To Landlords, would you Rent to a Pet owner?

HappyMJ

justwondering25 wrote: »

I rent my property to a couple , after they had been moved in for a couple of months , they asked if they could have 2 cats in the property.....hmmmm I thought 2 cats , something tingled my spider senses and I wondered to myself...I bet they have these 2 cats already....so a minor investigations , I went to my property and looked in the bins , the bins had a fair few cat food tins in there and cat litter, I was not very happy at this point as I clearly stated no pets.

Long storey short.....went round with the letting agent , to investigate....went inside the property , the cats had ruined the leather 3 piece sweet , there tiny sharp claws/nails had put hundreds of puncture marks into the leather sofa , they had taken to sitting on the upstairs banister , full of scratches , wallpaper in the hall had become a favourite scratching place , cat hairs covered my deep pile carpets.
So I had two choices , wave goodbye to the nice tenants with destructive cats , or keep the tenant s and put up with the cats....at the end of the day , the cats had already done the damage !

So what happened....well the tenant have been there now for nearly 3 years....solution was increase the rent by 50 pounds a month (to slowly help pay towards damage) , take a upfront deep cleaning fee £300.00 (needed as the cat hairs can cause people with allergies to have issues) and basically at the end of the tenancy they will lose their deposit......

But I will be left with lots of work to do , re-wall papering , repainting , new carpets , new sofa.....I won't profit from the extra charges , as it will need to be re-spent, in fact , I dare say it will cost me more than 1800 (36 x 50) + 300 + 700 deposit = 2800 , is unlikely to buy me a new 3 piece leather sofa , re-wallpaper my hall stairs , landing area , main bedroom and various repainting....!!

But anyone that thinks cats do no damage to a property , well trust me they do .

If your tenants with 2 cats are in your property for more than 10 years and in that time you've done no redecorating then you will not be entitled to keep any part of the deposit for wall papering, repainting, carpet or even for a new sofa. They only have a life of 10 years maximum and you can't claim for betterment. That's not damage that's just normal wear and tear.

TBagpuss

http://www.cats.org.uk/greatamwell/news/pet-friendly-landlords

I suspect that part of the issue is that you have 3 cats, which of course doesn't help you much.

I agree with the suggestions to try asking around, and looking for local small ads and on gumtree etc. as well as going via larger agencies.

I agree with the poster who said that tenants who allow their pets to do damage are probably the kind of people who are careless of the property anyway - I have cats, and the only damage they have ever caused to my property was to scratch one specific area of the carpet - I think the appeal was that that part of the carpet was already rough and had lots of tantalising loose threads (I think down to the previous owner's dog)

Yes, cats shed hair, which means you have to vacuum more frequently than in a pet-free home, they don't generally smell unless they are ill, or where there are litter trays which are not cleaned properly or frequently enough, or bedding et c which is not washed often enough.
If you have a property which smells or is mucky because of a cat then the problem is not the cat, it is the irresponsible owner.

Dogs do smell, even nice, healthy, clean, well looked after dogs, so if I were a landlord I would be a lot more concerned about letting to a tenant with a dog than to one with a cat. Dogs are also more likely to be noisy so there is a greater risk of issues with neigbours.

justwondering25

P.s one important details with regards to my tenants 2 cats , they are HOUSE cats , they never go out !! so i put there behaviour down to boredom...some may put that down to bad owners , not allowing the cats out. !

fairy_lights

justwondering25 wrote: »

P.s one important details with regards to my tenants 2 cats , they are HOUSE cats , they never go out !! so i put there behaviour down to boredom...some may put that down to bad owners , not allowing the cats out. !

That probably contributes to it. Many cats are fine as house cats but they do need play time and mental stimulation, and if their owners don't bother with that then it's not surprising that they act up and use the walls as scratching posts etc.

Fireflyaway

This is interesting as we are looking to rent soon and have a cat. All the places I have enquired about so far state no pets...... I'm worried we will end up having to live in an area we don't really want because of this.

Our cat never scratches stuff ( she is too lazy!) and doesn't go outside that much. All I can think is that potential landlords might be concerned about flea infestation - fair enough.

The estate agent suggested going to viewings and trying to come over as a responsible tenant although I'm not sure how to do that as we will be viewing with the estate agent and probably never meet the landlord.

HappyMJ

justwondering25 wrote: »

P.s one important details with regards to my tenants 2 cats , they are HOUSE cats , they never go out !! so i put there behaviour down to boredom...some may put that down to bad owners , not allowing the cats out. !

Some cats just can't go out. They're a good pet to have in a flat. They need scratching posts, plenty of toys and a clean litter tray. Generally they won't be a problem but I can understand many landlords would be put off if a prospective tenant said they had more than one cat.

fairy_lights

Fireflyaway wrote: »

The estate agent suggested going to viewings and trying to come over as a responsible tenant although I'm not sure how to do that as we will be viewing with the estate agent and probably never meet the landlord.

A lot of estate agents advertise properties as 'no pets' as default, but that doesn't mean the landlord is going to stick to the policy. Some landlords say 'no pets' but really mean 'no dogs'. My last two flats have both been advertised as no pets, but we viewed them anyway and brought up our cat at the viewings and it hasn't been a problem. We did have to pay an extra £100 pet deposit on our current flat though, which I think it fair.

Pixie5740

I think "no pets allowed" is an unfair term in tenancy agreements so it they have to say something like, "no pets allowed without prior consent, not to be be unreasonably withheld," or something along those lines.

Finding a landlord who is ok with pets can have a lot to do with how buoyant the rental market is in the area. If there are lots of suitable, potential tenants viewing properties then the landlord can easily select a decent tenant who doesn't have pets. Whereas if the market is a bit quiet and there's not much competition then you might find landlords willing to more flexible.

Fireflyaway

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.

Prothet_of_Doom

I would rent to someone with cats, and maybe a cavalier king charles spaniel, as that's what I have. I would not be happy with a house rabbit

Our Cat has destroyed the previous carpet on the landing, trying to get into the bedrooms, but because I don't want to be woken at night, sleeps in the lounge. She only pulls at the furniture if she wants food. The dog has worn away the paint on the kitchen door, trying to get out, but since I repainted, he hasn't been doing it, so that's a bit odd.
The rabbit we once had ate through the soft wood porch. (To be fair it was a bit rotten, and I was planning on a brick replacement)