Renting in Sydney with a dog

Hi everyone

Me and my fiancé are hopefully going to be moving from the UK to Sydney at the end of January/start of February, and we are hoping to bring our dog along to.

It's quite difficult over here persuading a landlord to accept a pet especially a large dog, is it the same in Sydney or even Australia as a whole? I've looked on domain and Realestate and there's a few that say pets allowed, but not sure if they that means a goldfish or a horse would be accepted.

Anyone with experience renting with dogs (particularly Sydney) I'd love to hear your story [emoji1303]

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It's possible

I would not tick the "pets allowed" box on the websites as very view will have selected that box

Many more than actively say "pets allowed" will consider it, some will ask for additional bond or cleaning/repair commitments.

The biggest challenge you have is that the rental market can be quite competitive, especially for decent houses (as with a dog you would want), and faced with 2 applications, one from a family with a dog and one without and nothing else to split them, a landlord is highly likely to go with the "no dog" choice. But that's just something you have to work with I think. Many people do migrate with pets and it can be done, you just might have to work harder and take a few more knockbacks

The rental market for flats/units is much less competitive, but the majority of those will not allow dogs because the strata bylaws (the rules governing what you can and can't do in your flat) won't allow it. In this case landlords won't budge because they can't

Thanks for the reply, as you say I guess it will be a case of taking a lot of knock backs, although the thought of how competitive the market is does worry me a bit. I've heard stories of hundreds of people turning up at inspections? The most I encounted in the uk was one other couple!

We will have about 4/5 months while we are over there to find a suitable place, so I am hoping that will give us plenty of time...

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Thanks for the reply, as you say I guess it will be a case of taking a lot of knock backs, although the thought of how competitive the market is does worry me a bit. I've heard stories of hundreds of people turning up at inspections? The most I encounted in the uk was one other couple!

We will have about 4/5 months while we are over there to find a suitable place, so I am hoping that will give us plenty of time...

 

 

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I think it won't be hundreds, don't stress too much! Summer is a busy period for moving in and out, but even then I think the most I have seen attend a viewing for an apartment (haven't looked at houses) has been about 25 (eastern suburbs). I think four to five months would be plenty of time.

Yeah it's not that bad. There are lots of rental properties and they turn over quite quickly. You'll find something

Thank you!

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Hi everyone

 

Me and my fiancé are hopefully going to be moving from the UK to Sydney at the end of January/start of February, and we are hoping to bring our dog along to.

It's quite difficult over here persuading a landlord to accept a pet especially a large dog, is it the same in Sydney or even Australia as a whole? I've looked on domain and Realestate and there's a few that say pets allowed, but not sure if they that means a goldfish or a horse would be accepted.

Anyone with experience renting with dogs (particularly Sydney) I'd love to hear your story [emoji1303]

 

 

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I can only speak from my own experience but it is almost IMPOSSIBLE to find a landlord willing to accept a pet if those premises are in nice condition. If you're willing to commute a long distance into Sydney Central to work, you could try renting in the outer suburbs.

My experience is that only trickery will do, and I don't recommend it but I have done all kinds of things to get around this problem as getting rid of the dog is never an option for me. I told a white lie and said I didn't have any pets and left my dog with a friend for a week or two, then covered up the side gate with thick shade cloth so the back garden was not visible from the street, and then secreted the dog into my new back garden. Needs must, as they say. Obviously, dogs are messy so great care has to be taken inside the house or you'll lose your deposit when leaving. You have to be careful of barking or a nasty neighbour might give you away.

Another time when I was renting, I didn't declare my dog and just moved in brazenly with him and thought everything would be okay and everything was for about three weeks until somebody gave me away - another pesky neighbour - and I was asked to leave. I got my deposit back but he paid it with a bad grace.

Re 'small pet' vs 'large pet,' when they say 'will allow one pet,' they mean any small animal, cat or dog, usually. Certainly, not a horse, haha

I don't mean to disillusion you but it will be difficult. It's just that I can sympathise, really, with the landlords because some people really don't care about the property so they've been 'burned' and that's why they vow never to let another animal in. You can understand it. My advice would be if you're coming over for a year or so as an adventure, leave your lovely dog with family at home. If you're coming forever (!), expect problems. Hope you'll be lucky, though.

Re rental market being competitive, it is fierce at the moment in Sydney! House prices have gone up so much so quickly due to overseas buyers coming in and buying them up, apart from the locals, that so many of the locals are 'frozen out' of the market due to price and turn to renting instead. You'll def find somewhere but you might have to look to the outer suburbs and face one or two hours' commute or even a bit longer - it is cheaper the further out you go so that's one thing.

