Can landlord evict prematurely because of pet?

SpiderLegs

Murphybear said:

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.  

‘The use of the model is entirely voluntary. There is no legal requirement to use it’

carefullycautious

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hang3r

Gavin83 said:

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?

We've raised since it was a pup. It was a big decision to get one, not just on a whim like some people do. Not too sound overdramatic, but it wouldn't be too much different then giving up your child for adoption.

Pok3mon said:

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.

We've offered precisely that but in a form of an increased rent on number of occasions, so if there was no damage - basically free money. We've offered to add extra clauses regarding that in the contract to better protect the landlord. We've offered regular inspections of the house for any damages. But so far no one is willing to compromise.

GDB2222 said:

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

Well, our dog has very short hair. Bathing it regularly, and wiping off its legs whenever we come back from going out helps to keep it smelling no worse than us.

Murphybear said:

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

See the following from the gov website...  

I did see that, and for a moment felt a sigh of relief when I did. That is until I realized, like SpiderLegs, that it is entirely voluntary. Chances are if the landlord is already saying no pets, he's not going to suddenly employ a brand new agreement without looking it over and spotting clear conflicts with his interests.

carefullycautious said:

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I am aware of this, but thank you.

[Deleted User]

hang3r said:

Gavin83 said:

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?

We've raised since it was a pup. It was a big decision to get one, not just on a whim like some people do. Not too sound overdramatic, but it wouldn't be too much different then giving up your child for adoption.

Pok3mon said:

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.

We've offered precisely that but in a form of an increased rent on number of occasions, so if there was no damage - basically free money. We've offered to add extra clauses regarding that in the contract to better protect the landlord. We've offered regular inspections of the house for any damages. But so far no one is willing to compromise.

GDB2222 said:

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

Well, our dog has very short hair. Bathing it regularly, and wiping off its legs whenever we come back from going out helps to keep it smelling no worse than us.

Murphybear said:

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

See the following from the gov website...  

I did see that, and for a moment felt a sigh of relief when I did. That is until I realized, like SpiderLegs, that it is entirely voluntary. Chances are if the landlord is already saying no pets, he's not going to suddenly employ a brand new agreement without looking it over and spotting clear conflicts with his interests.

carefullycautious said:

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I am aware of this, but thank you.

We rented with a dog. Might have just been lucky. Place was clean but carpets were  20 years old or more. Previous tenants didn't pay rent. I had references of always paying rent and my job which is a responsible position and  secure.
So choose the place that has lovely new carpets, up against many others, and people like us might lose out.

ripplyuk

My friend has never mentioned that she has pets, in all her years of renting. You only have one little staffy, unlike her three Rottweilers and a cat! She has never been evicted for it. A few of the landlords were clearly annoyed but she was paying the rent on time each month and they obviously didn’t think it was worth the hassle of going to court. 

There’s a moral issue with lying to the agent/landlord but if your choices are either lying, ending up homeless or getting rid of your dog, I know which I’d choose. 

Cakeguts

The allergy thing is nothing to do with sharing accommodation. If you have a house that has had a dog in it you don't know if the next person you let the house to will be allergic to any slight amount of dog hair left behind.  To guard against getting blamed for an allergic reaction suffered by a tenant landlord will refuse to let to people with pets.

You say that your dog has not done any damage to the current property?  Has it never had any form of little accident that you have had to clear up?  

user1977

Cakeguts said:

The allergy thing is nothing to do with sharing accommodation. If you have a house that has had a dog in it you don't know if the next person you let the house to will be allergic to any slight amount of dog hair left behind.  To guard against getting blamed for an allergic reaction suffered by a tenant landlord will refuse to let to people with pets.

Surely if they want to guard against getting blamed, they just don't warrant that the property is allergen-free? I mean, you don't even get that sort of guarantee if you're buying the property, so why would a tenant?

Cakeguts

Well it might well have been allergen free until a tenant sneaked a dog in without saying anything.  In which case they don't want to start off by accepting a tenant with a dog.

[Deleted User]

Cakeguts said:

The allergy thing is nothing to do with sharing accommodation. If you have a house that has had a dog in it you don't know if the next person you let the house to will be allergic to any slight amount of dog hair left behind.  To guard against getting blamed for an allergic reaction suffered by a tenant landlord will refuse to let to people with pets.

You say that your dog has not done any damage to the current property?  Has it never had any form of little accident that you have had to clear up?  

What about peanuts?  Lots of people have peanut allergies which can result in anaphylactic shock.  Following your logic tenants should be banned from brining anything that contains peanuts into the property.  No plants or flowers either just in case the next occupant has hayfever.

[Deleted User]

hang3r said:

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. 

The landlord could issue a Section 8 notice using ground 12 (breach of tenancy agreement).  This is a discretionary ground meaning the judge has the discretion not to award the landlord a possession order if it goes to court.  The current notice period for a Section 8 ground 12 served between 1st June 2021 and 30th September 2021 is 4 months.  There is also a Section 8 using ground 17 (false statement) which is also a discretionary ground for eviction and the notice period is just 2 weeks if served between 1st June 2021 and 30th September 2021.  If your landlord served either of these notices and was granted a possession order in court you would be liable for the court costs.

As these are both discretionary grounds rather than mandatory if your landlord found out you had a dog and is not happy about it to the point (s)he want to evict then (s)he is more likely to issue a Section 21 notice as a correctly served Section 21 notice is mandatory meaning a judge has no discretion and has to award the landlord a possession order.  Again, if it goes to court you will be liable for the court costs.  Currently, a Section 21 issued after 1st June 2021 has to give tenants 4 months notice and cannot "expire" before the end of the fixed term.

There are landlords out there who let to those with dogs, I am one of them.  The tenant was upfront about the dog and the previous landlord provided a reference for the tenant and her dog.  So far so good.