How to hide pets from landlord?

Ev84 · 14-02-2011 05:05PM

Paulw wrote: »

The dog is left outside a lot and barks a bit.

Now THIS is very annoying... I used to have a neighbor who had a big black Lab and he never shut the f**k up. Wasn't his fault though as he was a big dog and was never taken for walks to release some energy. Always locked into the garden. poor fella. This went on for a LONG time...

If the OP's dog is like this (barking) the neighbors would have every right to complain...

Ortiz · 14-02-2011 05:21PM

I completely agree with D3PO (even though he keeps spelling tenant tennant...) on this one. It's the landlords house - have some respect.

I have a King Charles though and they're the most amazing pets ever so don't give the little fella away... Just be upfront with your landlord and tell him/her that you really are a fantastic tenant and just ask for permission. If he/she says no then find somewhere else to live - simple as that. Don't be so selfish that's the landlords property and they can stipulate that no pets are allowed.

Btw King Charles shed like the bitch they are! If there's carpet in the house you'll be driven demented trying to hoover it up. As puppies they are also known to chew on furniture - all of my couches at home have holes in the corners of them from when she was a puppy so we put covers on them and now she's chewed threw them! I don't care at all because we own our house and we can do what we want. The effects on the house can definitely be seen from having our dog and that's the only pet we have. Your King Charles will more than likely act this way in the landlords house and you want to hide it from him for your own selfish reasons? Find somewhere that accepts pets and move on.

And don't call yourself a good tenant in the same post in which you are asking "please help me deceive my landlord. I have pets that can potentially ruin his house but I don't want him to know!"

Ev84 · 14-02-2011 05:29PM

Ortiz wrote: »

I completely agree with D3PO (even though he keeps spelling tenant tennant...)

I'm guilty of this too

What way was tennants beer spelled? i blame that

Ev84 · 14-02-2011 05:35PM

* or was it tennents?

Am i the only one who sympathizes with the OP and thinks that what she/he is doing is not ACTUALLY that bad?

Baralis1 · 14-02-2011 05:58PM

The OP said that she had a two hour meeting with his/her prospective landlords and the issue of pets being present never arose. So the landlord has not said that the OP cannot have pets.

The estate agent did mention no pets but they will say that anyway with every property. It's part of their standard speil. I would advise now however, having read all the thread that the OP should mention it to the landlord and put forward their case for being responsible tenants and pet owners. It will save hassle in the long run and make everything completely above board. Maybe offer a larger deposit if you can afford it to put the landlord more at ease.

Baralis1 · 14-02-2011 06:03PM

Ev84 wrote: »

* or was it tennents?

Am i the only one who sympathizes with the OP and thinks that what she/he is doing is not ACTUALLY that bad?

I sympathize with the OP too and I am in two minds about it. In this case however, where the house was the landlords family home, and they are very protective of the house, I would suggest that they mention it. If it was a place that has a history of being let, where the landlord is more hands off and you never meet them and work through a letting agent, I would chance it.

Ev84 · 14-02-2011 06:19PM

Baralis1 wrote: »

I sympathize with the OP too and I am in two minds about it. In this case however, where the house was the landlords family home, and they are very protective of the house, I would suggest that they mention it.

Yes, good point.

mikemac · 14-02-2011 07:27PM

UnyBoo wrote: »

Now the landlord said he may pop in every few weeks (the family are moving to the UK but he'll be back every so often for his business) but the letting agent has assured us that he won't be doing this without giving us notice.

Even with notice that's far too excessive.

I haven't seen my landlord in two years.
And the pushiest landlord I ever had we left it at 3 month intervals and even that was a lot.

No way do you accept visits every few weeks.
Even if you get permission over the pets, even then I wouldn't move in with a landlord like this

Their house but your home

3DataModem · 14-02-2011 07:35PM

You can shampoo the carpets etc and someone allergic will still have a reaction.

