pets in rental properties
I feel like screaming when it comes to the point where its another brick wall. I know some people get away with it and sneak their pets into their homes, I feel like doing this but then I get a bad feeling that i be more unfortunate to be caught out...
I wish they would allow you to keep your pets, if you are a sensible pet owner an able to keep the place clean and well kept.. Its heartbreakin to go through all of this
2 Comments
Hi there,
I used to be in property management, in leasing, now I am in sales. Whenever I came across this issue, it was frustrating to me too! I am a dog owner myself, but I think honesty is always the best policy, include as much information as possible on the application form about yourself and the pet and at least you have been upfront from the start. Include a picture of the pets, age, weight, breed, references as well and this will help your chances in getting that desired unit. I know that might seem like a lot (and a tad extreme) but the more information for the agent was always the better in my experience.
Hope everything goes well for you.
Dan
Hi petcatsowner,
My wife and I have been renting for a long time now and have never really had a problem with having a cat. We snuck the cat into our first rented townhouse and the stress of keeping it a secret around the neighbours wasn't worth it. Since then we found that honesty has worked well for us.
I asked myself why pets are discriminated against, but not children who are probably more likely to cause damage. So for our current rental property I said to the landlord - "You've obviously had tenants with young children here. How do you feel about a trained indoor cat?". He was a bit dubious at first but we had arranged references for the cat (words like "she doesn't scratch walls or pull curtains"). We also offered an additional 'pet bond' to cover any potential damage but he ended up not needing it.
Two more tips... firstly, make sure you don't offer more rent to have a pet - it will only be to your disadvantage when the rent is raised. And secondly, market something about yourself as a great tenant (even being honest about the pet is a good marketing tactic to show you're an honest tenant).
