UK Landlord Forum / Life

My ex home is fully managed by a letting agency. 2 months ago, new tenants moved in. I agreed that they could bring their mother's dog with them initially but this dog would be rehomed/returned to the mother soon after.

The tenants have now written to the me via the agency requesting to keep the dog permanently or be given extra time for the rehoming of it. The agency tells me that it is now too late to charge the tenant a pet deposit. I therefore have the choice of either telling them to rehome the dog or risk any damage to be covered by the standard deposit only.

Should the agency have charged a pet deposit at the outset of the tenancy given that the dog was to be there for however short a while?

Not necessarily, unless you told them to.  A good lettings agent would have suggested it, but there aren't many good lettings agencies in my experience.

I don't see why the agent cannot at least request an additional sum,provided they do so right away? Anyone wanting to keep their dog would happily stump up.They sound like responsible people who have been straight with you,so hopefully they would cover any damage caused.Not all dogs are hooligans.I do hope you will agree to them keeping the dog.

Quote from: TheRowan on May 26, 2019, 10:03:18 PMI therefore have the choice of either telling them to rehome the dog or risk any damage to be covered by the standard deposit only.

This is not even a dilemma. You choose the latter. You already agreed the dog could stay... the only variable now is the timescales. I would only push back if you felt the Tenants had been disingenuous on this matter from the outset... and had always planned to keep the dog... then I might play hardball.

What you can do, if you are happy to not investigate getting a further Deposit amount, is come to an agreement now that a portion of the existing Deposit is agreed to be forfeit (no matter what) for the benefit of keeping the dog... for some professional cleaning. You probably won't get far trying to impose this, so it's why I say come to an agreement. As stated, Tenants with pets will usually bend over backwards rather than force the issue... but it's not like you, legally, have them over a barrel or anything.

The best part about Tenants with pets is that they generally stay longer... which is good for you.

It being your "ex home" is irrelevant, but I noted you'd mentioned it... you obviously think it might be relevant, but it isn't... it's just a let property, you're a Landlord.

Thank you all - everyone's opinions is helpful here. Yes - it was my home, but I agree that it is now just a property rental so I am getting my head around that.

Certainly a few lessons learned so far. It appears unless I instruct the agent to do so, a pet deposit or other method will not be applied in circumstances where the dog was" just staying for some weekends."

My agent advises me that they can suggest a reasonable rest increase by £10 pcm after the 6 months initial period. I am also told any expectation to have carpets cleaned professionally or pay for any dog damage is not legally enforceable.

Quote from: TheRowan on May 27, 2019, 03:23:10 PMMy agent advises me that they can suggest a reasonable rest increase by £10 pcm after the 6 months initial period. I am also told any expectation to have carpets cleaned professionally or pay for any dog damage is not legally enforceable.

That's correct... but it doesn't stop you agreeing with the Tenant... something that works for you both. Whether it's enforceable or not is kinda by-the-by, really, as you're not going to traipse through the Court system for something like this... but if the proposition is put forward, and it is agreed to (with eyes open) then maybe it will be lived up to as well? The alternatives are really that you just suck it up or the Tenant has to find a new home (for the dog or for everyone in that family, I suppose).

Legal enforceability and pragmatic approaches where there's a quid pro quo don't always go hand-in-hand. Throw legal enforceability out of the window - try to reach a compromise solution where you don't feel as though you've been taken advantage of, nor one where you're taking advantage of a Tenant who we can assume has just done something nice to help someone else out - and learn to stop taking advice from your Agent. 

Modest rent increases should be standard operating procedure... not something you look forward to to offset your notional / potential loss here. So go for it anyway... again, you don't need an Agent for this idea... you'd learn it here FoC.