Advice, please! Renting, no pets allowed, want a dog... help!

[Aimeedyan]

We really want to adopt a puppy... Right now, we are renting, and our landlord said no pets. We plan to be in this home until I graduate, and then we will move to someplace where we will both work FT (and likely buy a home). Right now, with our schedules, the puppy will never go more than 2 hours without someone there. I don't really work besides classes... so it would be a perfect time to housebreak a puppy and such.

We want a small, indoor dog. 10 pounds tops, like a yorkie or the like. We are prepared to crate train, attend obedience school, etc. We have researched like crazy the responsiblities and different breeds and are ready...

BUT our lease says no. Now, we rent from a good ol' boy that owns a few properties. DH thinks that we have proven that we are good tenants and that he may allow us to, with an additional deposit, which we are prepared to put down. Futhermore, we intend on steam cleaning the carpets before leaving and getting anything repaired that needs to be.

Our landlord was kind of standoffish in the beginning, and short with us, but has since been more friendly and even complimented us on how nice we have the house fixed up, the yard done, etc. We pay early each month, never a problem. DH thinks that if I go talk to him, he might be willing to let us, since it won't be a big dog in the yard, liability issue, etc and because we've proved ourselves.

PLEASE don't burst my bubble by telling me he'll say no... even if you think he will I would like to know what others may do in my situation... I plan to go in the morning, in person, to visit with him about it. Do you think that's the best? I wish he had email so I could get it all out before he says no =)

Would you at least ask? How much would you say? I have a tendancy to beg, and I know that's not wise, so I'm trying to get a good, brief spiel put together ahead of time so I don't resort to that. You know? So if you were a landlord, what would you want to hear, how much is too much, etc? Would anything make you change your mind, and what would that be?


Thoughts?

 

[Bojangles]

Good luck. Maybe if you offer a large enough deposit, he won't have a problem with it.

 

[Grog]

It can't hurt to try. The idea of offering a deposit, and steam cleaning the carpets, might be enough to sway him now that he knows you are good tenants. Good luck

 

[phillybeth]

Give it a shot. Worst he can say is no, and you are no better or worse off.

 

[katerkat]

I would offer an additional deposit, and steam cleaning the carpets, AND debugging the place before you leave. Those are all conditions I've had in the past to keep my kitties.

Good luck! I've had it go both ways - one landlord refused a cat and one capitulated. And, of course, now that I have them, I only rent from places that allow them.

 

[Obi-Wan Pinobi]

It certainly wouldn't hurt to ask. Since you've maintained the property well and are early with the rent, and if you offer a deposit and put the offer of the carpet cleaning and the repairs in writing (be very detailed on that, though), he might bend the rules for you.

Are the other properties he rents close by? If so, that's the only stumbling block I can think of; he may think if he makes an exception for you, he'll have to make an exception for everyone else, and he may not want to do that.

Good luck. And may I suggest a miniature poodle? Very intelligent and easy to train.

 

[LuvTigger]

I would ask. When we first moved in, our landlord said no pets, but she also asked if we had any (we kinda do, doggies live with BF's mom, since they're her babies too). That kind of led me to believe that she would consider it. Also, our property has 3 units on it, and one of the previous tenants used to have cats.

I agree that you have to plan out now what you're willing to do to make this happen (deposit, clean carpets, etc.). I've found that in any situation (I do this a lot at work), if you can offer valid justification of why something should be done, and you ask in a polite manner without making the person uncomfortable or making them feel totally obligated to do it, they will at least listen to what you have to say.

Now that you have developed a good relationship with him and have proved that you are good, reliable tenants, it is more likely that he will allow you to have a pet. From what I've seen, landlords love it when they find good tenants and in some cases will actually do things to make good tenants stay.

Good luck! Let us know what happens!

 

[ladytemptra3]

You should speak to your landlord. You have great ideas for taking care of the dog, and you should ask him if there is anything else that he could suggest. Perhaps giving him some control over the situation would help to sway him.

I am a pet lover. I have a cockatiel, a leopard gecko, a gerbil, a betta fish, and two ferrets. I don't know what I'd do without my babies! (As you can hopefully tell, I don't have children yet.)

 

[Pin Wizard]

It depends on your landlord. I have a friend whose landlord said no pets. He "met" her two dogs and liked them! He didn't have a problem and let her take them in.

Around here there is a MONTHLY rental fee for pets! Depending on the size of the pet, the amount of the rent varies.

Are you sure you're willing to pay for any and all damage...there might be? Two days ago my one year old dog RUINED my carpet! He started chewing on it, then scratched it! I was highly ticked off when I saw pieces of carpet pulled out and lying around. Even some of the thread was pulled and torn. I had to cut it with the scissors. It looks horrible and is very noticable being right in front of the flight of stairs. The only way to fix this is REPLACE ALL THE CARPETING!! And I don't plan on spending the money on that in the near future. Think long and hard beforehand!!

