do i have to tell them about my dog???

katygeorge

i am currently trying very hard to find a rental property i have only been using the same 2 agents as they were recomended. I only pick homes that dont say no pets on teh adverts and they still say no, dont even bother cant have it with a dog. Ive offered a larger deposit plus to pay for cleaning, carpet cleaning and fumigation when i leave and still im getting nowhere. My house is being repossesed and im getting very stressed about having to live in a total dive, the concil wont help untill being homeless looks like a possibility plus the houses they showed me in there office where so bad i wouldnt let my dog live there let alone me and my husband. I know that makes me sound like such a snob but im talking real dives. My husband has said we should go to a different letting agent and say nothing about the dog (still only go for places that dont say "no pets" because that would be taking the mick a bit if i went for them) and then when we get found out say its my dads dog and he had to give her up due to a medical condition. Im being told i cant be evicted for having a dog by cab but after reading a tenancy agrement they do say they can terminate the agrement for no reason with a months notice. feel totall stuck as i need somewhere to live but giving up my dog is not even a possibilty

And advice would be very helpfull, sorry ive gone on a bit

jjlandlord

What sort of dog are we talking about?

katygeorge wrote: »

Im being told i cant be evicted for having a dog by cab but after reading a tenancy agrement they do say they can terminate the agrement for no reason with a months notice.

Are you in England or Wales?

If so the most common type of tenancy agreements (assured shorthold tenancies) cannot be indeed for no reason in such a way.
If the tenancy is a fixed term tenancy, the landlord would need a serious reason as set out in Law to be able to evict you. (And having a dog will most probably not cut it).
If the tenancy is a periodic tenancy, the landlord could evict you for no reason, but would need to give you 2 months notice before even being able to start eviction proceedings.

katygeorge

im in england and all the letting agents around here seam to do a rolling 6 month tenancy, that to me means they could cancle the agreement at any of those 6 month periods, but i could be so wrong. ive never rented before so ansure of a lot of things and im just having to go of what friends are saying

Werdnal

Some properties have restrictions about animals in their lease, so this might be outside the control of the LL/LA.

However, some LL's probably regard dogs as being more of a risk for property damage. You could perhaps suggest to a proseptive LL, that you would be willing to pay a higher desposit, to cover any potential risk of more damage/cleaning needed at the point you leave.

My niece recently rented a poperty and having had similar problems finding somewhere which would take her dogs, she actually rang around a few agents, explaining her plight, and she found a property which had originally been advertised as "No pets" but the LL had a chat with her and agreed to let it with her dogs. Mind you, I am talking about a couple of tiny Yorkshire terriers, not a huge Rottie!

With regard to the tenancy, I think it is possible to run it "rolling" from the start, but more usually it is a 6 month fixed AST - Assured Shorthold Tenancy, which means you have security for 6 months from the start.

jjlandlord

katygeorge wrote: »

im in england and all the letting agents around here seam to do a rolling 6 month tenancy

Probably ASTs with a 6 month fixed period, then.

At the end of the fixed term the landlord cannot "cancel" the agreement. But he can start the eviction process without any reason. As mentioned this would start with serving you with a notice giving you 2 months to vacate. After those 2 months the landlord would be entitled to start court proceedings.

You may try to negotiate a longer fixed period, but if the landlord really, positively cannot stand dogs in his property and is willing to enforce that he will get you out one day.

Obviously if we're talking about a Chihuahua, things will probably be easier than with a Great Dane...

may_fair

katygeorge wrote: »

im in england and all the letting agents around here seam to do a rolling 6 month tenancy, that to me means they could cancle the agreement at any of those 6 month periods, but i could be so wrong.

What you are describing is a six month fixed term with a break clause at any time, or perhaps a contractual periodic tenancy. It would be unusual for all the local agents to be only offering this type of contract. A standard initial contract would be 12 months fixed term with a break clause operable after the first six months, or just a six month fixed term with no break clause.

Anyway, what the break clause would mean is that the LL could give you one month's notice to end the term, NOT the tenancy. He would still have to give you a minimum of two months' notice (if he were using the 'standard' no-fault s.21 notice route to possession), and then apply to the court for a possession order after the two months. The whole procedure from serving the notice, to the bailiff arriving on the doorstep, would take at least four months.

In addition, the court will not make a possession order under s.21 to take effect earlier than six months after the start of the initial tenancy.

The other route to possession is s.8 procedure, where the LL would have to give a reason for seeking possession on the notice, usually unpaid rent or a breach of the tenancy agreement. If you kept a dog contrary to the terms of the contract, then although the LL could try to evict you on this ground, it's unlikely the court would make a possession order just for keeping a single dog.

As jjlandlord asked, what type of dog is it?

jjlandlord

may_fair wrote: »

Anyway, what the break clause would mean is that the LL could give you one month's notice to end the term, NOT the tenancy. He would still have to give you a minimum of two months' notice (if he were using the 'standard' no-fault s.21 notice route to possession), and then apply to the court for a possession order after the two months.

Surely the 6 months rule would still apply. So I don't really see the point of a break clause with a 6 month term, at least for the first term.

PasturesNew

Some places allow pets. The Sun newspaper classifieds has a filter for it. No idea which town you're in, but here's a sample search url: http://apartments.local.thesun.co.uk/chester-chs-en/homes-for-rent/pets_allowed_dogs/?r=10&query=undefined

Allowing dogs is something that tends to get easier the bigger the place. So a 1-bed flat is more likely to not allow them than a 3-bed house, but if you're being repossessed and there's you/OH then I'm guessing you're looking for a 1-bed flat.

Tiddlywinks

jjlandlord wrote: »

What sort of dog are we talking about?

As another poster has asked, what sort of dog is it? What kind of property are you looking for?

You may also have a problem over the credit checking process for renting because of the repossession.

BitterAndTwisted

What would I do if I was in imminent danger of becoming homeless? I would lie. The minimum term of any AST is 6 months, so no landlord could chuck you out on the street until after the 6 months agreement was up. Which would give you enough time to have a pet-friendly landlord lined up.

As mentioned, a repossession on the horizon could prove a bigger impediment to securing housing than a canine of any size or disposition

joerugby

We had to rehome our dog when we moved abroad and he lived a long and happy life with his new owner.