Looking to rent but have 2 cats, help!

dpearson86

When I lived in London and rented we offered a slightly higher deposit as we had a cat and to ensure a professional cleaning service was carried out at the end of tenancy, as well as carpets being cleaned professionally, and said we'd be happy for that to be in the contract.

LL's and EA's were quite happy with that and we were able to find somewhere. Depending on where you want to live in London, we were living in Brentford where we had success.

Kittylah

dpearson86 wrote: »

When I lived in London and rented we offered a slightly higher deposit as we had a cat and to ensure a professional cleaning service was carried out at the end of tenancy, as well as carpets being cleaned professionally, and said we'd be happy for that to be in the contract.

LL's and EA's were quite happy with that and we were able to find somewhere. Depending on where you want to live in London, we were living in Brentford where we had success.

That's our plan from now on. Seems money talks a bit better so if it has to be done, it has to be done! :beer:

Kittylah

Kittylah wrote: »

Any advice? :sad:

Hey all, thought I'd update. :wave:
So it's been a few weeks since we started. Had many viewings now and we know exactly what we want and need!
We've put a couple of offers down, and approached landlords/EA's with full honest conversations had on kitty tenants.

BUT
So far, ending negative 100% because we have cats. We're perfect tenants otherwise. Not even extra money is doing very well though. It's getting us to an offer/negotiations stage, but even with lots of money thrown into their pocket, it's going no further. :doh:

Have even had a few with catflaps fully displayed in photo's turning us down, due to experiences with previous tenants and their animals.

Friendly tip to landlords: if you don't want animals but have a cat flap, please hide it in photos or make NO PETS very clear on your listings. It's literally breaking our hearts being told no when it's advertised as looking pet friendly and after all the effort we're putting into this. Be as clear as possible for both parties, it'll waste your time too. :sad:

I really don't want to get rid of them, they really are needed in our stressful, non stop working/busy London lives. Just gotta keep trying, no matter how depressed it's getting us. Hope we have enough time and don't have to lose 1...

If anyone has any more motivation stories or tips, we could really use them!

LEJC

Have you tried putting ad's in various places ....I know you have been contacting agents but it may be that LL's who are more willing to accept pets don't always go via agents.

it is perhaps a riskier way of renting but it may mean that by advertising yourselves a potential LL could perhaps come forward...

You may have also gone down this route,but the dogs trust has a section on their website that links you to some rental websites where you can filter pet friendly

http://www.letswithpets.org.uk/find-a-pet-friendly-property/find-a-pet-friendly-property

no idea what area of london you are looking at or price range but the open rent site does seem to bring up some options particularly if you are willing to be outside of central london
Just a thought...

gingercordial

It may be worth seeing if the area you want to live in has a Facebook group. I'm a member of the one local to me, and its associated buying and selling group, and there are posts from landlords looking for tenants and vice versa all the time on both of these. Often these make a selling point of being pet-friendly.

I can see both sides - I am very much of the opinion that if you have a pet you have a responsibility to it and shouldn't give it up other than in the most dire emergencies, so this must be very difficult for you. However were I a landlord (unlikely to ever happen!) I wouldn't want cats or rabbits in my property as I am allergic to them and so would refuse permission for those, whereas I'd probably say yes to dogs, hamsters, rats, snakes and so on.

Best of luck.

Kittylah

Update for all!!

We've put an offer down on a place.
The landlord owns a vets, so he's more than happy to accept kitties.
We are beyond belief of how lucky our find was.
We viewed around 10 properties. If not more.

HOWEVER
This isn't going to happen to everyone. Weve honestly had SUCH a difficult time. Lots of stress, being upset, worried we'd have to get rid of them, lots of pressure. But we're very lucky this happened. I'm dreading next time we have to do this.

If anyone has any advice for anyone else out there, I'm sure it'll be truly welcomed. The only bits I can give from this experience is to be honest. I'm sure lots of people will tell you to hide animals. I personally advise against it.

I'm going to go have a think of what else I can suggest from my experience alone so maybe post later! Discussion is welcome though.

Dorian1958

I am pleased for you kittylah all the best in your new home.

SuboJvR

Kittylah wrote: »

Update for all!!

We've put an offer down on a place.
The landlord owns a vets, so he's more than happy to accept kitties.
We are beyond belief of how lucky our find was.
We viewed around 10 properties. If not more.

HOWEVER
This isn't going to happen to everyone. Weve honestly had SUCH a difficult time. Lots of stress, being upset, worried we'd have to get rid of them, lots of pressure. But we're very lucky this happened. I'm dreading next time we have to do this.

If anyone has any advice for anyone else out there, I'm sure it'll be truly welcomed. The only bits I can give from this experience is to be honest. I'm sure lots of people will tell you to hide animals. I personally advise against it.

I'm going to go have a think of what else I can suggest from my experience alone so maybe post later! Discussion is welcome though.

Fantastic news! Wish you and your kitties all the best. And be sure to use your new landlord's practice to keep him sweet! :rotfl:

Kittylah

SuboJvR wrote: »

Fantastic news! Wish you and your kitties all the best. And be sure to use your new landlord's practice to keep him sweet! :rotfl:

Yes yes, my kitties already went to his vets before this whole scenario began, which is crazy lucky! :rotfl:

Kittylah

Kittylah wrote: »

Yes yes, my kitties already went to his vets before this whole scenario began, which is crazy lucky! :rotfl:

Aaaaand scratch that.

Got refused. Even though we were told multiple times animals are allowed.
Hoping I can get my money back...

So yeah, keep the advice flowing guys.
:doh: