Getting a puppy - What kind of compensation would be best to give to a landlord

Horseygirl123

I am a landlord and just about to re-let my refurbished 3-bed semi. I absolutely adore animals and have got more pets than I dare think about.
With the refurb I have used commercial grade laminate flooring downstairs with ceramic tiles in the kitchen and just kept carpet for the bedrooms. The garden is large, lawned and secure and I am more than happy to have tenants with pets although I would ask for a pet deposit. This has all been done because of the experience of seeing friends who have had to give up their pets because of the difficulties in finding accommodation. It is truly heartbreaking.

My daughter has friends who have, rather naughtily, smuggled in pets after their tenancy began and the animals have been perfectly behaved and the houses kept immaculate. On the other hand she has friends with young children whose houses are absolutely disgusting. One friend actually let her young child open its bowels on the carpet and the friend just laughed. My daughter was horrified.:eek: So if it comes to choosing whether to accept a dog or several young children I'm not sure which I'd choose:)

James_N

UnitedSum wrote: »

It might be helpful to know that eviction during the fixed term of an AST simply because you have a dog is probably unlikely to be enforceable, even if the contract says 'no pets'. Therefore, try to get a tenancy that is as long as possible (assuming you go down the route without landlord permission).

This is exactly the type of f-you attitude and behaviour that sours tenant - landlord relationships. You are proposing that a prospective tenant deliberately sets out from the outset to deceitfully "get away with" behaviour that is explicitly covered as unacceptable in the letting agreement.

I'd hope that a landlord faced with such a tenant was in a position to "find fault" in great detail and at considerable expense when a tally of the agreed inventory and condition was taken at the end of the tenancy, justifying this expense to the deposit scheme and withholding any reference.

UnitedSum

It's not a strategy I'd take myself unless pressed against the wall. Working in animal rescue and seeing enough family pets euthanized simply because the rescues are flooded with more dogs and cats than they can find homes is disgusting and soul destroying.

No landlord wants to take the risk yet they really must -especially if they're animal lovers -take some responsibility for this societal issue. No one is forcing them to go into the business of btl.

I'm a landlord and let to people with pets, and it sickens me to see families surrender their pets and subsequently see some of them killed.

An f-you attitude goes both ways.

missile

Horseygirl123 wrote: »

My daughter has friends who have, rather naughtily, smuggled in pets after their tenancy began and the animals have been perfectly behaved and the houses kept immaculate. On the other hand she has friends with young children whose houses are absolutely disgusting. One friend actually let her young child open its bowels on the carpet and the friend just laughed. My daughter was horrified.:eek:

maybe she needs to choose her friends more carefully?

[Deleted User]

I think the answers in here show that if u are able to find a landlord who will accept pets, u may be asked to pay a pet deposit or not. You may incur larger than usual maintenance costs for the property. To some degree, this depends on the personality of the animal, but getting a puppy will probably increase your maintenance costs quite a bit.

I had a friend with a cat who used to spray everywhere.., she wasn't as clean as she could have been (my friend) and going into the house was quite an eye watering experience. I have a cat, and remembering my friend I clean the cat litter scrupulously (and my cat does not spray thank god). I am quite careful to make sure the property I rent does not have any detectable cat odour as far as I can tell.

I also had a dog at one stage. She seemed like a 'normal' puppy and I was assured she was socialised.., but she turned out to be rather neurotic and unsocialised and while a lovely dog in many ways.., was a total pain in terms of damage to any property I lived in. Its difficult to see these kind of behaviours in an 8 week puppy. I also had one season where a male dog was determined to get at her and caused major scratch damage to the outside of my back door, which had to be repaired before I moved out. He literally scratched a hole in the door, in spite of me making every effort to put him off (even poured water on him).

This was in a time when I had council/housing association properties., now I am in private rental (although I love dogs) I have a cat, and only a cat. I wouldn't get a dog because of the damage that might be caused.

nollag2006

Who will look after the dog when you are at work? Will it be cooped up all day long barking and whining?

If you really like dogs, why not volunteer as a dog walker for an elderly or physically challenged person:
http://vinspired.com/activities/265-volunteer-dog-walkers-nationwide

Davesnave

nollag2006 wrote: »

Who will look after the dog when you are at work? Will it be cooped up all day long barking and whining?

A question we could probably ask many thousands of dog owners.

I have partial care of farm animals, which may not live long lives, so maybe that explains why I'd rather see a dog put down humanely than have it subjected to thousands of hours of total boredom. The animals here live better, if shorter, lives than that.

Then there's the matter of who has to listen to all the barking and howling too, as it's certainly not the owner!

ILW

To be fair to the OP, they are studying "an animal degree" so should be no problems.

jane1823

I have 3 dogs and 2 cats in my rental property. I had to pay a larger deposit and I have had a temporary fence put up to keep them off the grass as they are prolific diggers. I have to get the carpets cleaned every 6 months but other than that I havent had any trouble.......I need to move now tho and I know I will have trouble finding somewhere even with the landlords reference that I have. They are big dogs (german shepherd, malamute and a staff/lab cross.) good luck!!

Horseygirl123

missile wrote: »

maybe she needs to choose her friends more carefully?

Nah, it's taught her a valuable lesson. Forget the kids and have a dog.