[alanc]

I've always liked to think of New Zealanders as animal lovers but am beginning to have serious doubts. I've noticed that almost all ads for rental accommodation stipulate no pets. What is it with landlords? I can see the problem of animals in high rise blocks of flats but why the ban in detached houses with gardens???? I'm planning to return home to NZ in the near future after many years of living abroad and can't wait to get a (small) dog. Can see that my chances of finding a nice place to live are severely restricted.
Has anyone got anything to say about this? I'd appreciate hearing about your experiences.

[whiskythedog]

hi most say no pets but this tends to be a standard phrase - we found quite a few rentals (in auckland) who accepted pets - its worth asking them anyway up front - everything is negotiable
normally you have to throw in a carpet clean on leaving house to seal deal

[ellenmelon]

i would encourage you to try and negotiate with a landlord (especially private lettings) if you were to want a pet in a rental property. i reckon sites like trademe has 'no pets or smokers' as a tick box which many people forget to uncheck :D

[Sam B]

I rent out a property in the UK, and despite being an animal lover myself, it's much less risky to say 'no pets' as some dogs/cats can be badly cared for and do a lot of damage to the property, make it smell etc, it's just easier to say no, but then to size up prospective tenants, and if they seem really respectable and have a nice, clean, well-cared for pet, to bend the rules. If you say yes to pets in general, I guess the fear is that a family with a complete menagerie will move in and there will be nothing you can do...

[IanW99]

When we rented a property in NZ with a small dog, there were just a couple of extra conditions added to the let i.e. flea bombs to be used every 6 months and the carpets to be steam cleaned at the end of the tenancy.

Other than finding a rental that will be prepared to take dogs, you will also want to look out for a property that is fully fenced (it does restrict your choices somewhat) but it can be done.

Ian

[gil]

our rental said no pets, but we asked the landlord and he said yes to one dog. Just ask...
Gil

[james the mechanic]

We own a house that’s rented out in NZ and advertised no pets however the current tenant has a small dog with our consent. My feeling on the matter is, that nice people have nice dogs and rough people have rough dogs and by saying no to pets altogether I was in a better position to negotiate with perspective tenants and make an informed decision.
It’s defiantly worth asking and don’t just ask the agent and take their word for it, insist they ask the owner.
Best of luck
James

[alanc]

Thanks for the advice. On balance it makes sense for landlords to initially say no pets. I think if I were renting out my own property I'd probably have the same reservations.

[Jameelka]

We had probs trying to find some where to rent when we first arrived with our Golden Retriever.
We eventually found a place in Waiuku through Merlot residential peops that would accept her. Only thing they asked was that we cleaned the carpets on leaving.
Good luck!

[Caroline and Dave]

Hi.
We have rented out properties for years in the UK and we always say no pets because if you say pets accepted you get inundated with everything from boa constrictors to great danes so you will find on a whole landlords will say no pets but we have allowed people with pets after we have met them and found out a bit about their animals. It just stops you getting inundated with all sorts of animals.


All the best

Dave and Caroline

[Moorf]

Gosh, what a mean landlord I must have been - I used to stipulate no pets and no children!! :o

I did that after I had rented the place to a young couple who had a young baby. Although I didn't deem the flat suitable for young kids (huge sash windows floor to ceiling, mezzanines and 2 stories up) I trusted them and gave in. A few months into the rental I had the rental agency ringing to say they were complaining the flat was "too dangerous" for their child and wanted safety fittings on the windows... :mad:... I never gave in to future tenants.

[Björnsdotter]

I have seen a couple of ads on trademe where people give up their dog since they can't find a landlord that let them rent bringing a dog.
(people get a dog without checking with landlord first or have to shift because of work)
But then again I think you can get private arrangements with a landlord if you are decent people.
I would also have no pets if I rented out a property not to have to deal with damage that dogs can do when not exercised properly.

[CJ22]

Often when landlords say 'no pets' they really mean 'no dogs'.

