Renting and cats

poconnor16

This is more of an informational post for those thinking of getting pets who are renting accomodation.

Please THINK about this before you get a pet.

I adopted two kittens from the pound over a year ago whom I absolutley adore . But I am now in the situation where my lease is up and have to move. It is soo dificult to find a lanlord that will accept my two little darlings. And I understand where they are coming from too in terms of damage. So I just want anyone thinking of getting a pet to consider this before you do. Tick the box that says 'Pets Allowed' on Daft and the number of properties seriously declines.....

By the way, I dont care if I have to move to the countryside and commute (which is what it is looking like)....my kitties are my family and I never regret finding them.

daenerysstormborn3

I went through a very similar experience with my dog.

I eventually found a place that had "pets allowed" in their ad on daft, a month or so later I was illegally evicted simply because my landlord thought my dog was too big for the property. The landlord had been advised of the breed of my dog before we signed the lease and before i moved into the house. I never received my deposit back nor a satisfactory resolution through the PRTB.

This kind of illegal behaviour is what gives all landlords a bad name.

sophie1234

also landlords are crying out for people to rent there propertys so i really dont think they should be to picky how much damage can two cats do? i would also contact people that dont have the pets allowed on the sight as you may be surprised that someone will let you move in with two cats as they need to rent the house!

Zapperzy

Nice to hear that someone is going that bit extra to find a home with your cats! So many ads for cats and dogs being sold because the owners have moved to rented accomodation, so I agree people sometimes just don't think.

It's the same trying to find a house to rent for a week or two during the summer that you can bring the dogs with you, found one house that said pets welcome and when the woman was contacted she was very reluctant to have dogs in the house, and started complaining about the last people that came brought 4 big dogs, (Quote: Ya wouldn't believe it 4 big dogs, and they had them on the couch and everything! :rolleyes:), of course she didn't mind another woman who brought 12 kids! :eek:

daenerysstormborn3

It is near impossible to find somewhere for the summer, agree with you there zapperzy.

12 kids would do a lot more damage than 4 dogs!

Zapperzy

pixiebean22 wrote: »

It is near impossible to find somewhere for the summer, agree with you there zapperzy.

12 kids would do a lot more damage than 4 dogs!

Thats what I thought! Give me a few dogs over 12 kids any day!

daenerysstormborn3

Give me 12 dogs over 12 kids any day! lol

Raminahobbin

Ohhhh bejaysus I hear ya OP! It's ridiculously hard to find somewhere. I've only rented twice, about to enter my third place, and I didn't expect it to be this hard. Thankfully, I'm in the position that I can usually ferry my dog between my place and my mothers- both of us refuse to give up the dog permanently.

In my first place, it was an apartment complex with cameras everywhere. No pets allowed. I didn't tell the letting agent. I was there for over a year, with my dog and 4 hamsters, spending alot of time feeding and taming the stray cats outside the apartment. Not a single complaint was made, and nobody ever seemed to cop what I was doing. Gradually more and more dogs snook into other peoples apartments, and the stupid owners never cleaned up the dog mess in the communal grass areas...so I got out of there before we got blamed :mad:

My second place, I told the letting agent my dog would be 'visiting' a bit, just as I was signing the lease, she had no choice but to OK it really!! Not a single complaint either after I left the house, place was spotless.

Going into my third place now, and I'll be dealing directly with the landlords- gonna take some tips from the net and make up a 'Doggie C.V.' containing:
A couple of pictures
My references from the last places
Assurances of the fact that I am a responsible dog owner, including with poo duty!!
Assurances of the fact that my dog is well trained, well groomed and quiet
An offer to pay an extra couple of hundred as a doggie deposit
An offer for an inspection a couple of months down the line so they can see I'm keeping the place very well

I hope appealing to their better nature will swing things in my favour!!! :pac:

Sigma Force

Didn't know there was a pets allowed box to tick on Daft, must check it out. We are looking into the possibility of renting when/if we can manage to sell but I've found that if you are willing to live a tiny bit out of the town there's a lot more pet friendly houses available to rent.
It's a shame landlords are so fussy they really can't afford to be anti-pet anymore they should appreciate the fact that they can get someone to rent.
I don't see why any landlord can't get tenants to sign an agreement where the tenant has to fork out if their pets do any damage.
Ok the odd barky dog I can understand might not be welcome in a built up area but cats, I mean they are so quiet and as long as owners keep their litter clean I can't see the problem.

