For animal lovers, the desire to locate a suitable rented property that they can happily share with their four-legged, eight-legged, no-legged, feathery or scaley friend adds an extra problem to the already difficult house-hunting process.
Not every landlord will share your enthusiasm for animals and will be receptive to the idea of taking on a tenant with a pet. Fear of damage to furniture, fixtures and fittings will certainly play a part in putting them off, as would an infestation of fleas. For pet owners this can become quite a challenge when looking to rent, especially in properties in popular urban areas.
Here are some top tips for tenants with pets:
-Give yourself plenty of time to look for a property, and be prepared to move fast if you find somewhere suitable that will accept your pet.
-House-training is a must and obedience-training, for dogs, is an added bonus. Make sure that fleas and ticks are under control, and let a prospective landlord know about all of it. The more they feel you are a conscientious pet-owner who takes their concerns seriously, the more likely they are to agree to let to you.
-Ask if you can introduce your dog (or tarantular) to the landlord. Once they see how well-behaved it is, even a landlord who has said 'no' to pets just for an easy life may reconsider.
-Expect to pay a higher deposit - and be prepared to offer to do so, if you sense reluctance on the landlord's part.
-Offer to remove every trace of your pet's presence when you leave, and suggest that you add a clause to the contract saying so. It's probably a good idea to specify from the start what that will involve, and could include deep cleaning of the carpets, flea treatment if necessary and deodorising.
-If you want to put in a cat-flap, approach the landlord/agent in a way calculated to get a 'yes', by offering to sign a rider to your contract that you will put things back the way they were when you came. It might be as easy as simply replacing the bottom door panel, or replacing a pane of glass for window cat-flaps.
-Dogs Trust, the animal welfare charity, has launched a campaign called Lets with Pets which aims to encourage more landlords to consider renting their property to pet owners. Visit the Dogs Trust Lets with Pets to find out more about their campaign and for useful information about renting a property with pets.
