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Finding a Place to Rent with Pets

Finding a Place to Rent with Pets

Old Aug 2nd 2011, 12:14 pm
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Default Finding a Place to Rent with Pets

Hi
Hoping someone can point me in the right direction. We are hoping to move back to the UK from Canada with our 2 dogs and 2 cats. Trying to find a place to rent seems almost impossible, and very stressful. Is anyone else in a similar situation? any advice would be great.
I did get in touch with a company that was willing to help but they charge 750 pounds
Thank you
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Old Aug 2nd 2011, 2:49 pm
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Default Re: Finding a Place to Rent with Pets

I don't have a solution but I've been finding the same problem. I'll be moving back to the UK in October with two cats and have been surprised at all the NO PETS clauses on rental listings. I'll be staying at my mother's initially so I hope I'll be able to negotiate something more easily in person. Good luck!
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Old Aug 2nd 2011, 3:44 pm
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Default Re: Finding a Place to Rent with Pets

Originally Posted by CarolPat
I don't have a solution but I've been finding the same problem. I'll be moving back to the UK in October with two cats and have been surprised at all the NO PETS clauses on rental listings. I'll be staying at my mother's initially so I hope I'll be able to negotiate something more easily in person. Good luck!
Yes good luck! it has been a huge eye opener. So this morning we ended up calling a company to find us a place. They were great on the phone and said that they will be able to find us a place. But they do not come cheap! the thought of living in Yorkshire in a tent is not very appealing!
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Old Aug 2nd 2011, 3:52 pm
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Default Re: Finding a Place to Rent with Pets

Guinness, do you mind sharing the name of the company?

I did find someone in Cumbria who can help, but may need to look at Yorkshire if we can't find anything there.

Like you, I have pets and have decided a professional home finder will be essential if we are to find anywhere.
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Old Aug 2nd 2011, 5:19 pm
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Default Re: Finding a Place to Rent with Pets

Originally Posted by sallysimmons
Guinness, do you mind sharing the name of the company?

I did find someone in Cumbria who can help, but may need to look at Yorkshire if we can't find anything there.

Like you, I have pets and have decided a professional home finder will be essential if we are to find anywhere.
Hi sallysimmons
Here is the info, good luck with your search. Let me know how it goes

Lisa Green

Director

The County Homesearch Company (North West)

Stannage House, Stannage Lane, Churton, Chester, CH3 6LE

Tel: +44 (0) 1829 270160 Mobile: +44 (0) 7988 334304



www.wefindhouses.com

Follow us on twitter @homefinderNW or @wefindhouses



CH_LOGO 2004
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Old Aug 2nd 2011, 5:53 pm
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Default Re: Finding a Place to Rent with Pets

That's great - thanks.

I like that they are national so we could give them a few counties to search in. We're not going until 2013 sadly, but I'll keep this bookmarked and follow them on Twitter. Good luck with your search - keep us posted!
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Old Aug 2nd 2011, 8:57 pm
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Default Re: Finding a Place to Rent with Pets

Originally Posted by Guinness
Hi
Hoping someone can point me in the right direction. We are hoping to move back to the UK from Canada with our 2 dogs and 2 cats. Trying to find a place to rent seems almost impossible, and very stressful. Is anyone else in a similar situation? any advice would be great.
I did get in touch with a company that was willing to help but they charge 750 pounds
Thank you
This looks expensive, if you know where you want to move to I would contact all the estate agents in the area who do lettings and ask them to find you something. They may ask for a bigger deposit, but that should be refundable when you move out, if no damage has occurred.
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Old Aug 2nd 2011, 9:10 pm
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Default Re: Finding a Place to Rent with Pets

Originally Posted by MNandMN
This looks expensive, if you know where you want to move to I would contact all the estate agents in the area who do lettings and ask them to find you something. They may ask for a bigger deposit, but that should be refundable when you move out, if no damage has occurred.
One months' rent doesn't seem all that expensive to me for what they do for you.
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Old Aug 3rd 2011, 11:41 am
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Default Re: Finding a Place to Rent with Pets

