Fish Tanks in Rented property

cee1985

So it looks like our application for my OH & my house is finally getting there (the whole rent reference has been sorted! yay!)

The EA has emailed us a blank copy of the AST agreement to look over before any confirmation of signing day etc to preview. Whilst reading through it I noticed this clause:

4.3.28 Not keep any cats of dogs on the property. Not keep any other pet, animal, bird, reptile, fish, insects or the like on the Property, without the Landlord’s consent, which will not be unreasonably withheld.

I currently own a small tropical fish tank with comes with its own stand etc. It was bought as a treat from my OH as a little present for the two of us and as a little project for myself. Its only small (45cm cube approx standing at 1.5m tall approx) and would fit in a corner of a living room without taking up much space. We're not talking about anything massive here or intend on turning the front room into some sort of public aquarium!

My current LL has said that fish tanks are acceptable, providing they're not overly massive and that I am aware that I'd be responsible for any water damage to property as a result of the tank breaking or leaking. In fact she mentioned that she considered them more as ornaments rather than pets! (thats obviously another topic of debate maybe best left for another time!)

At the application stage we were asked to list details of any children/pets we had. As we only had the tank and no fish in it, I didn't put it down on the application.

I want to know:
1) I'm not entirely sure what "...which will not be unreasonably withheld" means in relation to LL's consent for having a fish tank on the property.

2) Have landlords been known to refuse tenants with fish tanks before?

Obviously we will ask the LL of the house when we move in about the fish tank as we would hate for it to be discovered later if they were to visit the property for whatever reason. But I just wanted to get some feedback from landlords and tenants alike.

G_M

It would be a pretty unreasonable LL who refused permission for a fish tank. Cats and dogs leave smells behind, can do damage, and there's risk of fleas, so many LLs are unwilling to allow them, but fish....??!
I'd ask the Q and when you get the green light just cross out the word 'fish' when you sign the AST.

poppysarah

When you get contents insurance do you specify you have a fish tank and are you covered for accidental damage to the carpets etc (Show some proof of that to the landlord maybe?)

princeofpounds

which will not be unreasonably withheld

That is legalese for 'we cannot enforce a ban without specific nuisance grounds so we'll just put this clause in to frighten tenants out of getting a pet'.

A blanket ban is actually unenforceable, which is why they have to list all the specific pets and include this permission clause at the end. Judges have specifically mentioned that blanket bans are ridiculous in past judgements when LLs have tried to use things like stick insects as an excuse to evict tenants (although as one reason amongst many).

If I were you, I'd just move in with the fish tank, and if anyone ever raises it (and I doubt they will) then just claim you didn't realise.

PasturesNew

I'd say don't mention it .... I've actually seen a whole fishtank go over/smash at a party where two lads were fighting. Hell of a mess.

tyllwyd

I think you should mention it, rather than get any grief later. We rented a house with a no pets clause, and asked for permission to have a couple of gerbils in a case, which was no problem. A small fish tank is not that much different from a large vase full of water.

PasturesNew

tyllwyd wrote: »

A small fish tank is not that much different from a large vase full of water.

That's why I'd say don't mention it.

If the OP had said they were a fish keeper and had three 6' tanks on stands, I'd say definitely mention it, it's a big insurance issue. Not sure about these new fangled cm measurements, but 45cm doesn't sound big.

Fire_Fox

The clause is clear, you need consent but it will not be unreasonably withheld so ask for consent!

chewmylegoff

i've got a fish tank as well - i have always disclosed it at the time i have made an offer to rent a property, and it has always been allowed by the landlord. used to be a 5ft fish tank with a terrapin and some fish in it. alas the terrapin is no more so just a 25L tank these days.

G_M

PasturesNew wrote: »

I'd say don't mention it .... I've actually seen a whole fishtank go over/smash at a party where two lads were fighting. Hell of a mess.

Fail to follow your logic. Because it can cause a 'hell of a mess' it's best to keep quiet because the LL is likely to refuse permission?

cee1985

Thanks for all the replies and many thanks for the explanation! I don't think its unreasonable to ask so I will definitely ask when we get the green light for the application etc.

Besides I don't see any harm in asking - who knows I might even have a LL that has a phobia of fish for whatever reason!

Poppysarah - I would definitely be interested in getting it covered on the insurance.

Tyllwyd - Strangely enough I asked my current LL for a small russian hamster (half the size of normal hamsters) and they basically gave me the "we'll pretend you didn't ask that" look. They never said a straight out "ok" but not a flat out "no" - they never found out about it anyway but nah..not this time.

PasturesNew - lol I wish I was a fishkeeper!! I'm just a realistic one at the moment!...as you rightly said we're not talking about turning the front room into a fish room or anything. The actual tank itself in imperial measurements is probably about 1.5 feet cubed and holds about 48L of water. Considering you can get tanks up to 300L this is a baby!