IrishMammy38

Hi everyone,

My husband and I along with our 3 young children are planning a move from the UK to either NY or NJ (my husband will be based in White Plains NY).

We have 2 cats who we have had many years and would ideally like to bring them with us. We found it very hard to find rental accommodation in the UK because we had the cats and I don't want to go through all the rejection again. Our main concern is good schools and don't want potential properties having to be rejected because they don't accept cats.

I would love to hear from anyone who knows if having cats is a big no no when it comes to finding a rental.

Thank you for help, it is greatly appreciated.

Guindalf

Depends on whether the property owner is an animal lover or not! You just have to ask the question.

We rented a duplex not long after we were married and the agent said 'No pets'. We stumbled on the property owners and they said sure, provided you pay a $100 non-refundable deposit. We did, and adopted a dog that very day!

rpjs

We rented in Tarrytown (near WP) and had a hard time finding a rental that would take cats - we literally had a choice of two apartments although happily one was very nice and we rented it. Expect to pay an extra security deposit of 0.5 to 1 times the regular deposit for each cat.

Your best bet would be to contact some local realtors and ask what they have. In our part of Westchester the main realtor chains are William Raveis Legends, Coldwell Banker and Sotheby's Hudson Homes (who we got our rental through). If you're interested in the area north-west and west of WP to the Hudson I can give you the numbers of a couple of realtors we've used.

hungryhorace

I had two cats in our rented apartment until we bought. The apartment wanted a fee of around $35 for each of them, so balls to that I thought. If they're not going to be reasonable with us concerning fees, then I'm not going to be reasonable with them about disclosing.

Ultimately, what are they going to do? Evict you? Not a chance. They would just ask you start paying the rental fee if 'caught'. Even then, you could just say you were watching them for a friend whilst they were away for the week.

Viva le revolution.

BunnyGirl

Wow, $35? Our landlord is asking a $350 deposit if we want a cat. I really want a kitten but we're having to wait til our tax refund comes through.

hungryhorace

Given a kitten will probably cost you a grand, what's another $350 in the grand scheme of things? I would have far preferred a $350 (refundable) deposit than a charge of $35 per cat which is not refunded.

WhyteBoar

We brought our two cats from the UK to Arizona last August and found a house without much of a problem at all. We just made it very clear that we had two cats, which meant we didn't waste time looking at a property which was going to be a 'no'.

I don't know what NJ is like, but here in AZ I saw a few adverts which were 'no' to cats, but 'yes' to small dogs. I really don't understand that when you are renting unfurnished. Can only think it is part of the dogcentic culture.

Giantaxe

Go on craigslist for the areas you're interested in and work out the proportion of adverts that say "no pets".

Having said that, some of this is fungible. The one time I have rented (in SF) I ended up convincing the landlord that my cat would be fine in her "no pets" apartment.

IrishMammy38

Thank you all for your replies.

It was so hard to find a place that accepted cats where I rent now in the UK that we didn't disclose we had cats but told the landlord a year later. He had no problem with it whatsoever but at the time I couldn't risk trying to change his mind to allowing pets. I know this is not a brilliant thing to do but do you think it could work in the US or could it put us in a really bad position if we get caught? Are neighbours very aware of other peoples pets? Do the landlords tend to live near by?

When I moved to Switzerland I brought my cats with me then and I would hate to leave them behind.

I am so worried of getting into trouble by not disclosing I have cats but at the same time I know I am missing out on potential properties in good school areas because of the 'no pet' rule.

hungryhorace

Honestly. Don't worry about it.

Bob

Aye, that is a bit cheap.

Won place were were at, it was a months worth of rent that was non-refundable per dog, half a months rent for a cat.

Failure to disclose was grounds for eviction.

No idea how that would pan out if they discovered it during the winter months as they can't evict people here till March rolls around.

Bob

It's a valid concern, when it's a landlords market, it can be very difficult to find a rental if you have multiple pets. One animal wouldn't be that hard.

Guess time of year will have some baring on rental stock too.

Englishmum

You may not realise this but it seems that the majority of cats in the US have been de-clawed (banned in the UK) and are known as 'indoor' cats ie. they never go outside. Do your cats like to roam around outside? They may not enjoy being kept permanently indoors if they are used to going out.

OTOH I have two expat friends in NJ (different towns) and they've always rented very nice properties. One friend recently acquired a second cat. In both instances the landlords had no objection to cats.....my friend thought that perhaps her landlord assumed that she had a de-clawed indoor cat which wouldn't scratch the woodwork etc... Btw; both friends allow their cats to go outside - but they keep an eye on them because of skunks, raccoons....and believe it or not, the occasional sighting of coyotes and bears at one house out in the sticks...!

Btw; one of those friends is going on a return expat posting to Switzerland this Summer I'm currently in Switzerland (Zug canton) on an expat posting but my son still lives in our house in NJ

hungryhorace

And in California.

De-clawing is a brutal and torturous procedure. The scum performing it should have their hands chopped off - see how they like it. Bastards.

Duncan Roberts

Where the heck are you buying kittens? Even with all the trimmings like food, litter, vaccinations and whatnot, you can still be looking at under $100.