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

hazyjo

theoretica said:

Having skimmed through, I don't see anyone suggesting one of the first questions I would ask.  What pets are there already in the building? Does the seller know? If 2/3 of the flats already have a cat or dog that is an indication one way about complaints not being made, while if the answer is 'a goldfish in flat 3' that's less reassuring.

Irrelevant really. It doesn't necessarily set a precedent. If anything, the more animals there are, it may have the reverse effect and owners without pets may decide enough is enough (when there's enough of them challenging the majority decision).

Just because the majority might have pets now it doesn't mean in a year's time more than half won't.

bouicca21

There is a considerable difference between a prohibition on pets that may cause annoyance and one that prohibits pets that do cause annoyance. The first only refers to potential rather than actual annoyance.  

I have neighbours who are breaching the lease restriction (which is on the number of pets, rather than an outright prohibition).  There has been an issue about disposal of the mess from the litter trays (they have indoor cats).  More importantly there is a dispute brewing. If it escalates, I’m willing to bet that the number of cats will be weaponised.  

annetheman

My lease - that I have not signed yet - also had a clause saying we could not keep pets unless explicit permission had been given, and then it was restricted to cats, dogs or birds.
I hounded the Housing Association (Shared Ownership) calling every day until I spoke to their Communities Manager and sent her pics of my cat lol.

She then sent me a form to sign a disclaimer with the usual info (I will look after my cat, not let it cause a nuisance, not let it roam, etc). I also sent records from my vet showing he is microchipped, neutered, vaccinated yearly, given flea-treatment bi-annually and is 100% indoor only. He doesn't need the flea treatment to be fair but oh well.

So I have the permission before I signed the lease, which is great because you never know if there are permission fees you'd have to pay once you sign - I'd get started getting some sort of signed agreement for them to let you keep your mogginses right away, before you even sign.

NameUnavailable

Just wondering about this, what about cats in the neighbourhood that roam about freely. What happens if they wander into the grounds of a block of flats that has a no pets policy? Should they be captured and killed or held to ransome until their owners pay a fine of some sort? They are of course breaching the rules of the respective leaseholds.

Then there's wildlife, birds, foxes, snails, rats........I guess they're not pets though so it's OK for them.

youth_leader

@Slithery, probably a daft question, can I ask to see the lease before putting in an offer?  I've never had a leasehold property before.

SaintJudy

youth_leader said:

I'm so glad you posted about this today, thank you, I had started looking at flats but have an elderly shetland sheepdog and cat.  I had already arranged a viewing of a ground floor flat and have now phoned the EA to see if pets are allowed. 

Ask if they can send you a copy of the vendor's questionnaire, the one I was sent does actually ask the question if there's a stipulation in the lease about no pets. She did answer this to say the wording of the lease which then led me to chat to her about it further where she reassured me it would be no problem on two separate occasions. I've not necessarily been put off by the answer she gave to the questionnaire as she was being truthful, and her assurance it would be fine leads me to wonder if, as @theoretica suggests, that there are already pets in the other flats and she's based her assurance to me on that. I've brought it up as a point with my solicitor as something that needs to be followed up before we get really far down the process, I haven't seen the actual lease yet. 

bouicca21

youth_leader said:

@Slithery, probably a daft question, can I ask to see the lease before putting in an offer?  I've never had a leasehold property before.

Yes - and you should. It’s the only way to be sure about the length of the lease, ground rent doubling clauses etc.

SaintJudy

annetheman said:

My lease - that I have not signed yet - also had a clause saying we could not keep pets unless explicit permission had been given, and then it was restricted to cats, dogs or birds.
I hounded the Housing Association (Shared Ownership) calling every day until I spoke to their Communities Manager and sent her pics of my cat lol.

She then sent me a form to sign a disclaimer with the usual info (I will look after my cat, not let it cause a nuisance, not let it roam, etc). I also sent records from my vet showing he is microchipped, neutered, vaccinated yearly, given flea-treatment bi-annually and is 100% indoor only. He doesn't need the flea treatment to be fair but oh well.

So I have the permission before I signed the lease, which is great because you never know if there are permission fees you'd have to pay once you sign - I'd get started getting some sort of signed agreement for them to let you keep your mogginses right away, before you even sign.

This is a fantastic answer of real actual experience, just what I was looking for - thank you!  

hazyjo

So it worked out okay for one. It sounds very much like you're hearing what you want to hear. Read that disclaimer very carefully and please don't say "that would never happen". You cannot predict a cat's health or the future. There have been several indoor cats near me get out. One was missing for weeks. I've heard stories about how cats deal with things like blindness or dementia. Being more vocal is one way they may cope.

End of the day it's up to you so I'll just say good luck. Nothing else to add.

SaintJudy

hazyjo said:

So it worked out okay for one. It sounds very much like you're hearing what you want to hear. Read that disclaimer very carefully and please don't say "that would never happen". You cannot predict a cat's health or the future. There have been several indoor cats near me get out. One was missing for weeks. I've heard stories about how cats deal with things like blindness or dementia. Being more vocal is one way they may cope.

End of the day it's up to you so I'll just say good luck. Nothing else to add.

Sigh. What I'm interested in is actual experiences, while I appreciate everyone chipping in with their opinion, if it's coming from a place of opinion rather than actual experience then in fairness it's not what I asked about. I'm looking for all experiences, good and bad! 
I agree with your point because I also know very well about cats and their health, and have lived with cats for over 40 years and had my own for over 25. The criteria on my property search has been very much with my indoor cats in mind (any property has to have an airlock and not open straight into the outside, windows have to be suitable or adaptable) so I'm confident I know what I'm doing with that