Renting and Pets - LL and Tenant advice

CharlieRabbit01

Angelicdevil wrote: »

Unless the LL knows how filthy Degus are if not in an appropriate cage I had to get mine a really deep cage because they kick their wee and poo out all over the place.

I used to breed gerbils, and of course intend to purchase the appropriate accommodation for them.

CharlieRabbit01

ian103 wrote: »

are you sure on the kitten front? we adopted two last year and we have damage to wallpaper, wood, doors, carpets, rugs - they clawed at everything.

My OH wants a kitten and has had cats/kittens in the past so i'm trusting him on the knowledge with that, I on the other hand have never had either nor any friends who've had them, so I'm kind jumping in blind, but people have kittens so I'm certain there is something you can do to minimise damage?

CharlieRabbit01

GwylimT wrote: »

My wifes rental house is no pets, she once agreed with a tenant who had been there a while to have some gerbils, upon moving out she also discovered they had three dogs, alongside the dogs the gerbils had been left in the house (one was dead) and so the animals became her responsibility, she kept one of the dogs as it was quite elderly and timid and the others went into an animal shelter, no where would take the remaining gerbils so they were put to sleep.

Not only was it a horrible situation to discover but the gerbils had obviously been given free run in one of the bedrooms as the carpet was heavily chewed and urine stained as were the floorboards and so some of those needed replacing in areas. They had even eaten some of the wall paper!

If you want a Degu it might be an idea to state the precautions you will take to ensure damage doesn't occur, e.g. keeping the cage a few inches away from the wall to prevent scratches and chew marks, no exercise outside the cage without care, e.g. handling and the use of balls etc. That you will treat the whole property to ensure there are no fleas or eggs present when vacating. If you show that you are likely to be proactive you may be more likely to gain permission.

How awful for your wife, I've had lots of experience with small pets but obviously getting the landlord to see I'm responsible and won't do as your wife's tenants did might be hard.

MartynK

I can understand both sides of the coin here, But its a pain in the rear to find a property if you already have a pet.

My partner and I where turned away from so many properties in our area because she had a pet house cat when we moved in together.

Lots of letting agents wouldn't even contact the LL on our behalf to offer an increased deposit to cover professional cleaning after moving out and any damage that cat might cause.
Although the properties didn't seem to stay on the market long here so I guess they think why bother with the extra paperwork or phone call when it'll be rented anyway

In the end we had to settle with what we got which sadly isn't all that great. We're unsure what we'll do if we have to rent again.


Regarding your question though, kittens do destroy everything. Thankfully my partners cat mellowed out and only uses her scratching post and occasionally.
to protect it though you'd basically need to put cardboard up all around kitten height on the walls and doors to prevent scratching or protecting them

clark24

We are lucky in that the landlady of our new property (that we move in to tomorrow, eek the chaos!!) is an animal lover so had no problems with our 2 dogs and my chameleon (who as far as reptiles go is the least destructive animal on the planet, he just wanders about rolling his eyes at me and eating, much like a tiny green teenager really...) anyway we were lucky with her as she is fine with them but we did have a right nightmare finding a LL that was, many were firmly 'no pets' and others were 1 small dog only etc, we were worried we would never find a place! We didn't want to try to sneak pets in and then deal with being asked to leave at the end of the tenancy due to lying, hell right now I am at the 'I shall never ever move again' stage, I certainly don't want to invoke the wrath of a LL and be going through this moving faff again in 6 months!

We did view one house that was fine with tenants keeping pets in it but as soon as we got past the front door the stench of cat urine was so strong I pretty much ran straight out the back door without taking another breath. It was vile, the people had a litter tray for their moggy but it seemed the cat had decided all the carpets were fine to pee on too and they almost squelched!! No amount of vax-ing would have got that pong out, now I love cats but seriously it was beyond vile...

MartynK

We found something similar ourselves.

One property we did view (before finding this one) said all pets welcome, we turned up and the carpets were all ripped up, a lot of the skirting around the doors all chewed up and the kitchen stank of urine as well.

Apparently it was the last tenants and we were told it had been professional cleaned and opening the windows will get rid of the smell, its only bad as its been closed up for a week.
We decide to not go for that one funnily enough.

But you can certainly understand why LL's are hesitant to accept pets, it is after all a business to them. Which is probably why the cases were people that lie about pets then damage the property make it harder for people who have well behaved pets to find places.

Arachne_2

aileth wrote: »

I'm guessing the fish thing is in case the tank implodes and causes water damage?

Hehe. My upstairs neighbour once had a catfish - don't know much about them myself, but one night I saw drips coming through my living room ceiling - turned out his catfish had a habit of bashing against the side of its tank, thus causing splashes! He sorted it and all was fine, but other than that I agree with CharlieRabbit - the tenant could just as easily trip with a bucket full of water!

BTW, I also have a cat and wouldn't go anywhere without him - I was offered a nice flat in a brand new build but had to turn it down due to pet restrictions

EDIT: I'd definitely contact the LL and ask, if you don't ask, you don't get, and I'm sure they'd appreciate being asked beforehand.

hellokitty08

Ive had my cat from a kitten, in a rental property and she hasnt done any damage to the property, however I have seen a hallway thats had all its wallpaper shredded by cats!

Arachne_2

hellokitty08 wrote: »

Ive had my cat from a kitten, in a rental property and she hasnt done any damage to the property, however I have seen a hallway thats had all its wallpaper shredded by cats!

Same with my cat - lived here 16 years, had my kitty just as long, and he's caused no damage - no shredding, ripping up, no wandering into communal areas etc. Mind you, he was "done" at six months and has always been very laid-back.

Angelicdevil

hellokitty08 wrote: »

Ive had my cat from a kitten, in a rental property and she hasnt done any damage to the property, however I have seen a hallway thats had all its wallpaper shredded by cats!

My house rabbit is the wallpaper munching king...little b***er! Little kitty has so far only used his scratching post to scratch.

Depends on the temperament of the animal and how well stimulated it is. I'm sure whatever you decide (if you're allowed) will be fine