Phil K

Help

Can anyone tell us if it is possible to rent a house on the Sunshine Coast that would allow 2 Golden Retriever dogs or will we find this an impossible task.

I know its a silly question but we are due to fly out soon and I have been told we will have big problems.

All the best

Phil & Family

goldchoccycoin

I expect it's possible but as I'm sure you can understand most owners want the least damage done possible to a home that they rent out - and most people assume a dog will cause some damage - even incidental - claws on wooden floors, digging/peeing in the garden damaging the grass etc.

I know people who offered a larger bond (which could then be used for any damage at the end of the tenancy) and signed some kind of agreement that they would fix any damage - it may have helped that the guy was a carpenter and showed examples of his work on flooring.

You may have better luck if you look at properties slightly outside the 'city/urban/suburban' areas - property owners with larger properties may be more sympathetic to two largish dogs. Maybe the Hinterland?

Good luck. The dogs will love the beach walks and forestry!

Phil K

Yes I do understand completly & I would pay a large bond as our 2 dogs have never damaged anything in our home & they are very well trained but its finding a rental that is pet freindly that will be a problem.

Pollyana

Yes its possible, it just may take you slightly longer than finding a rental without pets. In addition many over here live outside, they are not house-dogs, so be prepared to come across landlords who will not allow pets inside.

Phil K

Thanks Pollyana, We have somewhere to stay for 5 weeks on arrival at The Sunshine Coast so I hope that will be long enough to find a rental.

I guess the dogs could stay outside as they dont bark & are well behaved.

jothefw

We didn't have any difficulty but we did have to commit to outside only. Bonds cannot necessarily be increased, and still called a bond. The real estate agents have a legal ceiling for a bond and they don't hold it - there's a specific 'bond holding company'.

Good luck.

Phil K

Thank you for that, I was hoping that when the agents see us and our dogs that there may be some houses that would let us stay.

The dogs are iimmaculately kept & are better behaved than some kids lol.

Thank You

Scotty1

I am not familiar with the local market in the GC, but generally you will have more difficulty but it will not be impossible.
I would suggest that you look for a house that you like first, not just those that may take pets, but make sure it is suitable for you and the dogs with an enclosed yard etc
Do not bother going to see properties that say no pets, but don't just go to those who allow pets either. At the viewing try to make friends with the agent and then enquire casually about the landlords attitude to well behaved pets. They will probably say pets on application or something similar. Just try and establish if there have ever allowed pets in the past, and emphasise how well behaved your dogs are, that you would happily sign a pet agreement and have everything professionally cleaned at the end of your lease. I would suggest you say that your dogs will be outside dogs only at this point - as two inside goldens may be more tricky. Aussies tend to keep larger shedding dogs outside.
If you have any evidence of the well behaved and trained nature of the dogs, put it with the application - even a letter from you saying how responsible they are would help.
Be prepared to get rejected from a few, but keep at it. As long as the rest of your application is ok - eg secure income, you will get somewhere, it just may take more time and a bit more money. A landlord I have was asking a bit over the market and not too keen on dogs but in the end opted for the dogs rather than less rent!
Am not sure about Queensland but in NSW an agent can't take more bond than 4 weeks and can't take a pet bond now. They can only get the tenant to sign a pet agreement that commits you to certain things that any responsible pet owner would be ok with anyway.

Good luck
Scotty

Phil K

Wonderful information Scotty, Thank You.

There is nothing better than first hand experience to help point us in the right direction

everybody loves our dogs when they meet them & they really are no trouble.

aussietobe

This site might be able to help you:

http://www.petfriendlyrentals.com.au/

Phil K

Many Thanks, all help is appreciated.

Mummy3

Can you provide photographs of your place in the uk? Maybe even a reference stating how clean your house was? Just to show your dogs are clean, friendly etc. all helps...

Phil K

Yes no problem & a very good idea thank you.

Margaret3

We live in melbourne and in the south east suburbs there were all of two houses that would accept pets on realestate.com, and i kid you no i wouldnt have let my dog let alone us stay in them, so we just went along to the regular inspections, when we applied, we offered to double the bond (which they took , the barstewards), six month rent in advance, and we wrote a letter saying how great our dog was and part of the family etc, groomed, well trained and offered to pay for any damage he may incur, but we knew he wouldnt damage anything. We have been renting this place for 3 years now , so i think the estate agent and owner is happy. You could also say you would be happy for the owner to inspect as well as the usual inspections (which ours does, although we did not agree to this before renting , it keeps him happy, but means we average about 5 inspections a year, which is a pain in the arse!!
!)