You keep pets (or habitually smoke) without agreement in a place I'm renting and I'll let you stay till the end... but the carpets and air filters come out at your expense.

I sympathise with renting pet-lovers, but tend not to rent to them.

Ev84 · 14-02-2011 08:34PM

Treehouse72 wrote: »

Why do you think you have the right to just ignore this stipulation?

D3PO wrote: »

here here. A good tennant wouldnt blatently disregard a very clear stipulation regarding pets.

D3PO wrote: »

He/she is looking for advise on how to blatently decieve her landlord and break a very clear stipulation regarding the rental agreement.

D3PO wrote: »

Your told up front no pets then you know what the terms are your not forced to accept the property go find somewhere else.

I keep hearing about this stipulation being broken or ignored but it does not say any where in the OP's posts up to this moment in time that the LANDLORD has said "no pets"...

Op, maybe you SHOULD just ask the landlord after all, the peace of mind would be well worth it.

Also i think maybe the How to hide pets from landlord heading is causing some anger... maybe if you had wrote how to protect my home from pet damage you would have received plenty of friendly advice

Jaysoose · 14-02-2011 10:08PM

Ev84 wrote: »

I keep hearing about this stipulation being broken or ignored but it does not say any where in the OP's posts up to this moment in time that the LANDLORD has said "no pets"...

Op, maybe you SHOULD just ask the landlord after all, the peace of mind would be well worth it.

Also i think maybe the How to hide pets from landlord heading is causing some anger... maybe if you had wrote how to protect my home from pet damage you would have received plenty of friendly advice

The estate agent said "no pets" its pretty simple really, op needs to pick the phone up and get the info. They know that they will not be allowed pets so trying to decieve the landlord is fairly childish behaviour. Find somewhere else that allows pets or lose the pets as its obvious they cant have both.

bladebrew · 14-02-2011 11:30PM

as mentioned i have a feeling we will see a thread in a few weeks "my landlord threw me and my pets out":D

seriously though trying to hide your pets is not a sensible option, we have a cat and a dog in my family home and it is tricky to keep clean, unless you watch a puppy all day it will get bored and chew things up (well ours did)
how could you even relax knowing the pets are a secret?

but do ask the landlord directly, the estate agent may be reading his standard lease!

Theboinkmaster · 15-02-2011 10:14AM

UnyBoo wrote: »

OKay here's my query. I have two lovely kitties and a King Charles puppy. Myself and my boyfriend are moving house in a month, and I don't think the new house allows pets.

I'm not getting rid of my animals and I realise that not moving house may be an option so please hold any advice in relation to either of these two. I'm looking for ways to hide the animals from the landlord.

I'm an excellent tenant, sometimes the houses I leave are in better condition when I go that when I first moved in. I would repair any damage done by the animals, but I'm looking for ways to minimise the damage and also make sure the landlord or letting agent don't find the animals.

There's a garage attached to the house so the cats will sleep in there with some heatpads from zooplus and a giant cat tree. I won't be letting them into rooms with carpets. I won't let them on chairs unless they're on my lap, or they're sitting on a blanket. They use a litter tray, but there's a large garden and the house is detached so they'll be allowed outside as well. I need to protect the door into the garage though, and was thinking of putting up tin foil or cardboard or something? Any suggestions here???

The puppy is still in the process of being house-trained but she's nearly there, and there's a big door in the main front room so if she's in there with us she can go to that door if she needs to go to the toilet. I'm thinking of crate training her for the nights so that she doesn't do any damage. And she'll be walked away from the house.

Now the landlord said he may pop in every few weeks (the family are moving to the UK but he'll be back every so often for his business) but the letting agent has assured us that he won't be doing this without giving us notice.

So what do people think? Can this work? Is there anything I should be doing to make sure no one finds out? I'll be hoovering and cleaning and mopping the whole time, and I'm doing my best to make sure furniture won't be damaged.
Thanks

You're a disgrace - if it says no pets allowed move on to the next ad. If you don't like the rules don't rent there.

