Pets in Rented Property after Renters Reform Bill
Discussion
LL and dog owner.
Most tenants I’ve had have had dogs or cats. Currently one has two loopy spaniels and the other house has a cat. I was asked both times before the letting - IMHO if they’re old enough to be house trained it’s not a problem. Same goes for the pets
Previous tenants - one inherited a dog mid-term - no problem at all. Another family got a cat or two, didn’t tell me, didn’t spay them, had 6+ kittens which filled my house with s
t and cat piss, and they also left the windows open for them when they left them alone to go on holiday. Eviction wasn’t because of the cats. Cost me 10k in lost rent, legal fees and carpets, curtains, DIY redecorating throughout. I have photos of melted cat st welded to windowsills and skirting boards if you’d like to see them. They also abandoned all the cats when they left. This is exactly why LLs don’t like pets.
If you’re a tenant with pets the legislation will make no difference - LLs or letting agents will ask, you’ll be honest and confirm you have pets, then LL won’t pick you for some random other reason. Simple.
Or you lie, move in with the pets, allow them to damage the property and get evicted under S8 property damage which will still be a thing after the new law comes in, or lose your deposit because the carpets smell like a litter tray.
The trick is to be nice decent human beings capable of looking after animals properly but sadly as with everything it’s the idiots that ruin it for everyone else.
Most tenants I’ve had have had dogs or cats. Currently one has two loopy spaniels and the other house has a cat. I was asked both times before the letting - IMHO if they’re old enough to be house trained it’s not a problem. Same goes for the pets
Previous tenants - one inherited a dog mid-term - no problem at all. Another family got a cat or two, didn’t tell me, didn’t spay them, had 6+ kittens which filled my house with s
t and cat piss, and they also left the windows open for them when they left them alone to go on holiday. Eviction wasn’t because of the cats. Cost me 10k in lost rent, legal fees and carpets, curtains, DIY redecorating throughout. I have photos of melted cat st welded to windowsills and skirting boards if you’d like to see them. They also abandoned all the cats when they left. This is exactly why LLs don’t like pets.If you’re a tenant with pets the legislation will make no difference - LLs or letting agents will ask, you’ll be honest and confirm you have pets, then LL won’t pick you for some random other reason. Simple.
Or you lie, move in with the pets, allow them to damage the property and get evicted under S8 property damage which will still be a thing after the new law comes in, or lose your deposit because the carpets smell like a litter tray.
The trick is to be nice decent human beings capable of looking after animals properly but sadly as with everything it’s the idiots that ruin it for everyone else.
Not a landlord but more an observation, when I lived in my old flat (as an owner) the lease agreement for the building did include details on no pets allowed (as well as many other things like running a business from the property or not allowed hard flooring (other than kitchen and bathroom). Anyway, not sure how it would work, could a landlord with a property with a similar lease override the RRB section on animals or not?
I'm a LL and a pet owner. I've allowed a tenant a cat before with no problems. I have been asked by a new tenant to allow them a Dachshund puppy, and said no. The flat had just had a 10k renovation, the breed is notoriously clingy, needy, and barky, the were surrounded by either elderly neighbours or ones who worked shifts, and they both had jobs that meant they were out of the property for at least 8 hours a day. They also proposed to cage the dog outside while they were at work.
I don't like denying people pets, but my over riding priority was for the welfare of the animal, and that was no way to keep one. They obviously had little or no prior experience of what's required to be responsible owners, and my instinct was that they would either have tired of the reality of pet ownership, or the dog would have been regarded as such a nuisance by their neighbours that it would become impossible for them to keep it or remain living there.
I pointed all of this out, and offered to release them from the contract free of charge if they were insistent on having a dog, so they could locate somewhere more suitable. They were, to my surprise, accepting of my reasons for declining, didn't pursue the dog idea, and are still there 3 years later. They have been excellent tenants, and had they not just had a child and bought a house, I would have been happy to have them remain.
I don't like denying people pets, but my over riding priority was for the welfare of the animal, and that was no way to keep one. They obviously had little or no prior experience of what's required to be responsible owners, and my instinct was that they would either have tired of the reality of pet ownership, or the dog would have been regarded as such a nuisance by their neighbours that it would become impossible for them to keep it or remain living there.
I pointed all of this out, and offered to release them from the contract free of charge if they were insistent on having a dog, so they could locate somewhere more suitable. They were, to my surprise, accepting of my reasons for declining, didn't pursue the dog idea, and are still there 3 years later. They have been excellent tenants, and had they not just had a child and bought a house, I would have been happy to have them remain.
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