Last house we rented we were told no pets allowed wasn't a prob. as it was a bolt hole while we renovated our own house after a fire but when we moved out another crowd moved in and had a small dog. Eventhough the tenants before us had a dog that peed everywhere aparently.

Landlords need to be a bit more flexible and use their cop on and meet up with tenants they should be greatful they have people interested. So many animals have to find new homes or some owners are left stuck where they are not able to move on with their lives because they need to hold out.

The Sweeper

Yeah I love the ID of a 'pet CV' or pet reference.

A letter from your vet saying you properly care for your animals and they're vaccinated, pictures of clean litter trays and scratching posts to reassure they won't scratch the furniture and pee everywhere.

Does it make a difference if you offer an additional nominal 'pet bond', e.g. an extra 25% over and above the deposit to guarantee you'll fix any damage the pets do or something?

I'd agree that you should contact landlords and test the water regarding your pets, even if they specify no pets. Develop your skills of persuasion...

Shanao

My last landlord (we're thankfully in our own place now) said no problem to us having cats, but they had a huge problem with the lizards for some reason? Even though they're in tanks and cant damage anything? Course, we couldn't tell them about the ferrets, so they were living with us secretly for about six months until we moved. If it ever came down to them finding out though, i dont think they would have cared much. They were just happy to be renting the place.

daenerysstormborn3

The Sweeper wrote: »

Yeah I love the ID of a 'pet CV' or pet reference.

A letter from your vet saying you properly care for your animals and they're vaccinated, pictures of clean litter trays and scratching posts to reassure they won't scratch the furniture and pee everywhere.

Does it make a difference if you offer an additional nominal 'pet bond', e.g. an extra 25% over and above the deposit to guarantee you'll fix any damage the pets do or something?

I'd agree that you should contact landlords and test the water regarding your pets, even if they specify no pets. Develop your skills of persuasion...

I offered the full amount of my deposit again so that my landlord wouldn't evict me but it made no difference. In the end I was glad to get out of there if that's how they treat a tenant paying rent and bills on time and absolutely no damage to the house.

echosound

I find "country" landlords to be a lot more easygoing about pets of all shapes.

I've rented quite a few different places in my time, and never really had a problem with houses I rented that were rurally based (except for one notable exception: a house we viewed was crawling with filth and mould and ice :eek: on the walls, wires sticking out everywhere, carpets were like cattle had been kept on them, and the LL had the cheek to say that if we had a dog it would have to be kept outside so as not to dirty the house - eh, right, like a dog would even cross the threshold of that cesspit. Needless to say we declined his lovely offer of a stinking health hazard dump and found a lovely house).


The landlords that were based in towns/suburbs seemed to have a huge problem with pets, and from my own experience, it was mainly because they weren't au fait with pets in general, and thought they were monsters bent on knocking down the four walls. Country landlords often tend to have pets of their own so know the score.

You do have to "sell" yourself a bit though, I find the best way was to view the house, get chatting to the LL, let them know how dependable you are (via references etc) and then drop in the fact that you have pets, and see if they are ok with it or throw a hissy fit.

We had dealings with one woman who nearly died when we said we had 2 dogs and a cat, and refused us point blank. She came crawling back 3 weeks later when she realised how hard it is to find decent tenants, but by that stage we'd found a bigger cheaper house to rent who were happy to have pets.

