Pet clause in lease nightmare!

Charliezoo

Does anyone else in the block have pets? I lived in a block of flats once which had a virtually identical clause in the deeds, we had a cat and another resident had a dog. Neither animal ever caused any nuisance so there were never any issues.

bouicca21

As ever it comes down to the fact that badly behaved dogs have !!!!py owners. My obnoxious next door neighbours bought a small dog - just as specified in the lease. It's one of these fashionable cross breeds, and probably cost them a fortune (they most certainly wouldn't buy anything cheap).

It is potentially a sweet little thing but unfortunately it is delusional, instead of accepting that it is a lap dog it thinks it is a great big fierce guard dog. It barks at anything and everything. And what do they do to stop it? Why, either shout at it or pick it up and give it a cuddle. I doubt they would treat it any differently if they lived in a house. They just don't know anything about training.

GDB2222

LKO2088 wrote: »

Well my solicitor has advised to send a letter to the management company as the "nuisance" term used is too broad and it would be a huge risk to move in without their consent... The moral of the story is to ask the agent about pets before paying any money and if they don't know get them to find out!! I can hope and pray that the current owners/ tenants have pets and this clause isn't enforced ... Fingers crossed!

It will be quite hard to find a flat that allows pets. (If you rent, the owner of the flat still needs you to comply with his lease.)

I suggest you work on getting accepted by the other two flat-owners. However, I'm not sure that you'll get the blanket assurance you want. I certainly wouldn't give it if I were one of them. The best I would say is "move in, and then we'll decide after we've seen the dog in action for a while." Besides, any permission will only be for this dog. Will you want another one when he/she dies?

ElsieMonkey

Nick_C wrote: »

My advice would be to withdraw from the purchase or get rid of the dog.

This is a living animal you're talking about, not something you can just "get rid of"!:mad:

To the OP: I live in a flat which a no pet rule. No one would be able to get away with having a dog here as it's a listed property and as such very well managed and maintained. However, a few people do have cats (as do I). I think this is known but people turn a blind eye to cats providing they are 'flat-cats' and as a result don't roam the gardens and communal areas, and obviously cats are very quiet.

I think the issue is one of noise, so you need to be honest with yourself whether your dog can be noisy. And remember even one bark a day can be considered noise by one neighbour, even if it doesn't constitute noise to you. Unfortunately if you know there's any risk of your dog making any sort of noise I would pull out of the sale and you just have to accept you have lost some money. But you have learnt a lesson that next time this should be one of your first questions, before even viewing a property I would say.

If you're certain your dog is quiet and you can cope with living somewhere where daily you may worry about someone raising a complaint then go ahead, only once you have permission from the freeholders. To help can your existing neighbours write character references for you about how your dogs have caused no noise disturbance?

GwylimT

Its very common in leasehold properties.

We live in a flat, the landlord of all the land etc specifies that only those in ground floor properties can have pets, those pets must not cause a nuisance (eg cats not allowed out of your garden etc) and pets must not have free access to public areas or any access to public indoor areas eg corridors.

It seems well respected here, I'm yet to see a dog in a communal hallway, or a cat roaming free. Of course someone could easily have a cat or rodent in a non-ground floor flat and you probably wouldn't know. But a dog you would as obviously they need to go out several times a day.

Nick_C

ElsieMonkey wrote: »

This is a living animal you're talking about, not something you can just "get rid of"!:mad:

Exactly. It's an animal. What's more important, your dog or your home?

It's possible to rehome a dog. People do it all the time. And of course there are other ways to "get rid" them. I didn't have any particular method in mind when I made the suggestion, which I stand by.

It's all a matter of priorities.

Maybe OP would prefer to sleep under the arches with the dog for company.

ElsieMonkey

Nick_C wrote: »

Exactly. It's an animal. What's more important, your dog or your home?

It's possible to rehome a dog. People do it all the time. And of course there are other ways to "get rid" them. I didn't have any particular method in mind when I made the suggestion, which I stand by.

It's all a matter of priorities.

Maybe OP would prefer to sleep under the arches with the dog for company.

This doesn't warrant a response. Please ignore unhelpful remarks OP. There are places that will allow dogs, it's just a matter of time and effort to find them. Good luck

Nick_C

ElsieMonkey wrote: »

This doesn't warrant a response

Yet you couldn't resist giving one! :rotfl:

G_M

Must..... resist...... responding....... Ramn it! Failed!

GDB2222

ElsieMonkey wrote: »

This doesn't warrant a response. Please ignore unhelpful remarks OP. There are places that will allow dogs, it's just a matter of time and effort to find them. Good luck

But your response isn't at all helpful, either. The OP is well aware that she can find somewhere else, although she did say it will be extremely difficult. What she wanted help with was the fact she has sunk the best part of £1000 into this flat before finding out about the pet clause.

It's a fair question to ask what her plan B is? If she goes ahead and buys the flat, only then to find that the dog upsets the neighbours, what will she do then? Your view is crystal clear - that she should make herself homeless over the dog, and nothing else matters. Other people might take a more practical view.