Updating post from Reddit.
i’m a tenant and i’ve wanted a cat for years my family is on board with it but our agreement says no pets. is this negotiable? any advise on good points to bring up? all help is appreciated (pre toilet trained cat)
Subject low key reads like your landlord is a cat 😂.
Reddit can’t answer this one for you, you need to speak to your landlord.
>Reddit can’t answer this one for you, you need to speak to your landlord.
I suggest opening with "pst pst pst" and putting your hand out for him to sniff, this will make him like you more in the negotiations.
waiting for his reply messaged him 2 days ago 😭
Under the new rules coming in you have the right to request ONCE they are fully in law. However, you are renting someone else’s house so it wouldn’t be fair to expect it if the landlord says no. Just ask nicely and see what happens, but if they say no you will just have to accept it.
yeah i respect his decision either way he’s been pretty good to us but just bummed out and worrying over the thought of it not happening
I’m glad he’s been fair to you with everything else. Once you get your own place you have as many cats as you want.🐱🐈
If he feels you have been a good tenant, that might also make him think better to keep you with a cat than have to go through finding another tenant who might tun out to be a problem.
we get along well from what i’m aware although the house has had some major issues but we’ve worked together to fix them i’m just aware that it says no pets however the previous owner did have a rabbit i’m unsure if it’s similar to a cat but i also know how low noise a cat is compared to a dog
Well not exactly there are still reasons a landlord can say no under rent reform. Also some lease agreements of leaseholders forbid it so landlords have no option but to say no sometimes.
Actual no. If the law changes to give AST the right to have pets, and a superior landlord still does not allow it, landlords will still have to allow secondary tenants to excessive their legal rights - even if this means they breach there contact.
The reference for this is when AST holders got the right to change the locks. Multiple landlords for fines over this. Many contacts designed for superior landlord now have a clause listing "subordinate landlord may meet any legal requirements to tenants"
There will be certain valid circumstances for refusal. For example, it will always be reasonable for a landlord to refuse a request when their superior landlord prohibits pets.
Nobody actually knows what the law will say yet. It was introduced as literally a blank piece of paper with a title. We all need to wait and see.
I imagine that such a clause will be challenged, as if it stands the whole thing is effectively meaningless - landlords could just run things through two companies and have the superior one refuse the pets.
Exactly what I keep saying will happen I doubt they will change that term more the superior landlord lease agreement will always trump the rent reform they aren't writing rent reform for those agreements they are writing it for ast agreements which is different. So I think this is a very black and white term which won't change much. There is also plenty more reasons in the planned document that a landlord can ban pets under so it's not likely going to be an outright yes even after the bill passes
"a lease agreement will trump a law"
That's very very much not how laws work. Even ones you can contract out of, you have to do so very explicitly.
I expect it's much more likely the law says "for all ASTs started on our after"
We will have to wait and see but superior lease agreements are not tenancy contracts there has been much discussion over superior title documents and the guidance is clear the ast will still need to abide by the superior contract.
I mean, they said the same before the whole lock changing thing. Let's wait and see.
Heard this shit for years though... when is it coming into law? I feel it's an urban myth at this point.
Why not reassure them by taking out insurance? It’s a form of contents cover, not the one where you take your pets to the vet etc.
You don’t have to but it reassures the landlord you’re serious and covers for any damage the cat may cause to the landlords property.
how should i bring this up?
Is it managed by an agent? If so let them know. Or if landlord manages just tell them straight? Maybe send a few links.
I think it’s the assurance to the landlords that will help the case knowing you can claim from your insurance if anything goes wrong from the animals.
It’s usually an add on from your current contents insurance provider, ask them about.
Legally you don’t have to have it.
okay i’ll bring this up
i’ve seen a lot on professional carpet cleaning once we vacate (unsure when we’ve been living here for 12 years)
>pre toilet trained cat
Almost all cats are litter trained by instinct, the problem comes when they decide that you're talking too long cleaning it and piss on the spot it used to be, or next to it because they suddenly decided they don't like the hood on the litter box. (Took us like 3 days to figure out that was why one of ours started pissing on the carpet)
Or get the shits and step in it and walk it through the place.
