Are pets ever allowed in flats?

immuno

Hi everyone,

My partner and I currently rent a 1-bed flat in London and are looking to move to another, similar flat within London...we are flexible with the area. Ideally, we'd like to have a pet..is this ever allowed in flats, or do we have to wait until we get a house?! Ideally, we'd like to have a cat or small dog, but I guess cat is more realistic...but so far, I haven't come across any place which allow them. Does anyone have experience with this?

Thanks!

marksoton

Well yes they are,the bloke downstairs from me has two dogs.

But you're more likely to succeed when dealing with an LL direct rather than an agent.

lisa110rry

Hi there!

I recall some while ago Dogs Trust sent out a questionnaire on this subject and as I had had problems while renting a flat for my weekly commute to Hull for work, I completed it.

You may well find interesting information on this website:

http://www.letswithpets.org.uk/

My son has a small house which he lets out. He has had some excellent pet owning tenants and one very bad experience!

Good luck, life is so much better with a pet!

[Deleted User]

The issue isn’t so much whether you need a flat or a house, it’s whether a landlord will allow pets in their property. This will vary from landlord to landlord, some will flat out refuse, whereas others may allow it if you pay a damage deposit which they can keep for ruined carpets and the like. You will need to be upfront with letting agents when you look, I have experienced landlords who allow them so they are out there. Please don’t keep a dog or a cat in any flat without a garden, landlord’s permission or not!

DKLS

They are, my mate has a number of properties and he is happy to rent to people with pets but not kids, they in his opinion cause the most hassle and damage to his properties.

ognum

[Deleted User] wrote:

The issue isn’t so much whether you need a flat or a house, it’s whether a landlord will allow pets in their property. This will vary from landlord to landlord, some will flat out refuse, whereas others may allow it if you pay a damage deposit which they can keep for ruined carpets and the like. You will need to be upfront with letting agents when you look, I have experienced landlords who allow them so they are out there. Please don’t keep a dog or a cat in any flat without a garden, landlord’s permission or not!

In many cases it's nothing to do with the LL, all my let flats have a no pet clause in the lease so my hands are tied, one of my tenants rehomed his cat with a friend, if I could have said yes to the cat I would have.

Look for a house i am happy for the tenants in my houses to have cats and dogs. I did ask to interview one dog he was lovely, an elderly lab.

immuno

Thanks for the advice, guys. It's not like we'd be moving with a pet - more like considering getting one in the future. I agree that having a dog in a flat without a garden is not right...but does a cat also need a garden? What about communal gardens?
For some reason, I thought that a LL is more likely to allow pets in a house, not a flat...not sure why I thought that.

AlexMac

There;s no routine answer to the OP's Question, although there may be two layers of question;
- what the landlord's 'freeholder' requires - usually set out in their 'lease', and
- the landlord's attitude to pets which is hard to predict (mentioned above, although an estate agent might just take the easy way out of refusing without even asking; a bit like the answer to the Q - whether they permit smoking)

Most leases I've seen have a clause to the effect that pets must be quiet/small/well-behaved, or 'only with freeholder's permission'; although in practice, most people seem to tolerate pets and many don't even ask!

ClaireBear83Sx

It all depends on the lease. Most leases will state no pets at all, however if you contact the landlord direct requesting permission (BEFORE you move the pet in) then they might give permission.

You are in a perfect position as you do not have a pet yet and therefore you are not limited to landlords who allow pets.

The other thing you should also consider is whether it is fair to have a pet in a block of flats, not only to the animal but also the other people in the block. Especially in the case of dogs who, whilst being cooped up in a tiny flat all day can end up making noise and mess that is not fair on the other residents and then could end up in the landlord revoking your permission meaning you have to get rid of the pet or move

[Deleted User]

A communal garden would be fine for a cat, but it would need to go outside, so in theory you'd need to be on the ground floor.

House rabbits don't need to go outside! We rent a 2nd floor flat and have two house rabbits because we didn't feel it was fair to get a cat when we don't have a garden.

Agree dogs in a flat are always a bad idea- they make a lot of noise and can annoy neighbours. Some people don't even like cats when there are communal gardens, as they make mess!

lisa110rry

[Deleted User] wrote:

Please don’t keep a dog or a cat in any flat without a garden, landlord’s permission or not!

Actually, it is possible to keep a small dog in a flat without a garden (don't know about cats but I believe there can be 100% indoor cats). My flat in Hull had no garden, but I knew I would have to be very disciplined about walks. Even now that I've long finished with that flat, my dog is never allowed in the garden alone as a terrier is another name for a Houdini! We have a walk every morning and every evening and she does not feel the need to ask to go out in between, though she does know how to ask.

Having said that, she was trained by Hearing Dogs for Deaf People so she's a little bit special.