Cats, would you let to them?

MagicCats

mufi wrote: »

I've had cats all my life and you can't train them! Most are naturally exceptionally clean, but this can go out of the window when they get very elderly.

Some damage furniture, doors, floors, woodwork and carpets, others are a cross between Mother Teresa and the Tooth Fairy, and you only find out which type you've got the hard way. £500 seems a reasonable deposit.

That's a fair assessment to be honest. You find pedigrees are more laid back, or rather you can predict what characters they are likely to be. I'd be happier renting to someone with cats than dogs, and if it was cats, pedigree house cats over a poor old moggy who gets slung out all day.

ognum

delain wrote: »

We've got 2 cats, one never comes home, preferring the quiet, childless neighbours, so barely counts, my other cat (only a year old) is house trained, goes out so no trays, and has never damaged anything in its life, sleeps mostly and will be happily carried around without waking up.

We're looking for a 4 bed house (rentals) and honestly I've been told by LA's that they advise LLs to specify no pets which seems mad to me.

We've lived here for 5 years though so could provide cat references :rotfl:

I'd say maybe £500 is a bit steep, its a cat not a great dane.

Good luck anyway, hope you find tenants ok.

Thanks, I am sure we will find tenants. I do think this house would be great for cats, large garden, quiet road etc so will probably say yes to cats!

Fuzzyness

i've let to someone with a cat before. didnt even think about asking for a bigger deposit. comes down to how much damage a cat can do. my house had no carpets and was let unfurnished so no real issue with having a cat there. and besides we liked the tenants and were happy for them to have thier cat there.

LittleMissAspie

If I was a landlord I would allow cats because I think it's really unfair that tenants often aren't allowed pets. Pets are family members.

I don't see the need for pet deposits - surely the ordinary deposit is enough? The average toddler is more likely to cause damage than the average cat, but landlords don't charge child deposits. Or red wine drinker deposits. Or likes-to-throw-parties deposits. Etc.

It's fair to specify that the carpets and soft furnishings should be professionally cleaned at the end of the tenancy (in case future tenants have a cat allergy) and for professional flea treatment just in case.

Mrs_Z

If I had a house with a garden to rent - yes I'd rent to someone with cats (probably a good idea to put a limit to the number though). I've never rented myself but as I'm a cat lover myself - I would.
We live in a 2 bed house and currently have 2 cats. For 15+ years that we've had them, there's never been an issue with cleanliness, until recently when one of them started peeing indoors. An earlier poster mentioned issues with elderly cats so this is one example I think. The pee has discouloured the parquet floor board and although sandable, I'm not sure if it'll come off and I remember thinking that gosh, if we were renting what the landlord would say about it. Equally, one of the cats used to stretch along the window frame which was wallpapered, so scratching marks were very noticable and eventually damaged the wall paper. So be prepared that some damage might be caused, although nothing major. It's generally more difficult to find rental places with pets, so you should find increased demand for your property. Putting the possible damage issue aside, in my opinion people who have pets and are prepared to look after them well tend to be responsible and also look after your property (generalisation of course).

1981trouble

We rent currently and have 2 young children and 2 middle aged cats. We are in a 3 bed semi in a residential area. We usually pay about £200(800 in total) extra deposit for the cats, we wouldn't have paid £500 extra.

I have always found it an odd thing because 2 toddlers most definitely cause more damage than 2 lazy fat cats (ok, the birdwatching neighbours might disagree). The most the cats do is scratch at some carpets, the toddlers however trail mud and food around and heaven forbid they get hold of pens or crayons! Yet nobody ever dares ask for a young child deposit!

We always get all or most of our deposit back because we clean thoroughly and paint any areas that are needed. With any rental property, it really depends on the tenants - we also rent a property out elsewhere and have had 2 identical tenants on paper yet couldn't be more different with getting rent paid etc, it is whether you take a risk or not.

ognum

Thank you to all who have answered this, have decided to agree to cats (not kittens) no more than two at a time!

ruggedtoast

ognum wrote: »

Many thanks to all you who replied to my question regarding dogs in rentals.

Now my question is how about cats?

I have had a call from my letting agent to say they have a renter with two cats, how do I feel about it?

As I said before this is an unfurnished village home with large garden, 4 beds to baths, has new carpets.

I have agreed in principle, LA suggested an extra £500 deposit for each.

I have also asked that there should be no more than two cats at any time do you feel this is reasonable.

Thanks for helping me out on this!

They should have as many cats as they wish or you should be fired from a cannon.

Beckyy

I dont see why not, I'd allow dogs and cats along as there was enough room in the house, but I'm a little bias being an animal person.

Did the LA suggest £500 extra deposit per car? I'd be having kittens myself if I was renting and was asked for that!

ognum

ruggedtoast wrote: »

They should have as many cats as they wish or you should be fired from a cannon.

Hmm that could be interesting but it will actually be the cats that are fired out of the cannon if there are more than two!!