Private rent with a dog!

[littlemisssmith]

Moan - Why oh why is it so hard to find a landlord that will rent to people with a dog!!

We dont all let ours dogs wreck other peoples homes, in face quite the opposite in my case!

If anyone knows of a private landlord or estate agent that are doggy friendly please inbox me!

[LondonMix]

I have pets. Its impossible to keep a place as clean with pets as without. Obviously some people without pets are probably even messier but I'd never risk renting my place out to someone with a dog if I didn't know them personally. The risk is too great. If you are willing to put down a much heftier security deposit, you might be able to tempt someone to take the risk...

[*Bob*]

Most dogs smell. (Of dog.) Most houses with dogs in them smell like houses with dogs in them.

Most potential tenants don't have dogs - and most of them prefer to view and then rent houses that don't smell of dog.

Therefore..

[LondonMix]

Of course my precious kittens don't smell (which is what everyone thinks about their pets because their friends are too polite to tell them the truth). Except in my case its true :)

[polla2256]

Sometimes it's the lettings agencies - They don't bother talking to the landlords.

I don't have a dog but have agreed in the past to get a derregation to the contract stating that if I decide to keep a pet I will pay for the carpets to be professionaly cleaned and will repair any damage.

However for this you need access to the landlord which isn't easy at the first stages.

You could offer a carpet clean and re-paint depending how much you love your dog.

[the-e-dealer]

Trouble is dogs also shed huge amounts of hair. My friend allowed a dog owner and dog to lodge and despite vacuuming every day there was soon a big build up of hair. And when they left her hayfever - a recent acquisition also disappeared.

[littlemisssmith]

*Bob* Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Most dogs smell. (Of dog.) Most houses with dogs

> in them smell like houses with dogs in them.

>

> Most potential tenants don't have dogs - and most

> of them prefer to view and then rent houses that

> don't smell of dog.

>

> Therefore..

Thanks for your personal assumption that my house and my dog smell bob! Highly appreciated!!

[the-e-dealer]

Everything alive smells. ASk any dog! Actually a dead dog and dead human would also smell.

[the-e-dealer]

Pity as he was s Lovely dog but the other thing he did was drooled as sticky black drool.

[bonniebird]

Its not impossible to keep a house with pets as clean as a house without, my 2 are not shedding breeds and they are small so they don't traipse mud or wet into the house, they are clean too, never pee in the house. If landlords were to ask for a bit more deposit then if any damage is done but the dog, they keep it, if not give it back. We booked a caravan holiday once, the whole family went, so we booked 5 or 6 caravans, because we have 2 dogs we got a smelly old caravan! My house is not smelly so why would they think I would want to stay in that. I have been in peoples houses with no pets and they are rank. In my opinion smoking is worse.

[LondonMix]

Yeah, smoking is worse and some people are filthy. But all things being equal, someone with a pet is much more likely to do more damage to your home in a number of ways. I don't think my house smells like we have pets but I do know it smells of carpet freshner and febreze... We clean like mad but its a never ending battle.

[bonniebird]

Maybe depends on the type of dog ;)

[aquarius moon]

30 years ago, I rented a room with a no-pets policy & made the mistake of buying myself a budgie for company, thinking it wouldn't matter.

It did & I was forced to move.

Seems that some people will not, will never, tolerate animals, as they are not animal friendly.

A dog owner/animal friendly landlord will probably think differently.

[EJTH]

I suggest you try this site - http://www.petfriendlyrentals.co.uk/ - Pet Friendly rentals

[The Minkey]

Someone I knew believed in no nappies for her child. Of course, that meant the child shat and pissed when she needed to all over the carpets and furnishings up until she was was potty trained. They were in a rental. Horrendous.

[Loz]

Try privately on the EDF section. Although renting to pet owners is considered a bit of a higher risk, this can be mitigated by asking for a higher deposit. The upside for the landlord is that pet owners are good long term prospects because few agencies will even talk to them.

[LUVED]

I rented my flat out many moons ago and was asked whether I would let to an elderly gentleman with the equally elderly cat. I agreed as I had cats myself and knew that they are part of the family.

I have to say when the flat was handed back to me from this gentleman it was almost as if they had never lived there. No mess, no smell and the new carpet I had laid before renting was in perfect condition.

I think the suggestion of offering to put up a bigger deposit may help as landlords do not want to risk losing money by potentially forking out for extra money for cleaning or damage that the dog may have caused. Offering more deposit mitigates this risk and any for any business savvy person it is all about the money.

Is it a flat or house you are looking to rent ? If it is a flat, it would normally be leasehold, there could potentially be a clause that states 'no pets', but it's worth asking the question.

Good luck in your search.

LuvED

[first mate]

I wonder if canine insurance policies cover for damage in this case? The major causes for concern would be urination or defecation in the house, hair shedding and damage to furniture through chewing, damage to garden through digging.

A deep clean with the appropriate materials will remove all trace of a pet. Digging in the garden can also easily be made good. Chewing furniture is more costly. Perhaps the pet owner could sign some kind of declaration saying their dog does not have chewing, digging or housetraining problems and they will be liable for any damage caused by the dog/cat.

I think though that teenage children are as likely to cause damage to a house as the average pet.

[LondonMix]

I wouldn't want to rent my place out to someone with a teenage boy either!

[edhistory]

"No DSS" still appears on EDF adverts.

John K

[*Bob*]

A friend of mine got turned down for a rental on account of his wife being Australian.

[the-e-dealer]

Its the barbecues in the living room.

[LondonMix]

That's really horrible but it made me laugh so hard...

*Bob* Wrote:

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> A friend of mine got turned down for a rental on

> account of his wife being Australian.

[LondonMix]

The no DSS statement is often out of the control of the landlord. Most buy-to-let mortgages expressly forbid you to lease to DSS tenants these days.

[miss_mystra]

yes do try privately on here :) and be up-front (which you are being).

We have 3 pet snakes which are harmless and small - kept in locked vivariums and are genuinely clean and would not cause any damage to a flat. We also wanted to get a cat so we posted about ourselves and what we were looking for and were offered our perfect flat! The cat moved in a few months after us and we're all happy and so is our landlord.

it probably is a little easier with something like a snake/fish/lizard etc as they live in something rather than loose in the flat like a cat or dog, but believe me we were turned down for them. But they are our pets and part of the family - they are worth the hassle and we got there in the end.

More and more people have to rent as it is near impossible to get on the property ladder now - a bit of give and take from landlords would be nice so long as those with pets keep their part of the bargain and make sure mess etc is dealt with so as not to ruin the place etc.