To Landlords, would you Rent to a Pet owner?

Dird

I'm not a LL but plan to be in the future. Currently a tenant with 2 staffies and from that I can say I'm definitely not letting to anybody unless it's something stupid like a turtle.

My dogs have chewed the carpets in many rooms, damaged the doors & fences and just the general smell of dog. I wouldn't want the living want the living room of my BTL smelling of cat poo.

Only reason I got dogs in here is we started without them & I guess they agreed we could have them thinking we might leave if they said no

Piggywiggy

If I were a landlord I wouldn't rent to a pet owner, much as I love my own dog I have seen/smelt the damage that a not very well toilet trained dog and cat can create. I also really don't understand the logic of the people who by a puppy then a couple of months later list it on gumtree because they can't take it to a new property with them, why buy one in the first place?

eilidhcatriona

I rent, and have cats.


When we moved into our current flat, we had 3 cats - sadly we lost Misty last year and now only have 2. Our tenancy agreement has an appendix stating the landlady gives permission for 3 cats to be keep (interestingly it doesn't state "up to 3 cats may be kept" so we now joke we're breaking the tenancy by only having 2...).


When looking for the flat we were refused at every turn by agencies who wouldn't entertain the idea of pets. Some agencies said no flat out, some checked with landlords. The flat we're in was the first one that pets were allowed in - so we just took it.


Cats can cause damage, but ours have never done anything severe. There was no cat-related damage to our last flat, which we were in for 7 years. However we've been in our current flat for just over a year, and already Snoopy has managed to damage the carpet by scratching on it - but it's really cheap crap carpet. He's always liked clawing at carpet, but he has never caused significant damage before, and we've never lost deposit because of cat damage.


I fully accept that any damage caused by our cats is our responsibility, and we will either make it good or pay for it to be repaired at the end of the tenancy (or before if necessary).


I see there are a few comments about house cats. Ours are house cats, and as I've said, they cause very little damage. They don't damage furniture, or pee where they shouldn't. The only cases of peeing in the wrong place have been when Misty was very ill before she passed away, and once when Snoopy managed to shut himself in the kitchen years and years ago while we were out at work (the little guy pulled over an empty cereal box to pee on, then tried to cover it up by scooping litter out of the open bag on the floor - he still got pee on the carpet, but he tried!).

aileth

The place we rented before we bought actually advertised accepting pets, which I hadn't seen before. We had a cat and a hamster which we took. Cat did absolutely nothing and was out roaming the nearby forest 95% of the day. The biggest offender was our hamster. We placed him too close to the curtains and one night he started to pull them inside his cage. Nice big hole by the morning, and he had a lovely new comfy bed. Replaced the curtains that day. It just shows it's not always cats and dogs who are pet offenders!!!

lazer

Pet owners that think their cats and dogs don't smell are all deluded.

I have 2 cats and i fully admit they smell (Not badly - jsut like cats)

Theya re outdoor indoor cats, mainly outdoor, but when they are indoor I throw blankets over the sofa so that the cats can sit on these and they can be washed regularly instead of a cat smell lingering on the sofa.

They have also been know the scratch the carpet, but a quick telling off and putting them outside has got them out of this habbit.

Would i rent to a cat owner that thinks their cat owners don't smell, and thinks their cats won't do damage - would i rent to cat owner willing to look after the property, yes.

If i was renting a house out furnished i would expect the tenent with the animals to put throws on the suite etc, as the smell of cats can and does linger.

cloo

I would probably not let to anyone with a dog (maybe a small one) as they do make a smell that hangs about. I had no issue with my tenant having a cat, but TBH, I might have balked at 3 in terms of fur left around, probably enough mogginess to generate a smell and furniture scratching. I probably would have gone with that for extra deposit, though, if a good tenant.

catterlen

Fireflyaway wrote: »

Umm so 'no pets' doesn't always mean no pets! I have not even been calling the ones who state no pets but seems it might be worth a try then.

Always worth trying! Our new rental said no pets but has been empty for 2 months. Transpires when we rang the landlady that the last tenant had had 2 dogs....

Susie_Richards

Still no joy.

It seems Landlords, like some of the posters on this thread, would prefer smelly dogs and hoards of rampaging kids to a couple of well behaved old moggies :eek:

Pixie5740

That's a shame Susie. I hope something turns up for you and the moggies soon.

GwylimT

We generally say no to pets, small animals that are contained eg small rodents and fish are okay.

Animals do cause damage, they also cause properties to smell no matter how careful the owners are, you are also then preventing those with allergies from renting your property.

I have a cat and a dog, I own my home so any damage they cause only inconveniences and costs myself. My animals are well trained, however recently our dog was ill when I was out for two hours, his lovely liquid poo soaked up into the wall so now I have to replace the skirting board, plaster board and replaster. The last time he was ill we needed a new carpet and underlay.

Part of being a per owner is covering all associated costs, unfortunately some are irresponsible and you don't know which you have as a tenant until something happens.