me here are all the extortionate fees letting agents charge - this is another thing I never came across in Australia. We have no chance of buying here (SE), which is playing some part in us planning to emigrate soonish...

In all fairness we bought a leasehold home and the lease had lots of clauses: no clothes hanging from windows, no tv aerial visible on the roof, no satellite dishes allowed, insurance with a specific company. So it isn't just rental properties that have unusual clauses. We have now moved to a freehold property because we decided that the best way to avoid restrictions was to live in a different property without silly restrictions.

Sorry diddl, I missed your post. They are by house of paws
fetch.co.uk/dogs/dog-grooming/shampoos-conditioners-wipes?sort-by=name_asc&brand=house-of-paws
The shampoos are nice too. They aren't cheap though!

Ooh Lavender!

Perhaps some of these landlords just don't have much experience of dogs. We've always had dogs, our family has always had dogs, some of my most house proud friends have dogs and yep, all our houses are perfectly fine.

Gosh. I should have started this in 'Am I Being Unreasonable?' - I wasn't expecting the topic to be quite so polarising! But thank you all for weighing in, it's good to see some more perspectives.

I haven't been clear enough in that the twins that I'm currently expecting are the first children - and thank you for your congratulations! We're delighted, of course. I've had this idea (remember, first children, I could be completely naive) that we'd co-sleep with the twins until they're one or so anyway and that babies don't take up much space, so anything more than a one-bedroom flat would probably amount to surplus space! But we are looking at ground floor properties with a garden, although as we're a bit precious about our outdoor space, our dog doesn't go in the garden at all - she's walked thrice a day instead and our lawn stays immaculate!

Suggestions for phrasing our description of the dog would be welcomed, if anyone would like to weigh in - I do think she's pretty perfect at this point, but she came home an easy dog and three years of being deeply invested in her as a family member have paid off. She has her Kennel Club bronze, silver and gold Good Citizen awards, which might mean something to a landlord or might not, and is a registered (although not currently practicing) Pets as Therapy dog. She comes out and about with me during my charity work and has modelled for various organisations - I guess if she would be recognisable to anyone for anything, it would be that she's modelled for Victoria Stillwell and is the face on some of her 'Positively' products. I don't suppose that a landlord would give two hoots about that, but I'm mentioning it because it does lend some validity to my assertion that she's pretty good as far as dogs go and maybe makes me seem a little less like one of those ghastly people that insists that Precious is a paragon whilst merrily ignoring its shenanigans in the park. ;) But I am extremely proud of her, and of the work that we've put in to making her a really genuinely lovely family member and 'person'. We spend a lot of time making sure that she's happy and her needs are met.

We'll look a bit further out, I think! And I'd welcome any suggestions of rental agencies who do consider pets (and try not to put them off by describing mine as 'charming' if that's a red flag to other people!).

It is possible. We have two dogs and a child and we have always managed to find a place to rent. We currently struck gold - saw the place advertised for a private rent as we drove past, and the old tenants had a big dog.

None of that would matter to someone who isn't about to rent a property out to people with a dog. And the phrase 'family member' applied to the dog is far more likely to repel a potential LL than inspire any positive reaction.

What is wrong with it is that you sound like someone who thinks their pet can do no wrong, whereas it may well be the experience of a LL that a dog can in fact do wrong, and that it can cost a lot to put it all right again.

It also sounds as if you want to convert tot LL to worshiping at your dog's shrine -- the list you posted of your dog's accomplishments makes you sound like someone who runs an online fan club for her dog and people should consider themselves lucky to have such a personage living in their property..

You need to come across as a potential renter who is well aware of a prospective LL's concerns about dogs and not as your dog's Number One Fan. You could state the breed, and at most emphasise that the dog is a family friendly breed and well-behaved. You could say the dog will not be left alone if you intend to be home with it and the babies (as opposed to leaving it while babies are at nursery and you are at work) and that the dog gets long daily walks -- so will not be left to its own devices, trying to expend energy that has no other outlet, ripping carpet, chewing furniture (if property is furnished) or peeing indoors because it can't go out.

On a side note, I hope you will thnk about some preparation of the dog for when the twins arrive. Dogs who have been a 'family member' sometimes have issues when babies arrive.

There's no way to find a house that will accept pets. I'm the same situation, looking at Cambs. 3 months now and no luck. Every single call to an agent is finished as soon as I mention PET.