Try the locally owned letting agents they may be more flexible, our agents were taken over by a large chain and there is quite a difference. All they can do is ask the landlord if they will agree to pets.
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Old Aug 3rd 2011, 2:30 pm
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Default Re: Finding a Place to Rent with Pets

Hi, I've been saving these website address' for when we return with our dog

www.petfriendlyrentals.co.uk

www.letswithpets.org.uk

I haven't been on them for a while so hope they are still up and running!
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Old Aug 5th 2011, 9:11 pm
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Default Re: Finding a Place to Rent with Pets

Originally Posted by MNandMN
This looks expensive, if you know where you want to move to I would contact all the estate agents in the area who do lettings and ask them to find you something. They may ask for a bigger deposit, but that should be refundable when you move out, if no damage has occurred.
I have tried this route, most of them don't know how to return emails. So I have had my parents calling from N.Ireland on my behalf. Again without much luck, the Landlords that do accept pets only want one small dog. So I did take the plunge and hire a company as I am starting to panic!!
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Old Aug 6th 2011, 11:05 am
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Default Re: Finding a Place to Rent with Pets

Originally Posted by Guinness
I have tried this route, most of them don't know how to return emails. So I have had my parents calling from N.Ireland on my behalf. Again without much luck, the Landlords that do accept pets only want one small dog. So I did take the plunge and hire a company as I am starting to panic!!
If they don't return emails, then they don't accept animals. It's a bit rude not to respond to your emails, so just ignore them.

A lot of landlords will accept one or two pets, but it's having more than that, that is the problem. A lot of London landlords won't take pets.

A few years ago I moved area and decided to rent before I bought, but had 2 large dogs. I went to www.rightmove.com and used their feature to get the email address of all the estate/letting agents in the area I wanted, then cut and paste an email to all of them, stating that I had two dogs and giving their breeds, gender and ages and stating that the bitch was spayed (so no puppies in the house). I even sent this email to agents that stated that they didn't accept pets, because landlords get desperate if they have a void as they have to pay their own mortgage and ones that don't usually accept pets are the better properties. I should imagine that this is what those companies who charge you to find places who take pets, are doing.

I got so many replies accepting pets (even those that said they normally didn't) that I was able to then state that I only wanted to look at empty houses; those that didn't have smokers in before and easy parking near the house! Don't forget that you can negotiate the advertising rental price down on any rental, but you get much bigger discounts on empty rentals. I also asked for their full letting agents charges including any hidden ones and copies of their contract and worked out from that which agents to use.

Some agents said to come and look at the property and then they would ask the landlord to take pets, but I just emailed back and said I only wanted to look at those that definitely accepted pets. This meant that they then asked the landlord if he would take pets and confirmed this in writing to me before I viewed that property.

Having got a list of properties; I then found these properties on the rightmove site and used the google earth feature there to look at the neighbourhood. Then I selected some and visited them over two weekends; always visit as photos can be deceiving. A few of the estate agents tried it on and took me into houses that smelt of cigarettes; have tenants in; on main roads with no parking; but I just walked straight out again or didn't even go in. By the following weekend when I visited properties again, they had got the message.

Basically, if they show you a property that needs repairs and say "the landlord will fix them later before you move in" don't believe them, unless you get that in writing and are prepared to take them to court. A good landlord doesn't let his property get in a poor state.

A tenant should always take out contents insurance and the optional extra of Legal Cover. Legal Cover cost about £20 per year extra. Legal Cover is provided through a different insurer but can only be bought as part of a package, such as with Contents Insurance. It's always worth asking an insurer who their legal cover insurers are as ARAG and DAS seem to offer the best policies IMHO.

