Renting with pets

Hi there,

If you're a tenant, is it hard to find a property to live in with a landlord that will allow pets?

How about moving in and hiding the pet pre-inspections? Can that work? :)

If the property is a house (rather than a unit/apartment/townhouse/villa), would that be easier?

As I think most body corporates/stratas might have a NO PETS ALLOWED policy?

Thanks.
 
I prefer my tenants to be upfront about pets, rather than hiding them at inspection time. It's not a great way to have a trusting business relationship and will more than likely mean a problem with the deception is identified. I think if a tenant is prepared to hide a pet, what else are they hiding.

As a landlord, we always advertise Pets by Negotiation - it depends on the pet and the circumstances. I am yet to knock back any tenant application based on the kind of pet they have.

But I could imagine pets being an issue in units/apartments/strata situations, but thats not saying there aren't opportunities out there.
 
I agree that honesty works with me too. Most of my tenants have dogs. My attitude is that if you allow a tenant with a pet (on the condition that the property is suitable) they are likely to stay longer due to the difficulties in finding another property that allows pets.

I do have a tenant that has a dog but was only discovered by the agent on routine inspection. That property doesn't allow pets due to strata. We told them to get rid of it but when we went on the weekend to check it out, it is still there 2 years later, along with a cockatoo in the loungeroom in a huge cage on carpeted floor. I've just called the agent to give them their notice to vacate.

A lot of stratas do not allow pets but the newer ones allow it now, particularly large unit complex in/near Sydney city. Our strata manager recently encouraged us to remove the no pets rule in the by laws of our unit complex but we knocked it back.
 
Do you really think that lying is a good way to start a landlord/tenant relationship?

If so, better be prepared to move often.

We allow pets by negotiation.
Marg
 
I had no problem finding a place when I was renting as we only had a couple of birds and a rabbit and were always upfront and never had an issue.

I do believe it is harder to find a place that allows cats and dogs just going on what people I know have said. I have known of people that have hidden animals and it has worked - I guess thats just a risk of owning a rental property. A good reason to make sure you find good pm's. I think if you were renting it would be important to be upfront because you would run the risk of getting a bad reference when it comes time to move or you get kicked out

We have stated pets negotiable as I think this way there is more chance of a tenant being upfront. We will decide on a case by case basis. We also chose to do this as I think its better to have an IP rented out to someone with a small animal rather then not at all. This is only for a house with a large yard, I think we would think differently if we had an apartment or flat as an IP.

This is just my opinion as we are newbies and have not yet had to rent our place to anyone with animals. Only people with kids :eek:
 
In Canberra it can be bloody hard to get a rental in the first instance (particularly in Jan/feb when you are competing with 20 other applicants), finding one that allows pets is a scarcity. When we moved here we didn't tell anyone about our cats, because we were just desperate for a roof over our head - you should have seen some of the dives we were considering. In the end we actually got a place where the LL allowed pets, but got passed over for 10 other properties (which all had between 15-30 applicants).

We will be listing ours as 'pets considered'.
 
We'd have real issues trying to rent. We have 2 chickens, a cat, a rabbit, 2.2 small children, dubious sources of income and no full-time work. Rentals are as scarce as hen's teeth. Buying is cheaper and easier ...
 
If a tenant doesn't have a dog they will soon get one!

We find that 90% of applicants have dogs so if you don't allow them then you restrict the number too much.

We put a clause in put Tenancy Agreement to cover pets:
"3. Pet Approval
(a) There are to be no animals kept on the premise at any time, unless approved by the Lessor/Agent. If a pet is found without permission, the tenant will be asked to leave with minimal notice. If approved, all animals must be kept outside at all times.
(b) The tenants accept full responsibility for any animals that the tenants bring or allow onto the premises with or without the consent of the Lessor/Agent. The tenants will be solely liable for any loss or damage or injury suffered by any person who is attacked by any such animal but if any action is brought against the Lessor/Agent by any person despite the tenants being responsible as aforesaid, the tenants will indemnify and hold harmless the Lessor/Agent being from any claim, action, suit or demand brought against them by any person injured by such animal.
(c) If an animal has been keep on the premises (with or without permission) the premises is to be fumigated on the last day of occupancy. A receipt for pest control is required from a reputable company."

Cheers,

Bazza
 
from the tennant perspective - most landlords will knock you back if you apply saying you have pets.
Honestly - its just easier to lie if you are the tennant. Most landlords are really stupid about allowing pets, which sucks the big one.

As a landlord - i dont mind if my tennants have pets! I know most do, so i allow pets to maximise my potential market of tennant applications.
 
I have always allowed pets, but I would prefer that dogs remain outdoors, but in reality they will always come inside.
 
solution to that would be if they have dogs, ask that your PM does more regular inspections to see if the dog is doing any damage indoors.

I know my tennants keep their dog outside.... cos it has about 350-400sqm of bakyard to play in!
 
solution to that would be if they have dogs, ask that your PM does more regular inspections to see if the dog is doing any damage indoors.

It's OK. I don't really care that much. A dog can do a lot less damage than some of the scummier (is that even a word?) tenants.
 
I've had pets in a couple of IP's in the past. And 2 of my tenants have dogs currently. I made the tenant sign an agreement which pretty much forces them to pay for any damages done by the dog. Scratched doors\walls, carpet stains, etc.

Hasn't been a problem so far, but honestly, I'd pick a tenant without pets over tenants with pets.
 
I'm with Bludger. It pays to be flexible and it is largely dependent on the tenant. I do know, however, that some of my longest staying tenants have pets so it's obviously more difficult for them to move with the scarcity factor of other landlords saying a straight out no. Minimizes vacancy rates :)

Naturally, cover any likely damage with special conditions and ensure that tenants are fully aware of their obligations here.
 
I had a no pets policy because the property is bushland conservation and there are lots of native birds and animals and no fences.
On the few occasions I visited the property, one time there was a dog and a cat living there, and a later tenant had a large dog living inside.

The floor rugs are torn around the edges, shredded in ways that I cant imagine what happened, and the agents were not interested in getting the tenant to have the floor rugs steam cleaned at the end of the tenancy. This is because some of my work is with people with allergies and I need to be sure the rugs do not have animal hair on them.

The wood front door has scratches on the edge that look as if something was trying to get in.

REgarding leases and RTA it is necessary to prove that an animal is responsible for any scratches, damage etc and this is not easy.
I would still prefer a no pets policy, because there are plenty of animals here, including a blue tongue lizard called Buzz, a wonderful self managing pet, but possibly because of domestic pets he sadly is no longer about the place eating snails and slugs. It all depends on your location and habitat I suppose.
 
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