What makes me feel really bad, is that I've seen the horrible way students/shared houses are being maintained (really, students are a disgrace! LOTS of dirt, stains in the carpets, gardens like wild forests, broken furniture, etc) and anyone who sees my actual home, even with a cat and a dog, can see how spotless is. Why landlords prefer dirty students over responsible pet owners?? I just don't understand!

OP, we have been tenants and landlords with pets, and it's hard but it IS doable.

When we moved back to the UK from abroad we had to look for rented property while we were trying to buy. I flew home for a few days to look at schools and rental homes. By the time I got off the plane and turned my phone on, 4 of the 6 properties I had appointments for were gone, so there is clearly a huge demand for rentals that will allow pets.

The points I stressed to potential LLs (and would want to hear as a LL) are that the dogs are middle aged, therefore past the chewing stage and fully housetrained. I am a SAHM so they are rarely left alone for long periods. When I am out of the house they are crated so the potential for damage is minimal. I paid double the usual deposit and guaranteed to have the whole house and carpets professionally cleaned at the end of the tenancy.

Another caveat is that when you do find somewhere that allows pets (and you will!), be really careful to do a thorough condition check with the inventory clerk when you move in. I spotted some chew marks on the french windows from a previous doggy tenant, which were not on the inventory, so I made sure they got added so that my dogs were not blamed when we checked out.

It's probably harder around London, but I found large estates and farms which rent out properties are far more likely to allow pets.

Just to give you a bit of hope i have never had any trouble finding homes with small children and pets (cats and dogs) however i am in NI where we dont seem to have the same rigidity of mindset when it comes to renting. People seem far more willing to consider 'less than ideal' candidates than it appears on MN.

Adding my morsel of information quickly before dashing out to work :)
We rent, have two dogs and DS(10) There are not hundreds of houses suitable and even fewer with brand new kitchens, luxury carpets and landscaped gardens but there are homes available.
My best tips would be to approach letting agents at the outset with:
-Firm promise of references from your ILs present LL WRT the dog

• Proof of a Pet Health Plan or similar that covers all vaccinations, flea and worm treatment
• A bigger deposit
• An absolute willingness to sign a clause agreeing to carpet cleaning when you leave
• Agreeing to more frequent inspections
• A firm idea of what will happen to the dog when you go out, work etc. to prove you have considered all issues
• Constant mention of your desire for a long term let (if this is really the case- it was for us and was seen as a bit of a deal breaker for potential LL's)

I also would probably not mention a multiple pregnancy- don't lie but just omit to bring it up.

We live rurally and have had more success with what I would call "higher end" letting agents eg. those who let large country properties as they also tend to have farm cottages, estate properties etc on their books. I was also told that the line "no pets" is often added when a LL has not stipulated one way or another and can in many cases be negotiated. Don't allow that to put you off enquiring anything that you think may be suitable.

Good luck OP :)

OP, is this your dog with Victoria :)

We rented our house for 5 yrs when we moved abroad for work. We let it through an agency but I specifically said children, pets and DSS were welcome.
I knew family members who had struggled to rent anywhere halfway decent because they were poor, had children and pets. Our house was not empty for even one day during the 5 years. We had 3 tenants, and the house was fine when we came back. We never thought to ask for an extra deposit and our agent never suggested it.

I think you will struggle in a 1 bedroom flat with twins, let alone a dog.

I meant we let our house!

i think a lot of landlords are massively unreasonable when it comes to rentals. (apologies if I upset anyone) but i am astounded by the number of properties I see with 'pets/children may be considered' and 'suits professional couple' - who are all these childless professional couples renting 3/4 bedroom properties? seriously?

And why the attraction with the cream carpets? Hard floors are much more convenient and hard-wearing.

I think one of the big issues in this country (as a renter for 10 years) is that people who are private landlords (or some of them) don't understand that by renting out their property it is their tenant's home for the duration. I can honestly say that I have never felt truly at home in a rental and I am part of 'generation rent'!

We will have to take on my dog soon as my mum is too ill to take care of her, we also have a cat so god forbid when I have to look for a new property because my landlord sold the house without telling me and now I have 2 months notice to uproot my whole life!

Good luck OP! :) xx

I have never once encountered anything but hardwood floors, tiled bathrooms and lino kitchens in any apartment I rented in the US. Carpet would be just asking for trouble. In fact, I would not consider renting a place that was carpeted (in the unlikely event of ever finding one) purely because of the eeeeugh factor. Same goes for furnished apartments -- rare as hens' teeth.