I do agree that it is much harder to find rented property when you have pets, although I can never understand why people think animals wreck a house worse than children can - I've never seen a dog scribbling on a wall :P

Zapperzy

echosound wrote: »

I do agree that it is much harder to find rented property when you have pets, although I can never understand why people think animals wreck a house worse than children can - I've never seen a dog scribbling on a wall :P

In fairness looking through posts on here I can see why they are scared, I think it was the thread about weird things your dogs have eaten/chewed that was here a while back! Iv heard of dogs chewing through walls and doors, can't remember if it was on here I seen it! In fairness though I can't see the problem when someone's willing to pay extra deposit and can provide references and proof that they are responsible owners!

Out of interest has anyone heard of a no children policy?

Merch

pixiebean22 wrote: »

I went through a very similar experience with my dog.

I eventually found a place that had "pets allowed" in their ad on daft, a month or so later I was illegally evicted simply because my landlord thought my dog was too big for the property. The landlord had been advised of the breed of my dog before we signed the lease and before i moved into the house. I never received my deposit back nor a satisfactory resolution through the PRTB.

This kind of illegal behaviour is what gives all landlords a bad name.

I'm not defending them but a landlord doesn't need a reason to evict you within the first six months, just saying thems the rules, whether you agree or dissagree.Unless you have exact details then they probably had a leg to stand on and you didn't, or so it seems if you think the PRTB who from what I'm told favour tenants rather than landlords in disoutes??

sophie1234 wrote: »

also landlords are crying out for people to rent there propertys so i really dont think they should be to picky how much damage can two cats do? i would also contact people that dont have the pets allowed on the sight as you may be surprised that someone will let you move in with two cats as they need to rent the house!

Cats can shred a suite of furniture, curtains, seen it done, just saying as you dont seem to think it can happen

Sigma Force wrote: »

It's a shame landlords are so fussy they really can't afford to be anti-pet anymore they should appreciate the fact that they can get someone to rent.
I don't see why any landlord can't get tenants to sign an agreement where the tenant has to fork out if their pets do any damage.
Ok the odd barky dog I can understand might not be welcome in a built up area but cats, I mean they are so quiet and as long as owners keep their litter clean I can't see the problem.

Landlords need to be a bit more flexible and use their cop on and meet up with tenants they should be greatful they have people interested. So many animals have to find new homes or some owners are left stuck where they are not able to move on with their lives because they need to hold out.

I guess its their perogative, maybe they had a bad experience with someone having pets?

I'd love to have a dog or cat but, nice though it seems it just isn't practical

daenerysstormborn3

Merch wrote: »

I'm not defending them but a landlord doesn't need a reason to evict you within the first six months, just saying thems the rules, whether you agree or dissagree.Unless you have exact details then they probably had a leg to stand on and you didn't, or so it seems if you think the PRTB who from what I'm told favour tenants rather than landlords in disoutes??

That is only relevant in a part 4 tenancy, which mine was not.

Landlord was told verbally by phone, in person and in writing what dog I had and it wasn't until he saw the dog that he decided he had a problem with it. He had been told the size, the breed, the sex, the age, everything.

And yes I did provide all the above to the PRTB who were of no help.

Anyway this is way off topic, apologies to the OP.

poconnor16

pixiebean22 wrote: »

That is only relevant in a part 4 tenancy, which mine was not.

Landlord was told verbally by phone, in person and in writing what dog I had and it wasn't until he saw the dog that he decided he had a problem with it. He had been told the size, the breed, the sex, the age, everything.

And yes I did provide all the above to the PRTB who were of no help.

Anyway this is way off topic, apologies to the OP.

Not off topic at all guys - the idea of this thread was to raise awareness of the potential issues for those who are thinking of getting pets. I've just seen so many people that want a cute new accessory but dont think it though. As usual it is the poor animal that suffers.

Not saying anyone here didn't think - in fact the opposite! So many people here would go above and beyond for their faithful friends.

Thanks for the advice on a 'pet CV' - I like it! I think I might try and be a bit more persuasive alright. My two are kittens and the only thing they haev done so far is knock over a lamp which we fixed. They can cause damage alright to be fair....you have to 'kitten proof' as much as possible.

