Renting in London with a dog

Pocketsaver

I might be moving to London in the next few months and I'll be looking at renting. How difficult is it to find a place to rent that will allow dogs? Does anyone know how much, if any, this will increase my rent by? I expect I'll have to pay a higher deposit and that's not a problem. Is there anyone on here who has dogs in a rented place in London?

GAH

Each landlord of each property is going to have different views on whether they will allow a dog or not.

Like most places at moment, Im sure the london rental market has fierce competition from lots of potential tenants for the same properties.

Best thing to do is register with all agents, give them as much info on yourself, as much info about the dog, and that you would be prepared to pay a higher deposit.

paddyrg

The biggest problem is whether the dog can commit to his share of the rent.

ognum

As a landlord I would have a couple of questions so be prepared for them

what size is the dog?

Is it well behaved?

Who will look after it if you are at work all day?


These issues would impact my agreement to let to you. I would want to meet the dog. this might be considered over the top by some but it may be the only way to get a rental!

purple.sarah

The Dogs Trust http://www.letswithpets.org.uk/ has information about renting with a pet and pet-friendly letting agencies.

Pocketsaver

ognum wrote: »

As a landlord I would have a couple of questions so be prepared for them

what size is the dog?

Is it well behaved?

Who will look after it if you are at work all day?


These issues would impact my agreement to let to you. I would want to meet the dog. this might be considered over the top by some but it may be the only way to get a rental!

Thanks for the reply.

1. The dog is a cross between Golden Retriever and English Springer Spaniel. He isn't much bigger than a Spaniel and much smaller than a Retriever.

2. He is house trained and is very well behaved in the house.

3. He is fine with being left at home for 5-6 hours, so-so with 8 hours (just been trained for this as a 'just in case' situation). He isn't a destructive dog, but with it being a rented place I'd want to minimise the risk to damaging someone's property so would hire a daily dog walker in the middle period.

With point 3, is there anything else you can think of I could do my end to make you more willing to accept me as a tenant? I would offer to pay for the property to be professionally cleaned. Anything else?

I'd completely agree with the landlord meeting the dog beforehand. I was also thinking of making a 'Dog CV', covering his behaviour, training, shedding, health, exercise and emergency contact details, with maybe a 'cover letter' from the vet.

Also, I'm not a fan of dog smell so here back home I have fragrants around the house, and I hoover everyday.

How does this sound?

Edit - There is an example of the dog CV on the link provided in purple.sarah's post. Thanks, Sarah.

Miss_Poohs

Aww a dog cv - how cute is that.

Hope you find a nice place for you and your furry friend.

Beckyy

A reference from a vet or bahvourist may be helpful. Best of luck, I'm a dog owner too, so rooting for you to find somewhere nice

Hillbilly1

We rented in London with 2 cats and a small dog. We paid double deposit (not much of the cat had ripped the place to shreds!) and did a pet chat with the agent. I think it helped that I was a Vet Nurse and gave her cat behaviour advice!

It varies with agent, another one told us just to lie about having pets! Erm, no! We are professionals between buying properties and not students willing to move at a landlords whim!

I get annoyed about this as with garden flats it will usually be pet owners or those with children that want them, and you would be scorned for saying "no children" (although if I had a BTL I would say it!).

Good Luck and let us know how you get on.

toby3000

Hate to be a downer, but if I was a landlord I wouldn't believe anything someone told me about the behaviour of their pet - noone is going to admit that it's badly behaved and likely to destroy the carpets or whatever.

Not that they'll always say no, but I'd think the higher deposit is going to be the bigger swaying factor.

Strapped

Pocketsaver wrote: »

Thanks for the reply.


With point 3, is there anything else you can think of I could do my end to make you more willing to accept me as a tenant? I would offer to pay for the property to be professionally cleaned. Anything else?

And de-flea'd, which can be the bigger problem.