People with pets and a leasehold that prohibits them - what did you do?

SaintJudy

I've had an offer accepted on a leasehold flat (with share of freehold) and the lease has the standard clause of 'animals that may cause annoyance to be kept at the property'. I have two cats, so this is worrying me a bit. They're indoor only cats and can't imagine anyone would reasonably be able to say they were causing annoyance.

My question is, what have other pet owners in this position done? Have you snuck them in and hoped no one noticed, or did you ask permission from the freeholder? Did you ask permission and were refused? What did you do then? Has anyone gone so far as to manage to get a Deed of Variation?

Curious to know any scenarios or solutions from anyone else in a similar position.

unkle

If a neighbour complains to the freeholder that your animal is causing annoyance then you will likely have to remove the pets. So will come down to what the neighbours are like.
I have a couple of flats that have this or a similar clause so always make it very clear to the tenant no pets and also have it included in the tenancy agreement.
If you really want to keep pets, i'd look for an alternative property so be sure.

SaintJudy

unkle said:

If a neighbour complains to the freeholder that your animal is causing annoyance then you will likely have to remove the pets. So will come down to what the neighbours are like.
I have a couple of flats that have this or a similar clause so always make it very clear to the tenant no pets and also have it included in the tenancy agreement.
If you really want to keep pets, i'd look for an alternative property so be sure.

From what I'm finding it's a standard clause in leases and I'm not in a position to be able to buy somewhere freehold for my budget, so I'm looking for examples of how other people have dealt with it. I can't believe it's a straightforward case of 'look somewhere else or get rid of your animals'

Slithery

SaintJudy said:
I can't believe it's a straightforward case of 'look somewhere else or get rid of your animals'

Why not? It's the answer I was about to give you as well.

Falafels

When I rented my place out,  the contract had a standard clause that said 'No Pets', though I was privately telling the managing agent that I'd be happy to look at it on a case by case basis. I wouldn't have had any problems with your indoor cats - though I did graciously decline the prospective tenant who had five cats and wanted to knock 10% off the rent!

Depending on the circumstances, it might be worth your while discussing it with, er, somebody or other. It may not be as black and white as you think, especially as it stipulates 'animals that may cause annoyance' - and your cats most likely won't.

Good luck!

SaintJudy

Slithery said:

SaintJudy said:
I can't believe it's a straightforward case of 'look somewhere else or get rid of your animals'

Why not? It's the answer I was about to give you as well.

Because it literally cannot be the only answer! 

onwards&upwards

I bought a flat with a lease that allowed pets.  There aren't many, but I would never have put myself in the situation where I would have had to choose between keeping my animals and losing my home, because the animals would have won every time!

SaintJudy

Falafels said:

When I rented my place out,  the contract had a standard clause that said 'No Pets', though I was privately telling the managing agent that I'd be happy to look at it on a case by case basis. I wouldn't have had any problems with your indoor cats - though I did graciously decline the prospective tenant who had five cats and wanted to knock 10% off the rent!

Depending on the circumstances, it might be worth your while discussing it with, er, somebody or other. It may not be as black and white as you think, especially as it stipulates 'animals that may cause annoyance' - and your cats most likely won't.

Good luck!

Thank you for a sensible answer  I don't believe it's black and white either and I'm not going to fall at the first hurdle and give up without trying, as suggested in other comments. My cats are 100% indoor so it's difficult to imagine a scenario where they would annoy anyone as they won't even been seen or heard by the other leaseholders

SaintJudy

onwards&upwards said:

I bought a flat with a lease that allowed pets.  There aren't many, but I would never have put myself in the situation where I would have had to choose between keeping my animals and losing my home, because the animals would have won every time!

That's it exactly, there's no question of me giving them up. You've been really lucky! 

unkle

SaintJudy said:

Falafels said:

When I rented my place out,  the contract had a standard clause that said 'No Pets', though I was privately telling the managing agent that I'd be happy to look at it on a case by case basis. I wouldn't have had any problems with your indoor cats - though I did graciously decline the prospective tenant who had five cats and wanted to knock 10% off the rent!

Depending on the circumstances, it might be worth your while discussing it with, er, somebody or other. It may not be as black and white as you think, especially as it stipulates 'animals that may cause annoyance' - and your cats most likely won't.

Good luck!

Thank you for a sensible answer  I don't believe it's black and white either and I'm not going to fall at the first hurdle and give up without trying, as suggested in other comments. My cats are 100% indoor so it's difficult to imagine a scenario where they would annoy anyone as they won't even been seen or heard by the other leaseholders

I think the response is on the clause within the tenancy agreement NOT the lease.
You can apply to the freeholder to have it removed, but i'm not aware of anyone who has done so. 

Majoggy

We have a similar clause in a similar situation.

Nevertheless there are three cats amongst the twelve flats. We spoke to the chairman of the residents association who advised us to keep our dog on a leash in the communal areas, which is no problem.

The big worry you might have is if you have a very vocal cat or dog that becomes a genuine nuisance to your neighbour. If you don't think that'll be a problem then I wouldn't think about it very much.