Landlords and Dogs!! Advice please.

[Barneyballbags]

Calling all fellow tenants who own a dog! I'd also welcome advice from landlords too

We're looking to move back to Cardiff or Penarth in the next couple of months, as we have a new addition to the family on the way and my girlfriend is moving with her job, so requires the car (we only have 1 car between us and currently work in the same place).

We keep running up against the same brick wall when it comes to enquiring about properties, which is that landlords/agents seem to have this overwhelming fear when it comes to the mention of the phrase "we have a small dog". They seem to be of the opinion that a small dog will single-handedly destroy a family home. Honestly, you might as well say that you have a blind rhinocerous with a temper problem :roll:. I find it a bit odd that virtually every agent or landlord we've spoken to will happily let us move in with our baby (due in March) which could potentially draw all over the walls, floor, doors, you name it in a few years time, but yet won't even entertain the idea of us having a pet which basically does nothing but sleep all day.

It's beginning to get more than a little bit frustrating now, as there are lots of properties to rent which:

a) Fall within our budget
b) Are in places in Cardiff where we want to live (ie. not in Splott, Llanedeyrn or Ely!)
c) Are available almost immediately

The problem is that NONE (and I mean NONE) of the properties we've enquired about in Cardiff or Penarth will take a dog, even though we can supply references for his fantastic behaviour and non-destructiveness from 2 previous landlords of ours, and are willing to not only pay an additional bond for the dog, but to pay to have the property professionally cleaned at the end of our tenancy - this essentially negates the other argument of the new tenants being allergic to dog hairs.

With this in mind, I've been wondering whether it's going to be easier to just not mention that we have a dog when moving in (yes, naughty naughty) and then "inherit it from an elderly relative" a few months down the line. I know of a couple of friends who have done this and haven't run into any problems besides having to pay an additional bond for the pet when they disclose it to the landlord/agent and have more regular property inspections. However, there is also the possibility that it could go the other way and we could get kicked out :shock:

I'd welcome some opinions and advice, both from tenants and landlords.

 

[lumos2000]

don't tell them, simple as that. I had a friend made homeless because he wouldn't give up his dog. it would be hard for them to find out once your in and kicking you out could be a lengthy process. I had to do it once but only for a month with my dog but before that I would never mention my rats. I know it goes against the grain if you like to be honest and up front with people but at the same time ive had agents charge me £50 to change a light bulb

 

[Neil]

I think of it like this - trying to see if from both sides - and I have a dog. If I owned a property I rented out, would I want the tenants to have a dog in the house I've got financial interest / demands in it being presentable? No.

We often have our perspective coloured by our circumstances, preferences, and demands. Thing is, try and sit objectively, and consider that somebody may have either very valid reasons for the conditions they impose on the use of their property, or it may be entirely on principle / least fuss. All the same, surely they have a right to such conditions?

I realise, that doesn't help your current predicament, but all the same, I often think there's not enough of people attempting to view issues from the perspective of other people.

 

[Barneyballbags]

don't tell them, simple as that. I had a friend made homeless because he wouldn't give up his dog. it would be hard for them to find out once your in and kicking you out could be a lengthy process. I had to do it once but only for a month with my dog but before that I would never mention my rats. I know it goes against the grain if you like to be honest and up front with people but at the same time ive had agents charge me £50 to change a light bulb

It would seem that honesty is not always the best policy then!

Ideally, of course I'd like to be upfront and let the landlord/agent know that we have a Beagle but we've had so many outright NO's that it's very difficult to justify being honest, especially considering that our dog has been absolutely perfect and hasn't even done so much as scratch a door since we adopted him 2 years ago. We got 100% of our last bond back (including the additional pet bond) because he'd been so good. The landlord/agent couldn't even chalk anything up as general wear and tear let alone damage!

 

[ellist]

It is a shame that landlords don't want dogs or pets in their houses. Or children. Or families. Or people who will make noise. I do understand this. What every landlord wants is a retired couple who wear slippers and are hugely cash rich. I would want this too. A bit unrealistic unfortunately but understandable. We have also had to not disclose pets to get a property and then been allowed them when we asked later in the tenancy?