[CjChris]

Most say "no pets" in the adverts, but when we asked over the phone or in person, they said a cat was Ok but absolutely no dogs. There are lots of kitties in our neighborhood, but they aren't running around wild; they stay close to their owner's house when they are outside (and then when I walk down the street I see them sunning in the driveway and give 'em a scratch under the chin!)

We've had two landlords tell us they had nightmare experiences with fleas, which is why they wouldn't allow any pets. One place had shredded carpets due to a large dog inside, so they swore off anymore dogs because of that. Can't say that I blame them in that case.

Good luck...

Christine

[bob_the_engineer]

I have dogs, huge dogs. I also love cats but I don’t keep them anymore (after the last old chap died).

In my experience cats can be much more destructive than dogs, although to be fair my dogs are always exercised, and never left alone for more than a few hours, and the cat, well he had some kind of a personality disorder (it takes a certain type of cat to confidently boss the dogs around!)

I don’t keep cats anymore because of the damage I feel they can do to NZ wildlife, I do love them, but the plain truth is you can’t completely control a cat and keep it happy.

Anyway onto rentals, I’ve rented a couple of times, but I always buy because landlords aren’t prepared to give me a chance when they see my dogs, so the rentals I have had, have been real dumps!

Sadly we are probably among the best tenants you could hope for, my dogs are treated for fleas regularly, and the house is too. I always have a company in to wash the carpets before I leave. I own a carpet washer and they are washed regularly as well. The gardens are well cared for, the rent always paid and I even carry out DIY jobs if the landlord gives permission. I’ve sanded and re-hung doors, unblocked sinks and repaired roofs (all free of charge). I once lived in a house for 6 months without a picture on the wall because the landlord said no pictures. We are respectful to our neighbours and have never had an issue or complaint from a landlord.

Anyway I always end up buying because the quality of the rentals I can get with my pets is way below the standard I’m prepared to live in.

Now I enjoy DIY, so I go for cheaper houses that need some work, it gets us a good deal when we buy, I’ve seen lots of ex-rentals and met many landlords that are tired of the hassle, so they are getting out of the property game. I’ve seen some really badly damaged houses.

I’ve never seen a cheap house, or a dismayed landlord, that’s decided to sell up because dogs have wrecked his/her property!

I’ve seen holes punched in walls, distraught neighbours, kitchens ripped apart, toilets kicked in half, garbage stockpiled in garages, all sorts of things, and very sad upset would-be landlords who just won’t take anymore.
The funny thing is, this damage was often done by couples in abusive relationships, or friends sharing houses NEVER by a dog or cat!

If I was a landlord I wouldn’t think twice about offering a rental to someone responsible enough to look after a pet, it shows a personality trait. In fact I’d go so far as to judge how good a tenant someone could be, by how well their pet was treated.

As my old mum used to say, never trust anyone who doesn’t like animals, and avoid anyone your dog doesn’t like, well she used to say that before I set the dogs on her, LOL.

Seriously there is a big gap in the market for someone with the insight to rent decent houses to decent people who happen to love their pets.


Bob

[Lupin]

As my old mum used to say, never trust anyone who doesn’t like animals, and avoid anyone your dog doesn’t like, well she used to say that before I set the dogs on her, LOL.

:laugh

My adolescent puppy has been clearly trying to dominate my mil, which at first was annoying but as the weeks have dragged by I'm thinking the dog far smarter than we gave her credit for!

[bob_the_engineer]

:laugh

My adolescent puppy has been clearly trying to dominate my mil, which at first was annoying but as the weeks have dragged by I'm thinking the dog far smarter than we gave her credit for!

if only my dogs were brave enough to take on my MIL :laugh

Bob

[IanW99]

...
If I was a landlord I wouldn’t think twice about offering a rental to someone responsible enough to look after a pet, it shows a personality trait. In fact I’d go so far as to judge how good a tenant someone could be, by how well their pet was treated.
...
Seriously there is a big gap in the market for someone with the insight to rent decent houses to decent people who happen to love their pets.

Bob

When we were looking for a rental, the agent that we were talking to said that because we were bringing over a dog from the UK at thousands of dollars, we are unlikely to be much of a risk so was happy to discuss this with the landlord without any problems at all.

Ian