We own investment properties however at present are renting ourselves. We just moved into a house in Sydney's east, and on the application form we declared our 2 Burmese cats. However in the same week that we moved into this house my partner's father was taken very ill. When my partner went to check on his house (lock the doors/windows etc) he realised his cat was uncared for and brought the cat back to our place meantime.
The last thought on our minds was 'we only put 2 cats on the application' as we were both on overtime night shifts at work, unpacking boxes and hospital duty. Imagine our surprise when 4 days later (this is 9 days after moving in)we get a phone call from the estate agent saying that she had received a call from the owner who had identified that we had a ginger, a cream and a brown cat and what was the story with the third cat. So we explained and said 'we can easily give him to someone else to care for, we did not even think a third cat would be an issue as we had 2 approved anyway and he won't be here long but how on earth does the landlord know this, is he parking out the front and watching through the windows' ?
As this third cat is not a part of the household we keep him seperate, so it would take some determined observation (stalking, or maybe even entering the property) to figure this out. The agent admitted that the owner lived next door, and by now my nerves are on edge. I once called the police when I noticed a bloke watching me through the bathroom window at a rental property in Melbourne, and the police informed me later that it was my landlord. I promptly moved and broke the lease. Now I feel watched all the time, and I think it is a bit much to live next door and not even allow us the feeling of privacy, and let us know that we are being watched. I don't really want to live like this for 12 months.
I have just kept the blinds down since. I also tracked down the previous tenants who said the owner claims to have nothing to do with the place but pokes around. This is not what I wanted to hear.
As we rent out properties ourselves, have 20 years of exemplary rental references and are professional high income earners it is a bizarre situation to be in. It is not about the cat, it is about a feeling of privacy and safety.
What would other people do?
The last thought on our minds was 'we only put 2 cats on the application' as we were both on overtime night shifts at work, unpacking boxes and hospital duty. Imagine our surprise when 4 days later (this is 9 days after moving in)we get a phone call from the estate agent saying that she had received a call from the owner who had identified that we had a ginger, a cream and a brown cat and what was the story with the third cat. So we explained and said 'we can easily give him to someone else to care for, we did not even think a third cat would be an issue as we had 2 approved anyway and he won't be here long but how on earth does the landlord know this, is he parking out the front and watching through the windows' ?
As this third cat is not a part of the household we keep him seperate, so it would take some determined observation (stalking, or maybe even entering the property) to figure this out. The agent admitted that the owner lived next door, and by now my nerves are on edge. I once called the police when I noticed a bloke watching me through the bathroom window at a rental property in Melbourne, and the police informed me later that it was my landlord. I promptly moved and broke the lease. Now I feel watched all the time, and I think it is a bit much to live next door and not even allow us the feeling of privacy, and let us know that we are being watched. I don't really want to live like this for 12 months.
I have just kept the blinds down since. I also tracked down the previous tenants who said the owner claims to have nothing to do with the place but pokes around. This is not what I wanted to hear.
As we rent out properties ourselves, have 20 years of exemplary rental references and are professional high income earners it is a bizarre situation to be in. It is not about the cat, it is about a feeling of privacy and safety.
What would other people do?
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