Make sure whatever Legal Cover you take out, that they do not exclude action against or defending against, a landlord, just in case you end up with a dodgy landlord. With legal cover, once the insurers agree in writing to take your case, they pay the legal bill if you lose, while the landlord will pay all legal bills if you win. The very fact you have this cover usually makes a bad landlord become reasonable as UK renting laws are very poor for tenants, compared to the rest of the EU and other western countries.

Here are two rental guide stickies from a well known site in the UK:-
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/...d.php?t=937335

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/....php?t=1377883

Edited to say:- To find letting agents: go to the the rightmove link above; hover the cursor over the "To Rent" at the top of the page; then select "Letting Agents"; you can then choose your area.

Last edited by formula; Aug 6th 2011 at 11:36 am.
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Old Aug 6th 2011, 12:14 pm
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Default Re: Finding a Place to Rent with Pets

Great advice formula - thanks. It's good to know that some of the landlords will bend the 'no pets' rule.

I think I will still use a homefinder service though. They have all the connections with the local estate agents that I just can't make from over here, so they will hear about the properties that don't even get to the Internet.

My chosen area is really competitive - for example, right now there isn't a single 4-bed house for rent within 10 miles of the town - and I know from talking to agents that it's because they simply call their waiting lists when they get a new property.

I also think that their relationships with the agents might smooth the way for us regarding our lack of credit history and being self-employed - although one of our friends has offered to be a guarantor for us and we have a UK accountant who will also serve as a reference.
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Old Aug 6th 2011, 9:00 pm
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Default Re: Finding a Place to Rent with Pets

Originally Posted by sallysimmons

My chosen area is really competitive - for example, right now there isn't a single 4-bed house for rent within 10 miles of the town - and I know from talking to agents that it's because they simply call their waiting lists when they get a new property.
Oh, not easy then. TBH, if they can rent out 4 beds that easily, then they can also be picky about animals and smokers.

Have you tried calling/emailing the local council, asking for their Private Lettings to see if they have the contact details of their local Landlords' Association? Or searched for it on the Internet? Some landlords won't use letting agents, so that is cheaper for the tenant too. That might mean that you beat the waiting list when a 4 bed comes up for rent.

Lots of people on this site rent out their UK houses when they move abroad and look for tenants, and lots of returning Brits are looking for rentals in the UK, so why not start a "match up" thread for everyone on this site? That way everyone would save letting agent fees. Most letting agents buy their contracts from the internet anyway and W H Smiths have good contracts too (often more legal than some letting agents contracts). When I rented that house, the contract wasn't worth the paper it was printed on as the agent had bought it from landlords, without a letter to any of their names. It read like a landlord wish list and it wasn't legal as you can't take away someones legal rights is a contract.

You could even have a guide for legal requirements that landlords have to comply with and tenants legal obligations. Sites like Shelter have most legal obligations listed for tenants and landlords and the Office of Fair trading list unfair clauses in rental contracts.

Last edited by formula; Aug 6th 2011 at 9:10 pm.
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Old Aug 7th 2011, 6:28 am
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Default Re: Finding a Place to Rent with Pets

Originally Posted by Guinness
Hi
Hoping someone can point me in the right direction. We are hoping to move back to the UK from Canada with our 2 dogs and 2 cats. Trying to find a place to rent seems almost impossible, and very stressful. Is anyone else in a similar situation? any advice would be great.
I did get in touch with a company that was willing to help but they charge 750 pounds
Thank you
I wouldn't go anywhere near a company that wants you to pay them to do a search. A reputable company earns their income by matching owners and houses.

I have a house to rent out in the UK, pretty house in a pretty village but it has not been that easy to let. I think there are more houses available than tenants, we had a gap of a couple of months recently.

I think you need to wait until you get here (put the pets in kennels for a few weeks) and mention the pets once you have a good possibility lined up and the agent has met you. I had to think whether I would accept a dog and probably would have said yes just to get a tenant. The two cats and two dogs might be a bit more of a challenge.
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