Renting with cats -- when do we meet the landlord?

rubuhoeikanaika

Hi there,

We're looking to move to a rented unfurnished house in a small town, and have (indoor-only, so no fleas) cats. Very few of the ads say 'pets considered', but we have heard that going for a viewing and then mentioning that you have pets directly to the landlord is a better strategy thank asking from the get-go. (I've asked a couple of letting agents about whether certain properties would take pets, and gotten the strong feeling that they are just answering no without checking with the landlord.)

But we've never rented 'in person' here in the UK (in the US pets in rented accommodation is much more common, and the last place we rented here we did it all from abroad). When is it usual to meet the landlord or get their contact details- will they be present at the viewing? Surely the agent won't be too happy to give us their phone number, right?

Thanks!

FutureGirl

If going through estate agent the landlord is rarely at the viewing. Usually it's the agent, or the current tenant that is at the property. (or both).

rubuhoeikanaika

FutureGirl wrote: »

If going through estate agent the landlord is rarely at the viewing. Usually it's the agent, or the current tenant that is at the property. (or both).

I wonder if the current tenant would be likely to have the landlord's information, hmm that might be a bit awkward though.

slopemaster

Depends on the agent I think as to whether they bother asking.
The agent letting my house recently asked whether I would accept 2 cats before even booking the couple in for a viewing. This avoids wasting anyone's time.

But, it could be advantageous to you to wait to mention it until you see somewhere you want. Then the cat question can be put forward to the LL at the same time as your other details. If those details are desireable (eg offering full asking rent, wanting to move in when current tenants move out, both working, good income...) then your cats are more likely to be accepted.

Peter333

In my experience, landlords don't mind cats. NO PETS usually translates to NO DOGS.

If you have just cats, most landlords will be OK; as they don't cause noise and smell and a nuisance like (some) dogs do.

macman

If they do, you''ll possibly have to pay for fumigation/deep cleaning at the end of the lease, because there's always the chance that the next tenant will be allergic to cats.
If it's handled through an agency then you'll probably never even meet the LL, why would they pay an agent and then do viewings themselves?

thenewbee

As someone who's been there with renting and having house cats I've just mentioned it once I've viewed somewhere I'm interested in... eg "oh by the way I have a house cat - presume it won't be a problem as my previous landlord had no issue. Happy to pay extra £100/200 deposit if it is a problem" - never failed for me.

ruggedtoast

For some people cats are divine, for others they are furry Satan balls.

Best to mention it until after viewing. Alternatively I suppose you can take as little notice of th no pets clause as your landlord will of the 'must keep property maintained' one and move them in anyway. Might not go down well if you are found out though.

Guest101

You could just not mention it of course.

I doubt anyone would evict over a pair of cats.

clarky_cat

Unless the agents carry out regular inspections they'd probably never know you had cats if you're moving into a unfurnished place (unless they are the type of cats who climb the curtains!!). As long as you give the place a good clean when you leave it shouldn't be an issue.

cloo

We just left it until the deal was nearly done to mention the cat when we rented (it was an unfurnished flat) - they're not likely to pull out of the deal unless they have a real issue with animals. Our landlords demanded some extra deposit because of the cat, so we paid that (though in an unfurnished flat with no carpet I'm not sure if they imagined the cat would cause structural damage or something!)