ToniTuddle

poconnor16 wrote: »

So I just want anyone thinking of getting a pet to consider this before you do. Tick the box that says 'Pets Allowed' on Daft and the number of properties seriously declines.....

I could scream about this!! The majority of those properties that do show up are in the middle of nowhere miles and miles away from any possible nearby town. Bloody sickening. :mad:

sophie1234 wrote: »

I would also contact people that dont have the pets allowed on the sight as you may be surprised that someone will let you move in with two cats as they need to rent the house!

Yup I've been told this and nearer the time that I plan on moving I will be calling those places and fingers crossed I get lucky.

Raminahobbin wrote: »

Going into my third place now, and I'll be dealing directly with the landlords- gonna take some tips from the net and make up a 'Doggie C.V.' containing:

I hope appealing to their better nature will swing things in my favour!!! :pac:

Excellent idea about the Doggie/Cat CV thing

Sigma Force wrote: »

Didn't know there was a pets allowed box to tick on Daft, must check it out.I don't see why any landlord can't get tenants to sign an agreement where the tenant has to fork out if their pets do any damage.

Yup if you click the "Advanced Search" tab it gives you alot more choices and pick from.

Exactly! Why can't landlords do it that way? But maybe if people just up and disappear they end up stuck with the costs....

Well wherever I move I'll bloody take down the landlords curtains and things like that and have my own stuff up. That way if it gets damaged and clawed then it will be my stuff being destroyed not his/hers :pac:

See my problem is I want to be able to foster animals for brief periods of time if the case arises.....Hard enough gettinga landlord to be flexible about 1 pet but he/she might be totally against the idea of having different animal in house every other time they visit!

Hmmm....for the first year I might just have to have me alone in the house then in the second year after the landlord trusts me could do the fostering....

Arrrgghhh just need to win the lotto and build me own house :mad:

poconnor16

I have to watch my two though with leather couches.....eventhough they have a lovely scratching post, they dont seem to use it. Any ideas on how to encourage them?
At the mo, if they make for the couch (to scratch that is) they get a water squirt in the bum. I bet they still do it a bit by day.....although no sizeable marks on the couches yet

ToniTuddle

poconnor16 wrote: »

I have to watch my two though with leather couches.....eventhough they have a lovely scratching post, they dont seem to use it. Any ideas on how to encourage them?
At the mo, if they make for the couch (to scratch that is) they get a water squirt in the bum. I bet they still do it a bit by day.....although no sizeable marks on the couches yet

I was told about spraying catnip on the scratching posts to encourage them?

poconnor16

ToniTuddle wrote: »

I was told about spraying catnip on the scratching posts to encourage them?

Good idea for older cats but I was told to avoid for kittens. Once is 6 months and the other is 4 - I wonder are they old enough for some of the good stuff?

sionnaic

pixiebean22 wrote: »

I went through a very similar experience with my dog.

I eventually found a place that had "pets allowed" in their ad on daft, a month or so later I was illegally evicted simply because my landlord thought my dog was too big for the property. The landlord had been advised of the breed of my dog before we signed the lease and before i moved into the house. I never received my deposit back nor a satisfactory resolution through the PRTB.

This kind of illegal behaviour is what gives all landlords a bad name.

Can I just say that the PRTB absolutely sucks
They are so biased in favour of landlords it's ridiculous. Of course I'm speaking from bitter personal experience here, but if you look through their log of determination orders online you can see for yourself. Anyway, sorry I'm getting off-topic here. Pixie let's just say I can empathise!

Merch

pixiebean22 wrote: »

That is only relevant in a part 4 tenancy, which mine was not.

Landlord was told verbally by phone, in person and in writing what dog I had and it wasn't until he saw the dog that he decided he had a problem with it. He had been told the size, the breed, the sex, the age, everything.

And yes I did provide all the above to the PRTB who were of no help.

Anyway this is way off topic, apologies to the OP.

