Hello ,
I have gone from being a landlord myself to having to sell my house and I am looking for a long term rental.
Its a long story but this is the position I am in.
Although I can pay a large deposit and six months rent up front I cannot find a three bed property that will accept my two dogs , every rental that comes available I am refused or last in line because I have pets .
I am losing hope of finding anywhere before I will be made homeless.
I allowed dogs when I was a landlord and had more trouble from the tenants who kicked my front door through , grew weed in the bedroom and painted every single radiator and some walls in my house in black gloss paint. The dogs were not a problem.
I am 64 and find myself in the position that I cannot find one landlord will rent to me that are animal lovers and realise that there are responsible owners that love and look after their pets and other peoples property .
Sorry for the rant .
There might be some that will accept but not many im afraid. In the current market a landlord has the pick on tenants, and regardless of what anyone says pets are always a higher risk.
Theres quite a few threads on this subject, it provokes a lot of opinions. There are some websites that let you search on property which are pet friendly ie Zoopla.
Itās not a case of those who refuse not being animal lovers, landlords that have dogs know the risks even more. They donāt love the problems and costs and thereās no way of knowing in advance the good from the bad ones.
Mark,
Since the Tenant would be no doubt be insuring their contents? If anyone says ānoā Iād wonder why?. Mark can you imagine something similar to this? Oh and please donāt laugh?
There must be insurance against damage to anything in the property which should ideally replace new for old plus the largest expenses like tradesmen, Inc materials etc so that the property would be handed back pristine, with any lost rental income also satisfied?, and since the landlord covers the buildngs insurance, surely Iām better asking a landlord like yourself who may have heard of anything similar that would help pet owners more than anyone else? but perhaps if the landlord knew that they would even in a worse case scenario be āfully coveredā & prevent any stress. In fact the insurance that any loving pet owner would happily pay that since it gives both parties price of mind?. Perhaps it may help with Tenantās that donāt have a decade of landlord references?.
Or would that be too complicated Mark?
Perhaps it would be different if it was a 10 or more year lease?. If not perhaps offering a first refusal if the landlord wanted to sell the property even?.
I read a letter earlier about a landlord wanting to email his tenant 2 wks notice by text! Iām surprised he didnāt send a text the day before because there are few people who donāt consider that person or family may never trust a private landlord again, thatās if they could ever relax again!. Itās good to see things like that pointed out, or maybe there would be a tenant with a genuine complaint ref: All bills Inc water wash (yes that one) 
Have a good one,
A Home Searcher, hehehe
Julie 16,
Just to let you know that I wouldnāt consider it a rant, it is an honest statement the way it seems to be going for pet owners.
Although, I donāt think it would make any landlord who has had a bad tenant in the past, especially if left with dog mess, and extensive damage starting with replacement flooring to alter their minds.
But we all know itās the owner not the animal, and that it seems that there are two kinds of tenant, one who disrespects the landlords property and one who genuinely respects it, looks after it and adds value with good maintenance and youāre the latter. Besides youāre a different kind of person to one that would lock a dog in all day or even leave a dog unsupervised.
I donāt have a dog but understand how they can do so much for peopleās wellbeing in general as well has being good for a personās mental health.
Iād rather like the option of a dog when I do eventually retire, but Iāve had the option of a pet for over a decade and as I said I wouldnāt like to leave a dog alone.
Mary, I will keep my fingers crossed for you. You should be able to ask your local sociall housing group? Especially as needs change.
It would be useful if there was an insurance plan, and youāve seen the drivers that they insure, well it makes you wonder Mary because I wouldnāt want to be in the same vehicle. Why canāt the interiors be insured like their exterior walls, and a tenants normal contents insurance?
Good luck angel
Lynda,
Like i said its been discussed in depth on here and im not willing to re-tread over it all again, however, in regards to you insurance query, in a word no, insurance means nothing. For a start, it can be cancelled by the tenant. Secondly, claims are made on a per incident basis and each incident has an excess of hundreds of pounds. After a few claims forget being able to afford the cover, you will be priced out regardless of whoever you use. The idea of insurance repairing a landlords house at the end on the tenancy doesnt exist.
I know there are good tenants who control their dogs and respect their landlords property. Unfortunately proving this in advance is difficult. Current landlord reference cannot be relied upon as if they want a tenant gone they will say only positive things.
If you were a landlord would you prefer a smoker or none smoker? Which one has least risk and least hassle?
I am more likely to consider a dog if i knew the person or someone i trusted vouched for them, but not when there are low risk options. Having a dog and struggling to rent has ALWAYS been an issue, its nothing new and opinions will never change as its simply common sense.
I feel so sorry for pet owners when I read posts like this as i have a dog who is a much loved family member.
Until there are guarantees that a tenant can be held accountable (with or without pets) nothing will change.
A long term lease sounds like a possible solution, but what if it just doesnāt work out? Both parties need the facility to be able to cut the tenancy short in event of problems happening or circumstance change, so the long term lease becomes meaningless.
Mortgage lenders would have none of it anyway
Mark,
I =really donāt blame you for the feelings that some tennents seem to want everything and you to pay for the water.
But as youāve said and as Iāve noticed lately a dog us going to cost 3k upwards as a pup, the people who have KC registered digs can treat them like children, surprisingly the ideal demographic is over 52k per yr after tax and the owners arenāt the mind of person who wants nothing more than a long lease until the time that they want to retire and perhaps move somewhere more suitable. But the she group itself, seriously if theyāre paying do much for s fog, and yes I r been looking at s kennels myself.
