Freeholder refusing request for dog unreasonably

RubyHouse

I have no experience of living in flats but am utterly bewildered (and perhaps naive) to hear that its possible to ban pets despite owning the flat yourself.
I wonder if they have the same clause for children? Children make mess, and cause noise. Our neighbours child is a menace, 3 years old and screams before bath time every night.

I would also reconsider buying from a breeder, an older, rescue dog may be much better as you will have at least some knowledge of its history and temperament. Plus, there is generally less likelihood of generative illnesses and you would save a small fortune on the purchase. Puppies are very hard work.

maisie_cat

Many of the other leaseholders may well have chosen this apartment largely because they could be assured that none of the neighbours would have anything larger than a goldfish. The management company are taking a responsible approach.

LandyAndy

RubyHouse wrote: »

I have no experience of living in flats but am utterly bewildered (and perhaps naive) to hear that its possible to ban pets despite owning the flat yourself.
I wonder if they have the same clause for children? Children make mess, and cause noise. Our neighbours child is a menace, 3 years old and screams before bath time every night.

I would also reconsider buying from a breeder, an older, rescue dog may be much better as you will have at least some knowledge of its history and temperament. Plus, there is generally less likelihood of generative illnesses and you would save a small fortune on the purchase. Puppies are very hard work.

They don't own it. They lease it.

need_an_answer

I was in exactly the same situation in 2015 when we bought a leasehold property and wrongly assumed that in the particular development we were buying it would be a case of paying for pet consent and it would be granted.

NO

I have several rental properties and the majority of them are leasehold if pet consent is required then its usually a case of approach directors pay the fee and pets permitted in relation to the size of the unit.
However this was not the case with this one,galling for us at the time as we had bought the property with the intention of moving in a specific tenant who did own a small dog.The flat was certainly big enough for them and actually the dog would have had their own room with a small private garden (non communal) and ground floor so the dog had minimal need to be in other areas of the development.

But it was not to be.
With hindsight I now think that the smaller the development the less chance of having a pet consent granted is.

However back to the OP,you could ignore it but it wont take long to cause trouble if you have eagle eyed fellow leaseholders and actually its just not worth the challenge.

just on a separate note,I might for once disagree with GM about fish being easy to manage and hide,not me but a fellow LL I have dealings with had the entire contents of a rather large fishtank seep through the ceiling of their property over a bank holiday weekend a few years back when the tenant upstairs was cleaning their tank and it split!

AdrianC

HP1234 wrote: »

We bought a flat in September. The leasehold agreement has a clause to say that pets are only allowed with the landlord!!!8217;s prior consent.

You must have been considering the dog at the time. Did you ask your solicitor to enquire about the likelihood of permission being granted?

They have responded saying that their policy is no dogs, and this has been their policy for some years as they have previously had problems with them (fouling and noise).
...
They have come back and said that that they have already given their decision, but did not appear to take into consideration any of the points we raised.

I just wanted an opinion as to whether this is unreasonable?

No. They have given their reasons.

Whether you agree with them or not is beside the point.


The lease wording ("prior consent") is something that cannot easily be changed. The policy on consent can be. They have changed their policy, "some years" ago, to be "no dogs". This is information that could have been available to you at the time of purchase, if you'd asked them.

What action are we able to take if we disagree with their reasoning?

You have three options available.


1. Don't get a dog.
2. Move to somewhere that suits your requirements.
3. Breach your lease, with a high risk of sanction from the freeholder, together with the almost certainty of becoming a pariah with your neighbours.

pimento

FBaby wrote: »

Is there a breed of dog that will assure to never bark? Can you sue the breeder for breach of contract if the dog happens to like to test its voice?

Yes, there is. the Basenji doesn't bark.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basenji

westernpromise

What will happen is that the dog will soil the common parts and the dog's owner will then deny that the dog did it, dumping the repair bill onto everyone else.

thermal2844

pimento wrote: »

Yes, there is. the Basenji doesn't bark.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basenji

True, but Basenji are very high energy dogs (not saying you think it's suitable, just as an aside for anyone reading this).


I personally do not think it's cruel to have a dog in a flat, it really depends on the owner, and the breed of dog. Scenario one - owner works at home. In this case, they can take the dog out regularly for exercise/play. Scenario two - they work out of the home. In this case, they can employ a dog day care service so that the dog is getting plenty of activity during the day, and they can walk the dog before and after work. This could also be an option if you work at home and don't have time for regular breaks. If you choose a low energy dog that doesn't mind chilling out between walks etc, then I don't see the problem. Some dogs actually enjoy napping the day away.



Everything that applies to a flat-dwelling dog applies to one living in a house with a garden - both dogs need to be well behaved, not barking their heads off constantly, etc.


This being said, I don't think you stand a chance in having a dog in your current situation. I think you signed up to living somewhere that wasn't amenable to having dogs there.

comeandgo

RubyHouse wrote: »

I have no experience of living in flats
I wonder if they have the same clause for children? Children make mess, and cause noise. Our neighbours child is a menace, 3 years old and screams before bath time every night

Yes, there are developments near us where children are allowed overnight stays but must not live there.

AnotherJoe

Fair enough I was OTT regards it being cruel depends on dog and owners, from the OPs message i unreasonably drew a conclusion they were youngish and woudl be out all day (in which case i stand by my remarks).


Anyway, getting back to the original Q, i see no evidence from whats been posted that the freeholder is unreasonably withholding consent. They seem to have made the assumption that "pets" = "dogs" when obviously it encompasses goldfish hamsters and budgerigars as well and they have zero obligation to allow dogs whatever the source of the dog or the breed.