LL won't let us have a dog..

hayley11

We've lived here for about 18 months now, we're good tenants, pay our rent on time, never cause any problems etc. We asked the landlord on Friday if we could get a dog, he sent us a letter today saying no, didn't give a reason.

I know some landlords don't like tenants having pets because of the damage they could cause but he has our deposit. Plus the dog would hardly ever be home alone, I don't work so i'll be here all day with it.

Do you think I should just leave it or write a letter? There's a real reason why I want a dog and he didn't give me chance to explain on the phone. Or am I risking annoying him and him booting us out if I push it?

Can I just ask, there's obviously some LL's on here, what are your reasons for not letting tenants have dogs? Is it just the damage they may cause?

Thanks

dgl1001

damage they cause, smell and hairs.

McKneff

dgl1001 wrote: »

damage they cause, smell and hairs.

barking, upsetting neighbours,

princeofpounds

He said no, respect that. He doesn't have to give a reason, but there are many valid ones.

If you get one anyway there is actually no formal penalty, except he can decide to serve you notice - which can be a big enough penalty! - and recover any damages caused. And it wil poison you relationship.

hayley11

Poison what relationship? With the LL, well i'm guessing so if he throws us out!

I'm not going to get one without his permission anyway. If I was going to do that, I would have just done it and not asked him at all.

I'm just very disappointed really, I wonder if he'd listened to my reasons he might have felt differently. I was going to write him a letter and ask, wish i'd done that now.

The_Plush_Doormat

You could ring the LL up and say sorry to bother you again, but .... then give your reasons why you want a dog. He/she will either say point blank no, or come to some agreement where you will pay for any damage, cleaning, etc. I doubt if your LL is worried about the neighbours, because if you owned the house, there is diddly squat your neighbours can do, apart from report you to the RSPCA for negligence, etc. Give it a try. Good luck.

Pete111

I'm a landlord and I also own a dog.

If your original agreement stated no pets then you can't expect them to let you get one I'm afraid. I can understand why it was a straight no. I would personally consider discussing it with tenants but I'm a dog person and not everyone is.

I think if I agreed to it, I would ensure specific and additional arrangements re damage/cleaning were in place. Dogs can cause significant damage/annoyance if they are minded to (ie a normal deposit may not suffice). It would depend on the type/nature of the dog to some degree also.

P

tek-monkey

One place I rented even had a specific no reptiles clause! Luckily when I talked to the landlord he was OK with it, as I ended up with about a dozen...

frugallass

at our old flat the contract apparently stated 'no pets' but the landlord used his 'discretion' and allowed us to bring the dog.

When we asked about getting a puppy we were told 'no' and that a special allowance had been made for the current dog because of the good reference from the previous landlord. We didn't argue with his decision.

I think there are a number of reasons that LL's don't want pets on their properties including noise, smell, hairs, mess outside and potential damage inside.

It might be worth asking the landlord if he would re-consider if you were to pay an extra 'deposit' as security against anything getting damaged etc. and you could also write carpet cleaning into your contract and advise that your pet insurance / contents insurance should cover most eventualities too.

Good luck.

princeofpounds

One place I rented even had a specific no reptiles clause!

Pet clauses are funny - apparently there have been legal decisions way back about what isn't a pet and what is. For example, goldfish; what possible damage can they cause? So they are often quite specific now about all sorts of random animals.

mlz1413

The real question is which you want more that rental property or a dog?

If you are going to get a dog and are prepared to move to get one then it's worth writing or ringing the LL and putting your points forward.

If you donot wish to move then the answer is your LL has already said no.

Also what type of property do you live in? I assume it is a house with a garden?

If you do decide to move to get a dog make sure any new place will allow pets, it is very hard to rent with pets so be prepared to pay a higher deposit and pay for extra cleaning and flea treatments at the end of the tenancy.