These are things you just have to deal with as a cat owner, but might not be something the landlord is prepared to have happen to his place, unfortunately all you can do is ask.
It’s not just the piss that bugs me, it’s when they scratch up the furniture, floors, doors and woodwork. After a previous tenants cat wrecked the house , which had been renovated after the previous tenants dog wrecked the house, pets are a hard no from me
Our place said no pets. We asked to get a cat and they said yes!
Their biggest concern was the wood flooring and cat pee on it. Which i totally understand. The rugs were ours and although we got a "toilet trained" cat, she took months to actually use the litter tray. It took a lot of re training. I put plastic down over the wood floors and under the rugs so it would seem through. We replaced the rugs once she finally started using the tray all the time.
She also clawed the carpet on the stairs to death. Part of the deal of having the cat, we had increased inspections. We acknowledged the damage. The carpet was quite old but didn't look too bad. If they had charged us for it, I bet we wouldn't have had to pay much. However we replaced the whole lot at our expense when we left. We got out full deposit back, no problem.
thanks for the great advice, i hope he’s this understanding
I'm lucky as when I moved, I've moved into my own home now. Cat can destroy what it likes as its all mine and I don't have to deal with landlords again.
I hope you can get your cat. Cats are the best.
Where abouts are you in the country? Close friend of mine runs advocats and helps tenants bring pets to rented accommodation
west midlands
https://www.facebook.com/share/1E86g61F2j/
Her name is Jen and she could probably help.
It depends on what is in your tenancy agreement. One of my tenants asked me if it’s okay for them to keep a cat and even though the tenancy agreement said they couldn’t.
The "no pets" clause is pretty much boiler-plate text in all ASTs. It gives the landlord the default position of "no" when someone wants a couple of pit bulls, but you can always ask about a pet. The worst that can happen is they say no.
If you've been tenants for 12 years, I would trust that you're looking after the place, so (if you were my tenants) I wouldn't have an issue with it. At this point, pretty much everything in the house will be wear and tear, unless your landlord has been doing refreshes while you're in there.
>is this negotiable?
Yes, of course it is. Anything (within the law) is negotiable. Just be aware that those negotiations may still end in the LL's decision being no.
>any advise on good points to bring up?
Just ask. If you're already renting the place and have been a good tenant they may well approve. Offering to get some additional insurance to cover any possible damage won't do you any harm, nor would offering to pay additional rent to cover any added wear. You may find they are happy without this though so don't offer it immediately as you end up with an otherwise unnecessary cost increase. Being willing to offer won't hurt though.
A lot of LL's (myself included) put a no pet clause in by default as they don't want the property being damaged. For example, the 3 bed upstairs flat with no garden that I let just isn't big enough for a medium-large sized dog. If one moved in it would inevitably cause damage and, I believe, just be unfair on the dog itself too. It's easier for me to say 'no pets' as a mater of contract but allow exceptions if a known good tenant says 'can I have a fully trained indoor cat, please?' than it is to risk a new, unknown , tenant thinking bringing a a giant Great Dane along is a good idea!!
A no pet clause is common in an AST, but it's usually accompanied with a without your LL's consent
Ask them if you can have one. Get quotes of pet insurance, to cover any damages the cat may cause.
How can you ensure that the premises don’t smell of cats’ piss when you move out?
Mine won’t let me have a cat but lets me smoke weed in the house. Make it make sense 😭
Cats are not too bad. Landlord may be Ok if you ask nicely.
We've had our cat in two rentals now. We asked our first landlord before we got our cat if he was okay with it and he was fine even though our contract said no pets, just to be aware that it might cost more of our deposit at the end if the cat scratched the carpet etc (which thankfully he didn't!). Our current flat was advertised as no pets, but we told the landlord when viewing that we had a cat and he was fine with it with same expectations as before, and our cat is now mentioned in our tenancy agreement as a special clause. Just to share that it is possible to ask and get a positive response even with the blanket "no pets clause!"
Never ask, never tell