Can landlord evict prematurely because of pet?

hang3r

Hello. So, we've been looking for a new place to rent for a couple of months now with absolutely miserable results. We've got a small Staffordshire, and I've called probably just under a hundred properties so far to see if they would allow it. Most cases seem to be split 30/70 between property no longer being available, and landlord refusing to have any pets. I can count on one hand on how many agents for properties that actually did say the pet would be ok, but then changed their mind after we had the viewing. One landlord who was ok with a dog currently has the property completely empty, as in no bathroom or kitchen even, holes in walls and floor, and he wants us to put up the carpets and paint the walls for him.

Now we still have over a month to find a new place, so we'll keep looking. But worst case scenario, how bad would it be if we moved in to a place without informing landlord about the dog? Would he be able to kick us out before the contract runs out?

Side note. The dog is vaccinated, microchipped, treated against fleas and bathed regularly, very quiet and has not done any damage to the current property we are in. We are looking for a private place, so allergies should also not come into play. I am aware that no matter the circumstances it is still a !!!!!! move to do to a landlord, but giving up the dog isn't really an option. 

user1977

The landlord can't just "kick you out" summarily, they would need to go to court first to seek an eviction. So in practice you'd at least have months of notice, not just suddenly on the street. But yes, if you're breaching your tenancy agreement then in theory you could be evicted before the end of the tenancy.

hang3r

Hmm. And if it does go to court, what options would I have? Would it cost me?

Angela_D_3

hang3r said:

Hmm. And if it does go to court, what options would I have? Would it cost me?

Yes you could have costs awarded against you,  but I believe there are now laws that mean landlords cannot reasonably refuse pets. I moved in without mentioning my cat and dog.  

Gavin83

hang3r said:

I am aware that no matter the circumstances it is still a !!!!!! move to do to a landlord, but giving up the dog isn't really an option. 

Why not?

hang3r said:

Hmm. And if it does go to court, what options would I have? Would it cost me?

What do you mean when you ask what options you’d have? Ultimately you’d be breaking the tenancy agreement so not many. You’d also be liable for any out of pocket expenses for the landlord. There is also the added complication that you’d be unlikely to get a landlord reference for another property either.

There are certainly properties out there that accept a pet, we’ve never struggled with our cat. However given the market at the moment landlords can afford to be more picky and I suspect most, if honest would rather their tenants didn’t have a pet. There’s the potential for complications that otherwise wouldn’t exist without a pet.

Angela_D_3

I also had tenants not mention their dog when they moved in.  I didnt kick them out but was a bit peeved they didnt clear the lawn when they moved out. 

Pok3mon

Look at it for the landlords point of view, if you hide/lie about the dog what else are you lying about?
You could offer a £500/1000 bond to a landlord. I would be happier to rent out if I knew the pet damage if any would be covered.

Cakeguts

Some flats have leases that say that you can't have a pet in the flat.  If you rent one of these you can't have a pet so you would have to rehome the dog.  It isn't as simple as just sneaking the dog in.   I would be extremely annoyed if some sneaked a dog in that then barked all the time and annoyed the neighbours especially if the neighbours worked shift patterns and the dog barked all day and kept them awake.

Some people seem to think that landlords object to pets unreasonably but many do this because they have had a bad experience with someone's "well behaved" dog. 

A dog can cause more damage to a property than the deposit will pay for.  How is a landlord supposed to know which dogs will cause the damage and the owners not pay for it and which dogs won't? 

theoretica

Also worth noting that if the rental property is leasehold the lease (especially for flats) may forbid pets - so not just the landlord's choice. 

GDB2222

And, let's face it, dogs smell. I like dogs, by the way.

 

Murphybear

The law has recently been changed to make it easier for tenants to have pets.

See the following from the gov website

” Responsible tenants with well-behaved pets will be able to secure leases more easily through the new Model Tenancy Agreement announced by the government today (28 January 2021).

Under the new Model Tenancy Agreement, announced by Housing Minister Rt Hon Christopher Pincher MP, landlords will no longer be able to issue blanket bans on pets.

Instead, consent for pets will be the default position, and landlords will have to object in writing within 28 days of a written pet request from a tenant and provide a good reason.”

As this is fairly new I suspect a lot of landlords and letting agents won’t be aware of this.

I was in the business for years and when doing my ARLA training we were told that courts don’t like cases of LLs vs tenants with pets as they consider this as trivial and a waste of the courts time.  Our instructor told us that on more than one occasion the LL was told to stop wasting the courts time and to sort it out with the tenant.  

A lot of LLs perceive that pets will always cause problems but my experience was the complete opposite.  The only real issue we ever had with a pet was with a parrot.  The tenant had obviously let it out of the cage and the rest I will leave up to your imagination.  . Fortunately this was a corporate let, the LL was a well known supermarket with oodles of money.