Itās strange because Iām developing designer British made active wear and itās actually better than creating ālandfill in waitingā because it happens to be ā100,% recycledā it makes "renewables"which other fashion houses are using look a little blah you know?
So I plan to move home, but only because a friend landed po n my sofa s few years ago and is still there. I donāt have s problem affording to do it, but some days Iām not dressed to give s presentation, I might be picking up something from town or I could be wearing a boiler suit? Although I admit Iāve not had to do that for a while. But Iāve been in a situation when a long haired guy came in and asked if I could remove s virus from his machine. O did it for him, heād explained he was a student and I told him no charge well word of mouth? Anyway he politely responded that his father s colonel had already written a draft out with a large amount on it. Apparently theyād found spyware that the father didnāt want to have it done by anyone not certified and to drive well miles first! I mean yes v nasty virus but I was ok to let my time go free because Iāve been there. To find it was the lead network computer in s country house where it was a little obvious that they didnāt want anyone who knew them to do the work. I just accepted the envelope and said thank you.
So I know how things can seem. Besides Iām actually looking for a larger property with a garden. I used to lay networks & network russian banks, I think Iāve dealt with my computerās all my adult life in one way or another, and currently I think Iām earning enough to be comfortable.
It will probably be my last move, Iāve been here for q6yrs but the trees are do tall now in the land across the road that itās always cold and dark indoors but thereās only 1 or 2 quiet neighbours in this gated area that I wouldnāt object to seeing.
Mark I think that all people are different, I run my life as s pessamist, Iām possibly more of a realist but I like pleasant surprises. So, I respect property and if you see how a prosperous tennent is living first? Make an excuse to pick them up for the viewing or something?
I think if thereās black burnt bits down the side of the cooker, well you know the signs and should be able to tell from just the exterior, or area if a. map. But Iām just saying the price of fogs well thereās s demographic Mark and itās fog and cat mummies and daddies, they have s similar income bracket as I do, however they spent about 300 a week for walking and grooming. Itās enough to make me think Iām on the wrong business LOL but I prefer this because products change but the business well how many e-commerce platforms are there? Ones big enough and itās an exciting time weāre hsving.
I realise their are different types of Tennant but you may fair better with a 50 Ur old couple with at least one still working? Iāve not a clue how that insurance in Germany works but I donāt think theyād keep hiking it, oh and no, the Tennant pays eh the first 59 on losses in her 100 full freezer, I mean nobody would bother reporting that unless there was s real fault with the fridge but who would bother reporting the freezer defrosting it or whatever and checking the fuse etc and working out the age of the product and they would have to pay the premium you know? Because it is there to protect your property and itās something you could add to the rent account and also these days you can find out s lot about people.
Iām Lynda and Iām pleased to meet you Mark, and youāve got to be at the other side of the country or loving abroad because Dodd law says itās hot to be like that! Iād like to catch āsodā and send j to live in my timeshare in Narnia, although I may have to bribe him into moving on if I need to stay over in Narnia myself lmao.
Mark, you need to laugh, you need to breath and relax, I think things might be a lot simpler than you think if youāre looking in the wrong demographics?
Plus you could try marketing to a particular audience, you are able to work it out using their figures if itās worth your while at not. There was a gentleman with a 6 bed house neat the hospital, he didnāt realise that he had s property that was bigger and closer and cost less than the nurses living in the home were paying and he decided heād market it in the actual hospital nursing info boards, amazing isnāt it heās been renting to nurses since my cousin was a radiographer and I was still at school, long memory but thatās when I first saw this man, he was the accountant, at least mine smiles without looking like a shark! Itās fantastic .
Have a great day . Till you reply keep it long , kind regards Lynda C.
Mark, I would ask that the payments be included in the rent or paid up front. I donāt think anyone whoās freezer goes on the blink if like me wouldnāt consider a claim, I think the minimum payment would cost more than the contents.
Besides there are ways of having insurance, even if it means using a company that usually provides for families on death, but if you had a similar document would that be legal? I know it sounds a bit like one of those car loan things that used to be about? I would like to know if someone that wanted to do something similar and is it legal? Also I wanted to know which of these us better for a wheelchair user a therapy dog (that doesnāt shed) as suggested by a GP & to be fair if given the choice of options Iād go for the dog and not the benzodiazapines. 
Thereās no insurance policy that is adequate.
Claims are made on a per incident basis, insurance doesnāt cover clean up or new carpets or remedial work at the end of a tenancy.
If a single claim is made the premium goes up.
There are restrictions on number of claims per year.
There are big excesses per claim.
All in all, insurance is pretty useless. Better off putting money aside.
Anyone familiar with pet health insurance will understand just how restrictive it is.
Yes, and Pet Plan at Ā£23.60 per month plus the Vetinary group charge me Ā£14 per month but it does include nail clipping etc. But yes I hear you loud and clear re pet insurance, luckily Iāve never had to use it Steve.
Have a great evening, and the whole insurance thing is absolutely of no use to anyone unless you fall into certain categories ie robber leaves leg through glass table kind of claim. But thereās got to be a way of doing it, I mean how simple is it for people to be honest?
Have a tranquil morning, I think someone will come up with an idea soon because it will make a large turnover. Hmm?.
Regards Lynda.
your rant is misdirected, the issue is not that landlords are not animal lovers, the issue is that there are a lot of people looking for rented accomodation, so that if there are 2 applicants looking at a property who are otherwise the same in all respects then most landlords will prefer the one with no pets. I have a large dog I love more than 99% of people I meet, yet I am not blind to the fact that he trashes my house in a thousand different ways every day. I had 87 people applying for my last property so obviously I will choose the ones who will cause me the fewest problems.