Prospective tenant has a dog?

ilovecheese

The best way to make your decision is to visit the tennant in the place they are renting now, you will be able to see if there is any "dog" related damage, and also if there is any smell. You could also check with the neighbours to see if they have had any problems with the dog barking.

I would advise all LL to visit prospective tennants in the their own home (where possible) as it gives you a really good idea of how they conduct themselves and what their house keeping skills are like.

I have a mild case of OCD, so every LL that we have rented from has gotten the property back in better condition!

MissMoneypenny

You could find that a tenant without pets, leaves in 6 months time and you are back to looking for a tenant again.

I let our house (with 1/4 acre fenced garden) to a family with two dogs and two young children. The dogs didn't do any damage, but I can't say the same for the children: at least, I assume it wasn't the dogs that drew on the walls.

Humans can carry fleas into a property on their clothes and as the most common flea is the cat flea, any cat passing through your garden could leave fleas for a human to carry on their clothes. A couple of house flea spray from the vets or online vet chemist, is easy to use and kills the lot (and any flies too). When I move, I always flea spray the house I sold and flea spray the house I have bought, regardless of whether they had animals or not as one of my dogs was alergic to flea bites.

I doubt a 10 year old lab would do any damage and if they clean the carpets when they move, that will sort the smell. Cats I would worry about if it was a male cat, as some spray the walls (even if they are neutered) and that would mean removing the plaster and replastering as no amount of cleaning can get rid of the smell of cat urine. I never had a male cat that sprayed the house, but unfortunately for a friend of mine, she did.

atsoc15

I would say the best thing is to see the dog, or have your agent see the dog. You can tell right away if the dog is the kind to chew something.

What I will say though is that having the carpets professionally cleaned should be a must. As the property I am currently renting had a dog in before and we had to get it professionally cleaned due to the smell that kept coming out of the carpet, and also it affecting my gf's allergies.

On another note I own a dog (bichon frise) that is house trained, doesn't cast so doesn't leave a smell or hairs in the carpet. Yet trying to find a property was a nightmare.

DKLS

I often find it amusing when landlords state they dont want pets but accept children.

scorpy66

Sorry to wander off topic a bit, but my friend has just moved with her cat and the agent a) charged £300 extra deposit and b) requires professional steam cleaning of carpets when she moves out. She is frankly skint and desperately worried about the carpet cleaning fee down the line, to the point where she is considering rehoming her cat a.s.a.p. (currently confined to one room since move in yesterday) to avoid the worry of having to find the money somehow later. She didn't spot the cleaning clause in the contract on moving day nor did the agent didn't flag it up.

I've said I'll help her look into it but Googling doesn't reveal even approximate costs. I know she could get a quote, but ideally wants to avoid the hassle, with so much already on her plate with the move.

If anyone has an idea of what firms charge for steam cleaning, I'd be grateful to know. I'd hate her to have to give away her pet if it's not going to be a great deal, but if it's likely to be hundreds of pounds, she'll not be able to afford it. It's a two bed flat, carpeted throughout, inc large hall/landing upstairs and downstairs.

BitterAndTwisted

Most tenancy agreements have clauses in them that state the carpets need to be cleaned to a professional standard not that they must be professionally steam-cleaned. In any case, it's not the cat that will make the carpet dirty really. It's just something that she will need to keep on top of all the way during her tenancy. I'd say that it would be quite straightforward to hire a carpet-cleaner thingy from HSS or somewhere like that and for her to do it herself. She's the only one who knows how easy or difficult it will be to keep the carpets in the same state they are in now. I would suggest very, very strongly indeed that she takes time-stamped and dated photographs of the carpets now so that she can ensure she returns them in exactly the same state and can also prove it.

scorpy66

Thanks, Bitterandtwisted - I'd be happy to rent her a steam cleaner for DIY use but, unfortunately, her contract stipulates that she must produce receipt/evidence from "recognised professional/specialist company", or something like that. The carpets are far from great to start off with (certainly not been steam cleaned up to now!!), the issue seems to be that, regardless of this, steam cleaning will be needed in case future tenants have any pet allergies/sensitivities. Seems a bit steep to me

zaksmum

Can I ask if the prospective tenant's dog is male or female? If it's female there's more of a problem as female dog wee totally wrecks the garden! You'd have burnt dead grass everywhere and (from experience!) there's no bringing it back to life again!

I didn't know this myself till I adopted my daughter's dog, a gorgeous female Golden Retriever cross...I'd always had male dogs before and couldn't believe the state of my back garden after just a few weeks!!

theartfullodger

Should I accept or hold out for someone who has no pets?

Dunno, I give up, what's the answer???

Mrs_pbradley936

I usually say no to pets but one lady offered a bigger damage deposit and agreed to having the carpets professionally cleaned so I said yes.