SMF - Just Installed!

General ramble... petzzzzzzz

Started by Hippogriff, March 28, 2018, 02:20:41 PM

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Hippogriff

I recently let a property to a nice couple. They were coming back to the UK after living abroad. There was no talk of pets at the time of viewing, or even when signing the AST. I'm not against pets, at all. I always allow them, and I just take a bit of a booster to the Deposit - usually £150 if it's a dog or a cat. Never, yet, had a problem at all. I think everyone thinks it's fair that this money will be reserved for professional cleaning at the end of the tenancy.

A mere 2 weeks after moving in these Tenants said they wanted to get a dog. OK, no worries. I don't mind that. I said as much. We agreed that we'd reserve £150 of the existing Deposit, rather than ask for more - it felt right. They were very specific about the dog they were going to get... a rescue dog of a certain age, of a specific breed. Still no problem. They said they were going to start looking.

In about 7 days they announced they gotten a dog. Wow! That was quick, I thought. It was the age they'd said, and the breed they'd said. Lucky you, I thought. When I had recently attended the property with the Central Heating Engineer for the GSC, I had the good fortune to meet said dog... very nice. And settled-in very well after only a short period of time, I thought. It was almost like it took no time at all for it to feel like home with the new owners.

I do now think I've been had. I still don't mind, because I would have always agreed to a pet anyway... but I think they thought that I would not, so they may not have mentioned that they had a dog, and it was abroad, and maybe they needed to arrange its transport, or maybe it was in some kind of quarantine for a while? I don't profess to know how it all works... but I get the overriding [sixth-]sense that this was always their dog and she has just come home to mum and dad, finally.

I chuckle about this. It makes me think of them as nice enough folk, but possibly ones to watch. I could be wrong... I could be paranoid. It's my instinct talking to me.

What if I'd said "no"?

Simon Pambin

Yes, going from deciding to get a rescue dog, to finding one of the right age and breed, getting the home checks done and getting it in and settled within the space of a week is remarkably good going. I suspect it was a member of that exotic French breed, known as the Fait Accompli.

It's odd that they didn't ask at the outset. Perhaps they were working on the basis that, if they don't ask, you can't say no. Then, when it's already two weeks into the tenancy, if you say no at that stage, it would be all "why didn't you mention you had a problem with dogs before? You're just being unreasonable now!" Besides, you're not going to go to the hassle and cost of trying to get them out before the six months are up and finding new tenants.

It does rankle, though, when somebody's played you when you didn't need to be played, and it undermines the trust you have in them. After all, if they were assuming you'd be unreasonable, does that imply they're the sort of people who are used to being unreasonable themselves?

heavykarma

At last! Something where I can provide Hippogriff with information.My life is all about dog rescue,which is what started me off on the rentals.I thought within say a year,the money rolling in would finance my own rescue centre.Doh!
If this couple adopted a stray dog whilst abroad, they will possibly have had to pay out thousands in vet bills,bribes,boarding kennels red tape etc.Depending on the country they returned from,quarantine may have been called for,but would normally last 6 months.
If he was already their dog when they left the uk.they would have wanted to get settled before sending for him I expect.

I know they should have been upfront with you,but don't assume this makes them bad tenants.

Years ago,I rented a tiny Elizabethan cottage (hovel) in the Cotswolds.I applied as a single woman,the rules were no children, no pets.I had a young son,two dogs and a hamster.I felt I had no choice.My only income came from the 3 jobs I was doing,and this place was quite cheap.
I became mates with another woman at the other end of the village,who was in the same boat.When either of us was due a landlord or agent inspection,we would take in the others kids and pets.I came out worse as her menage included two goats,several cats and a couple of dogs,plus a feral son.

The rent was paid on the dot,I never requested repairs,paid for them myself,and kept the place cleaner than I found it.When I left after 4 years,the agent returned my deposit without quibble,and said I was an "exemplary" tenant.
I hope they turn out to be lovely reliable people,and you are rather lovely to allow pets.