Yes. Holding deposit is confirmation of interest, and represents 1 weeks rent… Managed by openrent. I sometimes get that before viewing, it’s up to the tennant and takes it off the market while matters are sorted.
Rather like putting a deposit down on a holiday.
You dont have to have all the things you said you needed before holding deposit. Its normally the very first thing that happens.
If for instance the prospective tennant then fail’s credit check and I reject, open rent immediately refunds to the tennant. I personally dont see any money until about a week after tenancy actually starts.
I have specified no pets. However having heard about the state of our property which is undoubtedly caused by the four young children in it, I’m not sure pets would be any worse. I expect you can ask a higher rental for those with pets and if I were going to continue renting (I’m not) it would be something I would consider. Good point though about wanting the property back and the tenants finding it difficult to find somewhere.
I agree children can be more destructive, we have 3 dogs and our home we have just sold was immaculate…no children …yet some landlords still don’t get it …surely it’s better to have a good paying tenant with a pet , than a empty house.
From my experience I would sooner have an empty hone than someone’s potentially destructive pet together with complaints from neighbours about a yapping dog … never again
Our flat was immaculate when we bought it in 2016. It was two years old, but the young man who owned it lived with his girlfriend most of the time, so it was like brand new!
Despite two former tenants, it is still good, all we have had to do is touch up some paint.
We say no pets because I don’t want to have to change carpets/curtains any sooner than necessary and pet hair/smell gets everywhere.
However, if a tenant asked if they could bring/have a pet, we would consider the request. Whether we gave permission or not, would depend upon the tenant and the pet. A cat or small dog , we would not object to if the tenant was a responsible person.
So I would say, even if your tenancy agreement says no pets, it may be worth asking. What is not on,in my opinion, is lying about it.
How would you know if the tenant was a responsible person? in the case of a new tenancy you would have only just met him/her. You may put your faith in obtaining a previous Landlord reference but were the standards of that Landlord on a par with your standards?
It’s up to each individual Landlord to accept or decline pets but any hassle or damage almost always tend to rest on the shoulders of the Landlord.
If some Politicians had their way they would support tenants having pets as a means of buying votes but it would result in fierce resistance from many Landlords including me!
resistance me too even if it were a law… I have a tenant in a flat with a allergy ,so in that flat building no pets. We would have to be careful how we determined if an applicant had an animal
Hi. Collin, good morning!
Yes the “allergies” issue is indeed a topical debate as the “pet owning tenant” will seldom if ever volunteer to finance a deep clean and potential replacement of fibre floor covering to help eliminate the allergy issue.
I would equally ignore any law that provided a tenant with the authority to over-rule the terms of the tenancy agreed at inception.
I reluctantly agreed to letting tenants have a dog. One property no damage but 2 years on the smell from the carpets even after prof clean is disgusting. Seriously it is. The other no smell? No damage to either property. Children cause as much damage than a dog when parents don’t monitor or care what they do. Both add potentially more wear and tear to properties. It’s a tough one that’s why a lot of my properties except 2 are small single or couple occupancy. Easier to refresh and replace. They also don’t have excuses of pets or children to blame.
If there is carpet in flat then it’s better not allow pets as for hygienic reason and smell from the carpet don’t go away.
Pets are pets and accidents can happen but you would not know what type of the tenant you will get.
I had bad experience with tenants with dog. They left in a such a dad state that the cleaners from Fantastic Cleaning company did not want to clean the apartment and she left.
Then my builder was nice and he cleaned it first before started painting.
I did not have carpet and granite tiles through out the flat so it was easier to clean for him.
I have been in houses where there has been laminate or floorboards and still the stench is nauseating.
Sure carpets must be worse but it goes to show whatever type of flooring daily thorough cleaning is the key.
Collin, they don’t smell it when they live in the house. It’s the same with smokers , they can’t smell he stale smoke that’s penetrated into the soft furnishings.
I have several friends who have dogs and if you don’t know they had pets you would never guess that they had as their homes smell fresh and in pristine condition. However tenants generally feel it doesn’t matter because the property isn’t theirs and they don’t “all” have the same sense of pride that they don’t want an odour free home and a mess free yard.
When the novelty of owning a puppy wears off and the animal matures into an adult dog the practice of walking the dog and having to legally confirm with picking the mess up in bags gives way to the much easier option of releasing the animal out into the garden where they don’t have to bear the unenviable job of cleaning up after it … and tenants want landords to agree to allowing pets … really???
