We just moved back to the UK from the US four months ago and brought our dog back with us, at the moment we are renting in Kent from a friend of a friend who didn't expect the six months rent upfront and the pet deposit. We looking to move to London and it is proving to be a bit of a nightmare, it seems nowhere will take the dog. It is getting to the point where we are thinking we might be forced to rehome her which is going to be really heartbreaking, has anyone else had this problem? feel so guilty about the whole thing and wish we'd known it would be so difficult beforehand, we are getting quite desperate so would appreciate any feedback/tips... thanks.

Also has anyone had any probs with offering the six months rent upfront? We just got turned down by a landlord because she thought we had something to hide by offering this. The fact is I have just had a baby and a not working so will not get approved by the referencing company, my US husband has not been in the country long enough, can't get my head round why someone will turn down six months rent upfront! Renting in London is proving to be a real headache. Anyone else out there experiencing the same?

Wow, I really really hope you can keep your dog. She would never understand why you let her go, and might suffer separation anxiety for years. Can you live somewhere other than London?

Maybe you shouldn't listen to me - I'm probably screwed up because my pets come first. We're not moving back for a few years because we have aging cats and can't put them through the trip home.

Ring all the estate agents around you and they will search for you for a rental that allows pets. we did this and it helped a lot. Dont give up and good luck with it.

that is a good idea and also are there uk links for pet friendly places? In US can get llinks to places that are pet friendly. soon I will be renting again after being homeowner for 16 years. I have a dog - for me it's not an option. keep looking until find place that lets us keep the dog.

I have seen rentals before which just charge an additional security deposit for a dog or cat. Therefore the landlord has some comeback in case of damage by the pet. I agree with pp to go to a rental agency and ask for specific pet friendly lets.
Is the dog big? Some rentals will allow a small dog, but sometimes people get a bit leery of larger animals...
Hope you get somewhere that suits you and the dog!

do not under any circumstances rehome your dog, I would never be parted from mine- its been traumatic for him/her travelling back to UK.

I googled "pet friendly rentals" and this is what I came up with

http://www.petfriendlyrentals.co.uk/

http://www.londondirectory.co.uk/sites/11025/

http://www.maps4pets.com/accommodation.asp

the last site is meant for dog shows but you could try a few of the names on any list you generate in London and see if they know any rental homes.... you never know.....


http://www.primelocation.com/uk-prop...don/battersea/

this last link specifically mentions Battersea and pet friendly so just do a bit more digging and I am sure you will find something!!

Good Luck

Yes, we rent our house with an agency. they charge an additional deposit and have some extra conditions regards when you eventually leave the property.

Also, depending how you feel about this, you could offer to have the carpets cleaned, the house professionally cleaned when you leave. If the dog has messed up the garden, maybe offer to have it cleaned up. I know this may seem over the top, but at least it may save having to give your dog away.

We initially said no pets, but once these conditions were added, said yes. In todays economic climate, you may find people are more flexible.

Thanks for the feedback, we plan to keep searching until we find something; fingers crossed

It's crazy to me as a former landlady why anyone would turn down the rent up front especially in recession times. Madness. I was always more concerned to rent to people with kids and even more so now I have a 4 year old boy. When he was three he decorated the walls with marble cheese. That was a bugger to get out. Our dog is golden in comparison!

Good luck in finding somewhere. I'll be in the same boat as you at the end of the year. We have an Airedale......AND kids!

Hi we moved back to the UK with our small pet (a dog) 2 months ago....our promblem was finding a 3 bed rental in the areas we liked...we looked further afield and now we are picking up the keys today....all the agents we use to phone up and inquired about rentals were helpful...my Oh is still in Australia and I am not working at the moment so we were adviced to pay 5 months "up front" as we would have not credit rating...this seemed to be the normal thing to do in regards to what the agents required....i would just keep looking for a rental and if you see one you want just take it from there..ie see what the agents advices first....they might not even want so many months up front and just ask for two personnel references....good luck and something will come along...I know it's hard...i had a few tears a few weeks ago...and people kept saying something will come along....it did....and will do for you.....all the best...

We moved back in February with my wife coming over with our two dogs at the end of April. We are out in Gloucestershire and our options for renting with dogs was restricted obviously, but there were still quite a few that were happy to take dogs. I guess it depends on where you are. I think being fairly rural, it is easier to find somewhere than in the city.

On the subject of references and credit checks, I offered 6 months rent up front, and the agency were happy to take it. They still wanted a reference from my previous employer in the US but that was not a problem. It sounds like your problem on both counts could be the location. Things do seem to be alot more relaxed out here. I wish you all the best. Just stick at it, it will happen!

Thanks all, we are prepared to pay six months upfront but now we just had another problem with a landlord wanting a year upfront and a 1500 deposit!!

Seems a bit extreme to me and isn't the security deposit usually equivalent to a month's rent which in this case would be 850. Seems like he is trying his luck a bit.. I was always under the impression that six months upfront is the norm.

Getting increasingly frustrated with trying to rent a place here.. been looking on gumtree and findaproperty.com and it just seems that no one ever gets back to you or every property I ring up about seems be gone already! Just can't believe this is the second landlord now turning their nose up at six months rent upfront... Renting in the states is a breeze compared to this...

We moved back in March, staying with my mother in London for a few weeks whilst looking for a rented property in Eastbourne. I agree it is difficult and frustrating with dogs, ours is no bigger than a cat, but with perseverance and the 6 months up front we did find somewhere.

As someone else said I guess it is where you are wanting to live and a year upfront is too much to ask in my book.

Good luck with your search I'm sure something will come up but please don't part with your dog.

Search gumtree for rental properties, put "pet" into the search box and you'll find pet friendly properties (and pet unfriendly).

You've probably thought of this already, but even the landlords who say "no pets" may well be prepared to take a pet.
We're just about to rent our property in Gloucester to a couple with a dog; our marketing said "no pets" so that we could be sure that the type and number of pets would be a topic for discussion, but we were always prepared to consider pets; other landlords may be the same?
Oh, and asking for 12 months up front is really cheeky, I wouldn't go for that!!