No pets without prior consent? Please Help?!

TanJ23

Hello, we are going through the process of buying a flat, this is my first mortgage we are at the stage of waiting for the searches to come back from the solicitor in the meantime we have received the lease (my small, not particularly offensive dachshund hadn’t crossed my mind through this entire process until now!) the lease states ‘not to keep pets in the unit except with prior consent written of the lessor (this will not be unreasonably withheld)’ my question is does this mean they only allow dogs on medical grounds and will most likely refuse our request? It’s a ground floor flat surrounded by green space, I have read that people just get told no outright so now I’m super worried as we have come this far!! If they say no it’s game over or does anyone think we could just take him and risk it? :-/

AnnieGunn

We have a similar line in our lease and it just meant people had to write to the management company to obtain permission - however the kicker was that it was a £120 charge to issue the written license giving you permission to keep your pet.

davidmcn

TanJ23 said:

 the lease states ‘not to keep pets in the unit except with prior consent written of the lessor (this will not be unreasonably withheld)’ my question is does this mean they only allow dogs on medical grounds

Why do you think it means only on medical grounds? Is that advice from your solicitor? It means what it says ie they can only withhold consent if it would be reasonable for them to do so. So if your dog is inoffensive, it's probably not a problem. 

TanJ23

The only reason I say that is because of what I’ve read online (understandably not the best source of information sometimes) I can’t seem to find much information online other than forums of which everyone’s circumstances are different 

greatcrested

It's a common term in leases. The purpose is to protect other residents in the building from the potential disturbance - noise, smell, fleas etc.

Personally, as a dog-hater (other than in stew - yes I've lived in China!) if I were buying a flat I would only consider one where the building leases prohibited pets....

If you have a dog, look for a building hwere they are allowed.

But in practical terms, in many case obtaining consent is a formality. Or it may depend on the type/size of pet.

And in terms of enforcement, this is only likely if another building resident (like me!) makes a formal complaint to the freeholder or management company.

One step you could take would be to find out if any other residents in the building have pets, particularly dogs (goldfish tend to be less of a problem).

[Deleted User]

TanJ23 said:

Hello, we are going through the process of buying a flat, this is my first mortgage we are at the stage of waiting for the searches to come back from the solicitor in the meantime we have received the lease (my small, not particularly offensive dachshund hadn’t crossed my mind through this entire process until now!) the lease states ‘not to keep pets in the unit except with prior consent written of the lessor (this will not be unreasonably withheld)’ my question is does this mean they only allow dogs on medical grounds and will most likely refuse our request? It’s a ground floor flat surrounded by green space, I have read that people just get told no outright so now I’m super worried as we have come this far!! If they say no it’s game over or does anyone think we could just take him and risk it? :-/

How do you know your dog is not particularly offensive?  Covid lockdowns aside does your dog usually have company or is he often left for periods of time alone whilst you're at work?

I ask because a neighbour of mine has recently bought a beagle, a breed of dog well known to suffer from separation anxiety, and leaves the poor thing alone, howling away, whilst she's at work.

TanJ23

He’s not left alone a family member takes him whilst we work luckily so that’s not a problem we have thankfully, he’s quiet and small 

Tiglet2

Are there other dogs in the block of flats?  That would indicate that flat owners are given consent, but the reason there is usually a clause about it, is if you have a dog and it barks all the time and your neighbours complain to the freeholder, then the freeholder may withdraw their consent and you would have to find the dog another home.

princeofpounds

This is a surprisingly complex area of law. I did some research into it once and there were even references to a test case that reached the European Courts about goldfish (or was it stick insects). It's hard to say anything too conclusive as there aren't really many cases that have made it to precedent-setting decisions.

Anyway, the main problem is that only a court can decide what is 'reasonable', and it may depend on the circumstances. Forbidding you from having a dog (that isn't a barking nuisance) would likely not be reasonable if others had been permitted to have dogs and you could evidence it. Forbidding you from having a pet that caused only minor nuisance could be reasonable if that was the standard that was made. 

You have two choices I think. One is to see if other people on site do have dogs; that implies it's ok in practice - either unenforced or people are give permission. The other is to ask for permission in advance - this is perfectly possible. You'll probably have to pay a fee.

eddddy

As you've quoted, consent cannot be unreasonably withheld. But the consent will probably be conditional. i.e. You can keep a dog, as long as it doesn't cause annoyance or inconvenience to other leaseholders.

So if a neighbour (perhaps an anti-dog neighbour) tells the freeholder it's causing annoyance (e.g. noise from barking, scratching, running around the flat; smells; poop-bags in communal bins; muddy paw prints in communal areas; scaring their toddler in communal areas; etc), you might have a difficult fight.

AdrianC

All fairly standard for flats. For obvious reasons...

Nobody ever thinks it's THEIR dog that causes noise and smells...