Pet Rental charges are becoming too high

davidmcn

Weird. The OP appears to have been put down by MSE.

annetheman

gary83 said:

annetheman said:

If I were moving into a rental now, I think I'd just ask my current landlady to write a "pet reference" and use that as argument against any additional pet rent proposed. Could you try that? Also no harm in just askin "no pets allowed" property landlords to make an exception.

I'm buying Shared Ownership and asked my Housing Association via a long email with photos of my cat, current flat and reference details for my landlady if they would allow my little guy and they said yes, even though contract stipulates no pets in the block (which would be hard to enforce with a quiet, indoor-only pet anyway). 

Edit to add: still haven't bought it yet though  

you got lucky with your HA there, if it were me (somebody who’s pretty obsessed with their own pet) then the  answer would have been no, if the contract stipulates no pets then I’d have made you stick to that to avoid issues down the line.  have they produced a specific contract just for you that has the no pets clause taken out? Are you 100% sure that legally your on a sound footing with your dispensation if any problems come up?

No, sadly, nothing has been signed yet but I do have their response in writing to help with adjustment of the contract, when/if the time comes. I'm having a heck of a time hearing back from both solicitor and lender - crickets and tumbleweeds - so it's just really slow progress... I hope the solicitor can advise RE: removing said clause. If I sell on, the HA would have to ensure the clause is reinstated in the contract with the new owner (it wouldn't be my responsibility to ensure this as I would not be party to the contract).

Looking at a few hypothetical situations What happens when somebody else moves into the flat and asks for permission for a pet, or moves in a pet with no permission which then starts causing issues and the new pet owner turns around and says but upstairs/next door have a pet, why can’t I have one?

I presume since it's at the HA's discretion, if they can also give a satisfactory appeal and request their pet is allowed, the HA would say yes. If they said no to that person but yes to me -- it's completely up to the HA and not really my problem, as I have my "Yes" in writing already. I may not be the first, either! Maybe they've given exception to a few people in their developments? Maybe the Head of BTL is a huge pet lover, I have no idea - I do feel I got lucky, though, yes!

What happens if other people living there have a fear or are allergic to cats, you move in and they start having a reaction or problems, why should they just quietly put up with that? after all they bought in a no pets complex, they didn’t think it’d be an issue.

My cat stays indoors currently and will stay in the flat there, that was the crux of my appeal. He will not even go out on to the balcony (he doesn't in my current flat) so won't have any way of being in anybody else's vicinity in order to become a nuisance. Limiting what others can do WITHIN their homes because some people might be allergic in the complex would be tyranny of the minority; there might be someone next door highly allergic to peanuts, so should I not have any peanut products in my home/cook satay/enjoy Reece's cups?!

Final & worst thought, what happens if & when your cat eventually passes on and you can’t, when the time is right, get a new companion because you only had permission for this one cat due to a lengthy email trail, references and pictures for this one particular cat.
There is only one Mbaku. No other pet can replace Mbaku; I wouldn't dare try. God forbid he should pass away in the next 15 years (he is 1 year old) or so, I will almost certainly have either staircased to 100% or moved out/got married etc.

All excellent points of consideration which I have made prior to reserving the property and anyone buying S/O should also consider  

sarahshallcross

I am in a rented property that i had to bleach from top to bottom when we moved in from the previous tenants who didn't have a pet, including removing the 100 or so rubbish bags from the back of the house, from the back door to the side of the house, my dogs don't make a noise unless someone is breaking in, they don't cause any damage, and they don't smell as they are bathed regularly. The only smell in the house is from the mould because the landlord won't repair the roof because it costs to much. Pets should be considered on their own merit not based on other animals. I would be happy to pay a deposit for my dogs but think increased rent is unfair, rent is usually higher than a mortgage anyway, and if the property isn't maintained properly it's just money grabbing x

[Deleted User]

sarahshallcross said:

I am in a rented property that i had to bleach from top to bottom when we moved in from the previous tenants who didn't have a pet, including removing the 100 or so rubbish bags from the back of the house, from the back door to the side of the house, my dogs don't make a noise unless someone is breaking in, they don't cause any damage, and they don't smell as they are bathed regularly. The only smell in the house is from the mould because the landlord won't repair the roof because it costs to much. Pets should be considered on their own merit not based on other animals. I would be happy to pay a deposit for my dogs but think increased rent is unfair, rent is usually higher than a mortgage anyway, and if the property isn't maintained properly it's just money grabbing x

Landlords are not allowed to take a larger deposit now so rent is increased to account for the increased risk/wear & tear of tenants having pets. 

The whole rent is more than mortgage payments is guff. There are more costs to owning a property than just the rent and yes of course landlords are in it to make a profit otherwise there would be no point in doing it just as I don't go to work for free. 

I don't understand why you'd choose to rent such a minging property in the first place. If a landlord can't be bothered sprucing a property up for viewings then they're not the type of landlord to care about maintaining the property. Yes I know that some viewings take place with the current tenant in-situ but if I had a clatty midden tenant I'd hold off viewings until they had gone and the place had been cleaned and put right first.