 

[Barneyballbags]

I think of it like this - trying to see if from both sides - and I have a dog. If I owned a property I rented out, would I want the tenants to have a dog in the house I've got financial interest / demands in it being presentable? No.

We often have our perspective coloured by our circumstances, preferences, and demands. Thing is, try and sit objectively, and consider that somebody may have either very valid reasons for the conditions they impose on the use of their property, or it may be entirely on principle / least fuss. All the same, surely they have a right to such conditions?

I realise, that doesn't help your current predicament, but all the same, I often think there's not enough of people attempting to view issues from the perspective of other people.

I can definitely see it from both sides. However an additional 'pet bond' is there to cover any damage done to the property by the dog/cat/whatever, in the same way as the regular bond covers damage done by the tenants. This is something which we are more than happy to pay up front. Also, the fact that the property would be professionally cleaned upon our moving out would completely remove any trace of the dog ever having been there.

Of course landlords have the right to impose whatever conditions they like. The reason I find it so difficult to appreciate their position is the fact that some of the properties we have enquired about have been on the rental market, empty, for a number of months, and yet the landlord STILL won't accept a dog even though it would mean that he could start generating a regular rental income from us.

I can understand their position more with properties which have a high standard of finish inside. However, many of the properties we've enquired about have been your 'typical' rental property, which aren't perhaps as nicely finished as some. In fact, some of them have had skirting boards etc. missing, and the landlord still won't accept a dog "incase it damages anything".

The thing which annoys me the most is the fact that most landlords just say a flat NO, without even asking for any further details about the breed/size/age of the dog, so it just seems as if they're all being lumped together into the same group.

I've tried my best to see it from a landlord's point of view, but having a Sister who rents out a property to a family who own a dog, with absolutely no problems, I really do find it difficult sometimes. And before you ask why I don't just rent from my sister, she lives in Essex which is a bit of a commute to Cardiff!

 

[raleighrider21]

rubydoo11 works part time managing properties etc for a landlord she says the only way to do this would be to not tell them about the dog until a few months down the line or until the first inspection then when they find out about the dog offer them the bond for the pet, tell them the house will be proffesionally cleaned upon leaving the property and if you can get one, give them a reference from your current landlord who im sure would do that if you have been a good tenant and always paid the rent on time etc.

shes not long had to deal with the eviction of a tenant whos dog had messed all over the garden and the tenant never in the year he was living there, never cleaned it up, the dog had chewed all of the skirting and some of the doors and there was pee stains and a strong odour coming from the floors wich can never be gotten rid of properly now its in the floorboards, well over £5k of damage. that's why most landlords don't like dogs because of the nightmare tenants incase that happens.

 

[lumos2000]

lie or buy

 

[Barneyballbags]

rubydoo11 works part time managing properties etc for a landlord she says the only way to do this would be to not tell them about the dog until a few months down the line or until the first inspection then when they find out about the dog offer them the bond for the pet, tell them the house will be proffesionally cleaned upon leaving the property and if you can get one, give them a reference from your current landlord who im sure would do that if you have been a good tenant and always paid the rent on time etc.

shes not long had to deal with the eviction of a tenant whos dog had messed all over the garden and the tenant never in the year he was living there, never cleaned it up, the dog had chewed all of the skirting and some of the doors and there was pee stains and a strong odour coming from the floors wich can never be gotten rid of properly now its in the floorboards, well over £5k of damage. that's why most landlords don't like dogs because of the nightmare tenants incase that happens.

Thankfully our dog isn't a chewer . He does his business in the garden sometimes, but I'm out there every evening with a poo bag checking, so there's never anything there for more than 24hrs. Like I said before I can understand it in some cases, but us dog owners all seem to get lumped together and I find it a bit unfair when you have the decency to be open with them about having a dog, but they don't have the decency to even enquire about what it is (after all, all dogs are different!) before turning you down.

We've even done a "Dog CV" for Barney which contains the reference from our previous landlord, but that still falls on deaf ears.

 

[Barneyballbags]

lie or buy

And that's another frustrating thing! If we could afford the required deposit (which we can't, because we're not on a high income and we're renting), we could get a mortgage for something similar to what we're renting, and we'd end up paying the same amount if not a bit less!