Advice for finding rental property with a pet

catpat

Hello all, I looking for advice about renting with a cat.

I have rented with my cat for the past 3 years- I asked my landlady if I could keep a cat in my last property a year in to the contract and she said yes, I lived there for another year and then moved and have lived in another property for two years with my cat without any issues. When I found my current property I did pay a £200 "non-refundable" pet deposit, which I understand is not allowed with the new regulations.

I am moving again for work (I am a doctor) but have been struggling to find somewhere. The only property I found which would accept pets and was in good condition was very popular and ultimately I was not the successful applicant. I have viewed a couple others but they were damp.

I am due to go down again next week to look again, but I am struggling to find any that would accept a cat. I have spoken to the estate agents to explain that I have a good job and salary, have never defaulted on rent and my cat has never caused damage but they won't even let me view. My last property I paid for a professional clean at the end of the tenancy, and I am doing the same again for my current property. Giving my cat away is not an option, but I don't think settling for a property in poor condition is an option either.

I am now at a point where I am considering lying and saying I do not have a cat. I know if the landlord does find out this is a big risk and may impact on me being able to get another property if I am chucked out as they would not provide a good reference, but I do not know what to do. Does anyone have any advice? Could I view first and beg the estate agent to speak to the landlord about it? I would be appreciative of any landlords explaining the complexities of allowing tenants to rent with a pet because it has been very prohibitive for me so far and I am quite anxious as I need to move out 19th August!

Slithery

Have you tried Openrent? It will put you in contact with LL's directly rather than agents who usually have a 'computer says no' policy. It also lets you filter by pets when you're searching.

trailingspouse

Tell them about the cat - but don't tell them too soon.



View the property, tell them you're interested, then say 'Oh, by the way, I have a cat...' By then they'll have seen you're a decent human being who isn't likely to cause them any problems, and you're more likely to be successful.

Davesnave

It was 10 years ago now, but when we last looked for a rental whilst owning 2 cats, going to the agencies in person seemed to do the trick.

We were prepared to pay 6 months up-front too. Within a day, we had 3 houses to choose from; none of them perfect, but no damp or other major issues.

The agents explained that although "No pets" was the default setting, with some property it could be overridden for the 'right' tenants. We would not be offered the swishest refurbished properties, but there were plenty of others, particularly if we were prepared to look outside the city in rural locations.

Things may have changed, but I still think a visit in person to prove you are not 'mad cat lady' with half a dozen (or more) moggies, must help.

timeism0ney

I would second advice above from trailingspouse - tell about the cats, but not too early. Worked for us. Also, I think rentals go a lot more quickly than ever before because so many people are waiting to see what brexit will mean for property prices. We only got our rental by ringing agency within an hour of it appearing on Rightmove, viewing it the next day and signing papers there and then on the spot. No one else had a chance to view the property at that stage.

catpat

Thanks all for the advice. I am due to go down for three days next week in a last ditch attempt before going for storage, temporary accommodation and leaving my cat with a trusted relative for a little while. It has been quite tricky as I am moving 4 hours away, but may be easier to look and view once I'm actually there. I already tried going to estate agents in person when I was there last month and that didn't really make a difference (in fact they all said it is a bad time of year to be looking and I should just keep an eye on rightmove). I'm surprised that it is so difficult since I consider myself a good tenant but I probably have to be a bit more innovative.

drgg

Personally I'd feel zero shame about not telling anyone you have a cat. If it causes any damage you're going to have to pay for it anyway, regardless if it was you, a cat or your pet grizzly bear that caused it. It's not hard to hide a pet if you really need to.

Davesnave

catpat wrote: »

I probably have to be a bit more innovative.

I could easily dress my old dog up as a child, but cats have a very low tolerance for that sort of shenanigans!

Cakeguts

Our adverts say no pets but that is so that we can decide on the pet. Many of our tenants do have pets.

timeism0ney

You could leave the cat with someone else temporarily, move in, and then once you've paid your first rent ask for permission to get a cat. Less likely to be declined at that point.

need_an_answer

The advice I would give as a LL is try to find a property that is freehold rather than leasehold...leasehold tend to be the apartments but the added complication with those are that many management companies will require a pet consent to be obtained by the owner usually at their cost hence many LL's of leasehold apartments and flats declining pets.


Having said that,you will find that many LL's just don't want pets or will want to gauge the type of pet before saying yes.

Personally I am a no pet LL..I'm not against animals, I too own a cat and most of my life have never been without at least one cat.
I don't want to adapt my rentals to accommodate cat flaps etc

They can damage carpets with clawing...mine does on the whole I've a lovely cat but I know if I were in a rental property I'd lose the deposit simply because cat clawing on the carpet wouldn't be classed as fair wear and tear.


I would advise you to be upfront with the LL and say you have a cat.It may prove difficult to find one but they are around...perhaps you need to look for listings where you can already see evidence of a cat flap in the kitchen or outside door.

Don't leave it till some way down the rental process before you drop in the cat word,you'll likely lose your holding deposit as a result.

A few months back I did have a set of tenants who left it very late to mention their cat assuming that given the fact they had almost signed the agreement it would be ok...it wasn't so we all had to start the process of them finding a new home and the property being re advertised….


Good luck with your search,I hope you find somewhere where both you and the LL will be happy and your cat can live happily in peace with you....its just a case of finding that match.