Zoundz · 27-02-2011 11:49PM

I keep a number of pets, always have, always been up front too - in fact, it's my most important thing in choosing somewhere to rent - first question to ask - can I keep pets? Yes - great! Now - I need to tell you what I have - and that's a lot of rats

Most people are taken aback - but fine with it in the end, and those who aren't, I just say thank you - but no thank you - because my animals come first - and through no fault of my own, I've already been on the receiving end of a 'kicking out' order from a landlord who found out about my pets when he was being lied to...

... not by me I hasten to add

I was renting through a very dodgy (now defunkt thank god!) letting agency when I was a student in Swansea, and they had screwed up the first place I was renting (loooong story) and so found us a new small flat. We loved it, asked about the pets (they knew that was the most important thing anyway, but we double checked!) - and in front of us they phoned the landlord and asked. Or in fact not. They pretended to! :mad::eek:

Some months into our tenancy we had a problem with the boiler, and a serviceman canme to fix it. A few days later we got an eviction notice. Why? Because landlord did *not* want pets there, serviceman was landlord's friend (small world!), and he went out for a pint with him and told him all about the cages of rats in the flat! Moral of the story? Make sure you talk to the landlord yourself if possible, get *everything* in writing (and yes, our contract stipulated that pets were OK - added in by the agents without landlord's signature!) - and don't be naive and dull like we were then! Never again of course

No - do not deceive your landlord. Be up front. Explain that you are totally secure in the knowledge that your pets will cause no damage, and any they do cause you will pay for. In fact, why not do what we've done in the past? Add an extra deposit for the pets

we used to offer an extra £150-200 for the pets in case anything went wrong and they escaped/chewed furniture etc. Most landlords like that you're willing to accept responsibility. Of course, some just don't want animals in their houses, and it's your moral obligation to respect their rights in that area. The main thing here is to think about your animals. If you are evicted for breach of contract, what becomes of them if you can't find somewhere that you can live *with* them at very short notice? Will they end up in rescue for example?

I know it's horrid to think about - but it does happen,and you need to prepare for all eventualities - so the best bet is just to be honest from the start, that way you're less likely to end up with nasty surprises

Hope that helps?

xx

kevin99 · 28-02-2011 11:52PM

Why deceive your landlord and letting agent? No dogs means no dogs. No cats means no cats.
What if the neighbour nearby has been asked by the owners to keep a distant eye on the tenants? If they see animals in the property they could very well inform the landlord and letting agenty immediately?
The house two doors from me is rented and the tenants are not permitted any animals. The previous tenant had a dog. It barked all day, scraped the front door etc. Myself and my neighbour next door to them reported the fact that they had a dog on the premises. They denied it initially but were evicted after a while.
The landlord witheld part of their deposit to pay for covering the clawmarks on the front door and painting it, replacing a bedroom carpet where the dog was allowed sleep and replacing the stairs and landing carpet too.
I think you should not have animals in.

tanyabond · 01-03-2011 10:43PM

TBO children would do 100 times more damage to the property than pets... So I personally feel it's not such a big deal... (please don't throw rottent tomatoes at me)

ztoical · 01-03-2011 11:56PM

tanyabond wrote: »

TBO children would do 100 times more damage to the property than pets... So I personally feel it's not such a big deal... (please don't throw rottent tomatoes at me)

If your renting out a property and it's not a big deal for you then make tenants aware of that but if a LL feels it is a big deal to them they are within their rights to requst as such in the lease. No one would rent a property with children and not inform the LL before hand that they will be living there with their kids and it's the same for pets.

I've two cats and it's the first question asked when I'm looking at places.

Graces7 · 02-03-2011 05:03PM

There was a thread way back on I think pets; may have been here..about this. One poster had successfully hidden her dogs from her landlord for many years. She knew in advance if he was coming, took the dogs to a friend, removed all traces.....

A very tense way to live.

How to hide pets from landlord?

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