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To Landlords, would you Rent to a Pet owner?

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  • HappyMJ
    HappyMJ Posts: 21,115 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    fierystormcloud wrote: »
    £100 per cat extra on the bond. Crazy! Cats don't do any damage. I would rent to a cat owner in a heartbeat, as cat owners are the best! :D

    I think you must have just been unlucky so far! :(

    In my experience,many (decent) landlords will let to a tenant with cats. Not so much dogs as they are more likely to be noisy and smelly and make more of a mess and do damage in the house. I am not a dog hater BTW (although I prefer cats!) But that is just the truth...

    It's not a refundable bond...it's a pet licence fee. You don't get it back..

    Scroll down and look at the fees in this example http://www.lanesproperty.co.uk/Content/Tenants-Guide-to-Services-and-Fees.aspx
    :footie:
    :p Regular savers earn 6% interest (HSBC, First Direct, M&S) :p Loans cost 2.9% per year (Nationwide) = FREE money. :p
  • Susie_Richards
    Susie_Richards Posts: 572 Forumite
    theartfullodger wrote: »
    Keep looking, keep asking: Expect agents to be abrupt & rude

    Thankyou, unfortunately the link you provided no longer supplies up to date information.

    ''As of June 2015 we have suspended our Lets with Pets supporter scheme while we review the way we work with letting agencies. The agencies listed in this section signed up to our best practices guidelines when they joined our scheme but at the moment we are not actively monitoring them.'' :(
  • HappyMJ
    HappyMJ Posts: 21,115 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Susie_Richards wrote: »
    Letting Agencies have quotes £100, £150, and £200 per pet on top of the normal bond, but none have so far managed to find a landlord who will accept 3 cats.

    A couple of Agencies have said they don't let properties at all to pet owners, others say it is very rare that landlords will accept 1 pet.

    Advertising for Private Landlords offering an extra £100 x 3 on top of the normal bond, plus 1 years rent paid straight away hasn't led to any replies :eek: :(

    And you won't...so the choice is...get rid of the cats or don't tell the agency you have any cats at all...another choice is to buy a house using a mortgage to fund the purchase. Mortgage companies don't impose that condition on it's customers.
    :footie:
    :p Regular savers earn 6% interest (HSBC, First Direct, M&S) :p Loans cost 2.9% per year (Nationwide) = FREE money. :p
  • Susie_Richards
    Susie_Richards Posts: 572 Forumite
    edited 4 July 2015 at 1:41PM
    BitterAndTwisted wrote: »
    You've tried being honest and upfront with no luck. I'd be tempted to do the other thing now.

    That has occurred to me now :o

    Although Letting Agencies already have my details.
  • silvercar
    silvercar Posts: 49,635 Ambassador
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Academoney Grad Name Dropper
    I would let to pet owners if I thought the tenants were interested in a long term let. Wouldn't be interested if it was only likely to be for a year.
    I'm a Forum Ambassador on the housing, mortgages & student money saving boards. I volunteer to help get your forum questions answered and keep the forum running smoothly. Forum Ambassadors are not moderators and don't read every post. If you spot an illegal or inappropriate post then please report it to forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com (it's not part of my role to deal with this). Any views are mine and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.com.
  • Susie_Richards
    Susie_Richards Posts: 572 Forumite
    silvercar wrote: »
    I would let to pet owners if I thought the tenants were interested in a long term let. Wouldn't be interested if it was only likely to be for a year.

    I would want it to be a long term let.
  • jjlandlord
    jjlandlord Posts: 5,099 Forumite
    If you want to find a place for the long term, I would advise you to be upfront.

    You could lie and not disclose your pets... However, with 3 cats, your landlord will find out.
    When (s)he does you risk being evicted with no reference or a bad reference: I'll be even harder to find another home.

    And yes, many landlords ask for an extra deposit/bond (refundable with the rest of your deposit) if you have pets.
  • Susie_Richards
    Susie_Richards Posts: 572 Forumite
    The trouble with not being totally honest is, what if the neighbours know or are still in contact with the landlord/owner?
  • HappyMJ
    HappyMJ Posts: 21,115 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Susie_Richards wrote: »
    The trouble with not being totally honest is, what if the neighbours know or are still in contact with the landlord/owner?

    They'll tell the landlord and if the landlord really objects then they'll issue you with a Section 8 notice on ground 12 for breaking one of the terms and conditions of the tenancy agreement. You then if you wish to attempt to stay you continue to pay your rent on time and wait until the landlord takes the matter to court. It is very unlikely the court will grant possession during a fixed term so at the end of the fixed term the landlord will issue a Section 21 notice which doesn't require a reason. You then again wait until it gets to court and try and stay on as long as you can. This is all costing the landlord money so it is unlikely to happen except in the most determined landlord.
    :footie:
    :p Regular savers earn 6% interest (HSBC, First Direct, M&S) :p Loans cost 2.9% per year (Nationwide) = FREE money. :p
  • jjlandlord
    jjlandlord Posts: 5,099 Forumite
    HappyMJ wrote: »
    You then again wait until it gets to court and try and stay on as long as you can. This is all costing the landlord money so it is unlikely to happen except in the most determined landlord.

    No, it is costing the tenant's money as the legal costs will be awarded to the landlord.
    The tenant will get a CCJ if he does not pay within 30 days.

    Let's get the facts straight, shall we?
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