Ok so it was a fixed term, that wasn't mentioned initially, fair enough.
But Just because the landlord was told, doesn't mean you would have permission though, even if they agreed verbally, you wouldn't be covered unless you had it in writing, so I can see how you might be viewed as being in the wrong if the PRTB looked at your case and no agreement in writing, so

poconnor16 wrote: »

I have to watch my two though with leather couches.....eventhough they have a lovely scratching post, they dont seem to use it. Any ideas on how to encourage them?
At the mo, if they make for the couch (to scratch that is) they get a water squirt in the bum. I bet they still do it a bit by day.....although no sizeable marks on the couches yet

I guess thats what landlords are concerned about, I'm not saying you but if a persons deposit doesn't cover that kind of damage, I'd say most people wouldn't fork out for it?

ToniTuddle

poconnor16 wrote: »

Good idea for older cats but I was told to avoid for kittens. Once is 6 months and the other is 4 - I wonder are they old enough for some of the good stuff?

Oh I was never told to avoid it for kittens? That could be why mine never took to it then so!

I'm hoping to move to somewhere that I can get some work, friends have told me I'll have enough bother getting a landlord to even rent to me as it is without full time work nevermind having pets/foster pets on the list!

There are plenty folks who run out on regular bills due or with the place in a state. So I'm sure there are good few who have pets wrecked the place and not paid to fix things.

daenerysstormborn3

Merch wrote: »

Ok so it was a fixed term, that wasn't mentioned initially, fair enough.
But Just because the landlord was told, doesn't mean you would have permission though, even if they agreed verbally, you wouldn't be covered unless you had it in writing, so I can see how you might be viewed as being in the wrong if the PRTB looked at your case and no agreement in writing, so

Landlord agreed in writing and same was written into the lease as an annex/appendix (not sure what correct terminology is for leases).

I think pet cvs and references from previous landlords are a great idea but considering it has taken so long for the PRTB to come into the modern land of technology (with online registration) I doubt this will be top of their priority list.

poconnor16

ToniTuddle wrote: »

Oh I was never told to avoid it for kittens? That could be why mine never took to it then so!

I'm hoping to move to somewhere that I can get some work, friends have told me I'll have enough bother getting a landlord to even rent to me as it is without full time work nevermind having pets/foster pets on the list!

There are plenty folks who run out on regular bills due or with the place in a state. So I'm sure there are good few who have pets wrecked the place and not paid to fix things.

Catnip gives cats a bit of a high - it speeds up the heart rate which wouldn't be good for a little kitten. Its usually male cats that go for it more than females as far as I know

Oh there are lots of people that dont have pets that simply wreck a place...and people with. Thats why I try to put myself in a landlords position as well. ou just cant argue too much really - either they will allow the pets or they wont.

Merch

pixiebean22 wrote: »

Landlord agreed in writing and same was written into the lease as an annex/appendix (not sure what correct terminology is for leases).

I think pet cvs and references from previous landlords are a great idea but considering it has taken so long for the PRTB to come into the modern land of technology (with online registration) I doubt this will be top of their priority list.

An addendum I think,
Well if thats the case, what reason did they give for you to leave?

I'd love to have a couple of kittens or pups, just dont think I would be around enough for them, I'm still considering fostering but I was told I'd have to be around more than I am, ie not out during the day.

daenerysstormborn3

Merch wrote: »

An addendum I think,
Well if thats the case, what reason did they give for you to leave?

I'd love to have a couple of kittens or pups, just dont think I would be around enough for them, I'm still considering fostering but I was told I'd have to be around more than I am, ie not out during the day.

After they were unsuccessful in their first attempt saying that they hadn't agreed to my dog, they said that the house was needed for own occupancy due to a change in the landlord's circumstances. The same house has since been rented out to new tenants.

I would also love to foster as I'm not working at the moment (hopefully not for too much longer) but I put so much time into my own dog that I don't think I'd be able to devote enough to another dog/cat.