 

[DVC-Don]

I was a landlord once and bent the no pets rule for a lady who had a cat. Dang thing clawed most of the screens in the townhouse. Never bent the rule again after that.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

Originally posted by Aimeedyan

Would you at least ask? How much would you say? I have a tendancy to beg, and I know that's not wise, so I'm trying to get a good, brief spiel put together ahead of time so I don't resort to that. You know? So if you were a landlord, what would you want to hear, how much is too much, etc? Would anything make you change your mind, and what would that be?


Thoughts?

Ask. But be very aware he may say no. Don't threaten to move out unless you are serious about it.

If he says yes, get it in writing that you may have a dog for as long as you stay in the apartment, so that if he renews your lease he can't then say it is not in the lease and take the dog away.

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I live in a large 3 family home. Each apartment is pretty nice and our landlord takes each family into account when making these decisions. We are the only family he has approved for a dog. We started out with small pets, rats and birds and when he saw that we took good care of them he said no problem to a dog under 50 lbs (what his home owners covers). We had to sign an agreement that should the dog become a problem, we would have to give him away or we could move out (we have no lease, per se). Any damage caused by the dog we would have to pay for (and so far we have had to pay $200 for some plaster where he knocked a hole in the wall when he was 3 months old; and for a new section of carpet that he ripped up). The LL was not angry about it though; as we took care of it right away, and the LL loves animals.

Our downstairs neighbors are not allowed any pets and the landlord has given them reasons why.

#2cnd floor neighbor was given two chances to have pets. He had a rabbit for a while and he never cleaned it's cage and it made the whole place smell. One day the landlord came up and found the rabbit laying in it's own waste and realized that the guy who lived there was not home and had been gone all week. The landlord gave the guy 2 months to find a new home for the rabbit. When the guy didn't even bother, the landlord came over one day, and took the rabbit away. He told us that he gave it to his nephew, but the guy who owned the rabbit didn't even bother to ask where it went. Then the guy's GF moved in and brought her cats.

The landlord ok'd the cats thinking the GF was probably responsible and it would be okay. Well, he was wrong. The cats moved out when the GF did.

He is not allowed to have any more pets.

The 1st floor people are often 6 months behind in their rent and in the process of being evicted. No pets for them.

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That said, make sure you get something in writing, inlcuding :
Your right to have the dog until you move out
Your responsiblity to cover any damages
The right to end your lease early should moving out with the dog be the only option.


Dogs are not throw away pets. You may want a puppy and think they are lots of fun but they are very hard work. VERY hard.

They will get into things and destroy things, no matter how hard you watch them. They will chew up your stuff, their stuff, the landlords stuff. They will dig up the backyard. They will pee on the rugs and hardwood floors. They get past these things eventually but it takes time and a lot of effort on your part.

Your puppy well may end up causing your landlord to ask you to get rid of him or leave. And you'd better choose to leave. When you take in a pet, it is for life. If you suddenly need to move, you will have to find a place that will allow dogs.

There tons of places out there; a recent search I did on Craigslist.com turned up 400 listings in the Boston area alone that allowed dogs.

Nothing offends me more than people who ditch their pets because they don't want to look for a new place that will allow them. A dog is a part of your family for life. I'm not implying that YOU would do this, ditch your pet because you have to move, but I've worked in shelters and many of the dogs who end up dead because no one adopts them were dropped off because their owners moved, or got married, or had a kid.

Do you have a fenced in yard? If not, are you willing to wake up early in the AM and spend evenings taking him for walks? Are you willing to give up nights out because someone needs to be home to walk the puppy?

We are fortunate that we rent an apartment in a large house, with a huge yard for Monty to run around in. I'd say he spend at least 2 hours each evening outside playing.

That was a big change for us. We used to be able to go out after work on the spur of the moment. Not done that in over a year. We were never big into going out anyway; but now we can't.

When we go away on vacation we have to pay a lot of $$ to make sure he is well taken care of.

Please think very seriously about that stuff.

So I think you should ask, but don't be surprised if he says no. A lot of landlords say no because they have no dog coverage on their home owners insurance. If he says yes, he may expect you to pay to cover that; as he will need to get it.

I'm not sure why you plan to stay where you are until you gradutate, but if possible, check with realtors for apartments that are okay with dogs if he says no. If having this puppy is really important to you, it may be worth moving.

Also, if you do end up with the puppy, 2 words of advice : CRATE TRAIN (and PUPPY PADS)

Having the puppy in a crate will make it impossible for him to get into things when you can't supervise him, and it helps housebreak, because he wont want to go in his personal "space".

Also, Petsmart sells puppy housetraining pads. They work wonderful and give the dog a place to go in the house if he can't hold it till he gets outside while you are are housebreaking.

PM me if you want any more info on the ins and outs of having a puppy in an apartment.