Relocation & Renting with dogs

[Bakerlife87]

Hi, brand new to mumsnet. A friend recommended joining this site to connect with anyone who may be able to offer any sort of advice or just general reassurance I suppose.

We are due to relocate some 300 miles away from where we're born and bred. (Lancashire to West Suffolk) Partner has got a new job and so we're off; once his employer has come to a decision as to when we he can move. (Internal position) potentially we feel it's likely to be June/July.

We own our property so that has to go on the market, we feel positive about this and hopefully it won't hang around long.

Here's the thing.... we are relocating such a long way from what we know. We do not know the area so feel the best course of action would be to rent a property and do our research before we make any decisions to purchase again. This might take up to a couple of years and we understand that. But......
we have 3 dogs. No kids. I'm so worried about finding a rental which will accept my 3 fur babies. They come with references from a trainer but I don't know if this is going to be enough.

Genuinely losing sleep over it at the moment.

Hi there, @Bakerlife87 - and a warm welcome to Mumsnet!

Did you know we have a talk board to do with everything canine? It's here: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/the_doghouse

We'll move this thread there for you now, and hopefully you'll get some good advice.
Good luck with the relocation!

OP, I can't help much about the rental angle, but you might get some advice about where to live in Suffolk in on the rural living or property boards (both under talk/home and garden). Bury St Ed's is a nice middling sized town, and Sudbury is lovely if you're looking for somewhere smaller.

I rent with one small dog. All I can say is good bloody luck finding somewhere that will take you with 3, because right now I'm facing eviction and have a worryingly high chance of ending up homeless as a direct result of having a dog.

Before anyone jumps down my throat, I'll sleep on the streets before I rehome him.

Please, leave the dog friendly rental properties for people that actually need them.

@Bakerlife87 - I found a temporary rental between houses with 2 dogs - it is not easy but it is possible. Be prepared and happy to pay a much larger deposit and stringent cleaning when you leave. Also I offered more inspections if the LL wanted it to make sure the flat was being kept in good condition.

The are some landlords who will not have dogs / pets under any circumstances and to be fair that is their choice . It takes more effort to find one who will but the one thing I would say is be up front about it. Be clear about having dogs. I knew a person who just introduced a dog into a no pets flat and that did not go well. I suspect you will spend a long time on the phone but if that is your priority I suspect you will find somewhere - it just won't be as easy & possibly a compromise but in fairness to you and the landlord you have to be clear you will have dogs If it gives you any hope after 2 years in a flat with 2 dogs we got all our deposit back. Our dogs are well behaved and walked regularly & we spent an age & money cleaning it from top to bottom when we left. You honestly would not have known there had been a dog in that flat ( the woman who came to check us out and do the final inventory check said so. )

@user468375484 I am sorry for your situation - I hope it works out well for you & I agree dog friendly properties are harder to come by - how lovely if they were to go to people with dogs but once again

I'll be honest with you - I think you will really, really struggle to find somewhere that will let you rent with three dogs.

I work in lettings though a different part of the country. In 5 years I’ve never known us let to someone with 3 dogs.
1 dog, not too difficult, we’re pretty rural and most landlords will accept it. More than that though and the answer is generally no.

I can’t see you finding a property with 3 dogs especially with the current high demand for rentals . You may be better , as you will be moving in the summer , trying to find a holiday park that takes dogs if you really want to go down this route .

I’d look to buy, honestly, if this is a permanent move you’re excited about.

Take a lot of weekend trips to the area to suss things out- what areas are good etc.

Unfortunately you can’t offer to pay a larger deposit as the laws changed to limit the deposit amount to 6 (I think) weeks rent
I suppose it was designed to be helpful but it’s resulted in it being even harder to find a rental with dogs
I have a dog and love them but I have been a LL previously and there is no way I would rent to someone with pets, especially if I had other people without pets who wanted the property.
I think it’s going to be very hard OP unfortunately

If it’s a let that you really love you can offer a higher monthly rent to secure it, landlords may look at the figs more favourably if they are offered increased rent.