Renting house - is a full month's extra deposit for pets fair?

GenD

Hi, we're about to rent a house for the first time, having sold our flat, and I've been reading up all sorts of posts on here to find out everything we need to know, but I've got one query.

We have 2 cats, and for the houses we've viewed so far we've made sure they do accept pets, but one of the agents said that their practice is to charge a full extra month's rent, on top of the standard one month plus a month in advance, as a separate pet damage deposit. We've got the money, and I'm reasonably confident that the cats won't cause any damage (it's an unfurnished house), so we can pay it if necessary, but obviously it's a huge chunk of money up front, so I just wanted to check if that's usual, and if you think it's a fair request?

They also specify in the tenancy contract that if you have pets, you are not allowed to simply clean the house yourself before leaving, but you MUST have it professionally cleaned (and fumigated for fleas!) and produce a receipt to show it's been done, before they'll release the deposit. Is that usual too?

I don't have any problem with those conditions if they're pretty standard, but I just want to make sure we're not being ripped off :think:

Thanks for any advice or reassurance you can give.

ognum

For my properties the pet deposit is £500 and that is less than a third of the rent on one of my properties.

The carpet cleaning requirements are standard I believe.

moromir

The problem with fleas is that they'll happily lay dormant for weeks while a property is empty, as soon as new tenants move in, the fleas 'activate' due to vibrations from movement of new tenants and a new food source and then whats the landlord to do?

PS heres another thread currently on the board
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4606599

A read of that should explain why a lot of landlords are wary/put good measures in place to prevent ongoing problems after depature.

ElkyElky

moromir wrote: »

The problem with fleas is that they'll happily lay dormant for weeks while a property is empty, as soon as new tenants move in, the fleas 'activate' due to vibrations from movement of new tenants and a new food source and then whats the landlord to do?

PS heres another thread currently on the board
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4606599

A read of that should explain why a lot of landlords are wary/put good measures in place to prevent ongoing problems after depature.

Beat me to it! Fumigation won't kill the flea eggs themselves so really, it's a pointless exercise.

bouicca21

When I was a student zillionsof years ago I lived in a room where a cat had simply been a visitor. It took at least 6 weeks to get rid of the fleas. If I were a landlord I'd be insisting on fumigation too.

BitterAndTwisted

ElkyElky wrote: »

Beat me to it! Fumigation won't kill the flea eggs themselves so really, it's a pointless exercise.

Fumigation is not a pointless exercise at all. You've misunderstood, it's not the eggs which are resilient to insecticides, it's the pupae. Any decent insecticide will have a residual effect (up to six months) which should kill the adult fleas once they emerge from their pupae.

Back to the OP: it's not unreasonable to ask for the equivalent of an extra month's rent as deposit on top of the regular one. I'm a cat "owner" myself and know quite well the sort of damage felines can do to furnishings and carpets.

G_M

I see no problem with the agent's proposal.

In my own case it's more problematic:

I typically take a standard 1.5 months rent as a deposit (+ the 1st month's rent in advance of course).

If I added another month's rent to the deposit, this would be equivelant to 2.5 months rent, which, being more than 2, = a 'premium'.

Charging a Premium gives tenants additional rights over a standard AST, which I do not wish to bestow.

So I prefer just to avoid tenants with pets.

Well, the ones who admit to pets that is, as opposed to the ones eho lie and then act all innocent "Oh I thouhgt it only applied to keeping several pets."

agrinnall

It's not really worth debating whether it's fair or not, if it's what the LL wants then you either accept it or try to find an alternative property that will allow your cats.

Better_Days

OP, when we were looking to rent earlier this year with pets (two cats and two dogs) getting professional carpet cleaning at the end of the tenancy seems to be pretty standard. Also an extra deposit for the pets - we paid £100, but one LA charged £100 per pet - plus a 'pet registration fee of £25 (can't remember if it was per pet). Our deposit was 1.5 months and we also paid 6 months rent in advance - to sweeten the deal a little. We negotiated a small reduction in rent so everyone was happy.

As I understand it is not unusual to pay one months rent in advance and a months rent as a deposit. We paid 1.5 months rent as a deposit - so you will be paying only 2 weeks more than we did. Do you have to pay any 'pet registration' fees?

No mention by our LA was made of fumigation for fleas - but I can understand why this is required. At the very least I will spray round with some Indorex spray after the carpets have been cleaned just to be on the safe side.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Indorex-Household-Spray-500ml-Fleas/dp/B001A363SO

This is really good stuff, but don't breathe it in!

I take it you use Frontline or the like on your pets as well? I pay the extra and buy the Frontline Combo (you have to get a prescription from the vets - but you can then buy online more cheaply) which I think is the only product atm which also contains an insect growth inhibitor and so helps control problems in the house. This is a good article
http://www.animeddirect.co.uk/advice/fleas-and-flea-control/

My LA told me that only about 15% of LL's accept pets, (and we are in a rural area) so they do have you over a barrel. There are extra expenses related to having pets and I'm afraid this is one of them (although I must admit I was surprised when I started to look into it as we hadn't rented for years).

In answer to your question, I don't think the LA's requirements are unreasonable, although perhaps at the far end of the spectrum of what I came across.

I hope you enjoy your new home with your kitties.

grifferz

GenD wrote: »

We have 2 cats, and for the houses we've viewed so far we've made sure they do accept pets, but one of the agents said that their practice is to charge a full extra month's rent, on top of the standard one month plus a month in advance, as a separate pet damage deposit. We've got the money, and I'm reasonably confident that the cats won't cause any damage (it's an unfurnished house), so we can pay it if necessary, but obviously it's a huge chunk of money up front, so I just wanted to check if that's usual, and if you think it's a fair request?

Lots of landlords won't allow pets at all, and of those who do, a full month of rent may well not cover the cost of dealing with the issues that a pet can bring. So yes I believe it is a reasonable policy.

GenD wrote: »

They also specify in the tenancy contract that if you have pets, you are not allowed to simply clean the house yourself before leaving, but you MUST have it professionally cleaned (and fumigated for fleas!) and produce a receipt to show it's been done, before they'll release the deposit. Is that usual too?

Fumigating for fleas is one thing, but I don't think that they can legally insist that you have the place professionally-cleaned. My understanding was that it is the tenant's responsibility to return the property to the state it was in when they got it, and if they can achieve that without professional cleaning then that should be good enough.

In any case, anyone could write "Bob's Super Professional Cleaning Company" on a bit of paper and call it a receipt. Not that I would condone such behaviour, just making the point that their stipulation isn't worth much.

However, if you end up in an argument over it then you may not get a reference. And if you want to come to an agreement that you will have it professionally-cleaned even though not legally enforceable then that is a reasonable concession to make in order to be allowed to have pets there.

GenD wrote: »

I don't have any problem with those conditions if they're pretty standard, but I just want to make sure we're not being ripped off :think:

Asking for higher deposit when pets are allowed, and insisting on professional cleaning are both very common things to see in a tenancy agreement.

anotheruser

Our LL's are quite nice.

They charged us an extra £100 per animal, which is safely with the deposit. So one months rent, plus the same amount for the deposit, plus an extra £200.

Other landlords may not be as nice.