Nowhere near the same scale but we had guinea pigs and worried it would go against us - we offered to pay £15 more per week rent than asked & in fact we were told the landlord chose us as we had guinea pigs and there son had them!

if you're very lucky you may find a dog loving landlord who warms to you because they think doggy people are nicer.

I can only speak from my own experience but it is almost IMPOSSIBLE to find a landlord willing to accept a pet if those premises are in nice condition. If you're willing to commute a long distance into Sydney Central to work, you could try renting in the outer suburbs.

 

My experience is that only trickery will do, and I don't recommend it but I have done all kinds of things to get around this problem as getting rid of the dog is never an option for me. I told a white lie and said I didn't have any pets and left my dog with a friend for a week or two, then covered up the side gate with thick shade cloth so the back garden was not visible from the street, and then secreted the dog into my new back garden. Needs must, as they say. Obviously, dogs are messy so great care has to be taken inside the house or you'll lose your deposit when leaving. You have to be careful of barking or a nasty neighbour might give you away.

 

Another time when I was renting, I didn't declare my dog and just moved in brazenly with him and thought everything would be okay and everything was for about three weeks until somebody gave me away - another pesky neighbour - and I was asked to leave. I got my deposit back but he paid it with a bad grace.

 

Re 'small pet' vs 'large pet,' when they say 'will allow one pet,' they mean any small animal, cat or dog, usually. Certainly, not a horse, haha

 

I don't mean to disillusion you but it will be difficult. It's just that I can sympathise, really, with the landlords because some people really don't care about the property so they've been 'burned' and that's why they vow never to let another animal in. You can understand it. My advice would be if you're coming over for a year or so as an adventure, leave your lovely dog with family at home. If you're coming forever (!), expect problems. Hope you'll be lucky, though.

I done the exact same thing over here with my old dog on two properties, I got a friend to take him for a walk anytime the landlord came over and then the other I just didn't say anything until the landlord came round unexpectedly and saw a great big Akita in the garden! I came clean and said it's mine and offered to pay a bigger deposit but despite admitting not liking dogs, she said no let's see how it goes...kind of lucky I guess.

We have two dogs at the moment and have come to a decision to leave the older one here with a friend as she's ten now and don't think she would cope too well with it all. We are in a bit of a dilemma with the younger one, as much as we love her, another friend has offered to adopt her and we know she would have a great home. Obviously would make finding somewhere to live a lot easier, but making up our minds to bring her is proving difficult! Thanks for the advice

Nowhere near the same scale but we had guinea pigs and worried it would go against us - we offered to pay £15 more per week rent than asked & in fact we were told the landlord chose us as we had guinea pigs and there son had them!

 

if you're very lucky you may find a dog loving landlord who warms to you because they think doggy people are nicer.

I think they would want a bit more than $15 for our dog! I've been quite lucky with landlords in the past, fingers crossed we find a decent one!

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Re rental market being competitive, it is fierce at the moment in Sydney! House prices have gone up so much so quickly due to overseas buyers coming in and buying them up, apart from the locals, that so many of the locals are 'frozen out' of the market due to price and turn to renting instead. You'll def find somewhere but you might have to look to the outer suburbs and face one or two hours' commute or even a bit longer - it is cheaper the further out you go so that's one thing.

I think it always appears to be fierce because things do move fast, you have to move fast, and good properties in particular go quickly and are competitive because if we're honest, there's a lot of tired rubbish being rented out. But appearances can be deceptive because the volume of properties and renters in the market is so high. If you look at the data then rents are fairly flat

http://www.housing.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/file/0009/381591/1.-R-and-S-Report-116.pdf

I don't have a dog myself any more - I was basing my view on the experience of a couple of friends with dogs, neither of whom had that much trouble. When we were renting a fair proportion of the houses we looked at, the tenants at the time had dogs. It's obviously not going to help but I don't think it's out of the question

Said it numerous time but will repeat. It's often a condition of insurance that animals are not permitted on the property - in my case I can't allow animals inside the house but outside is fine. My hands are tied by Suncorp so it's not a case of the landlord hates dogs; the landlord might not have any choice.

I remember before we moved, I was very worried that we would have trouble finding a rental because of all the scare stories I read - we had three cats by the way. But the reality is it was not even remotely a problem. Landlords do not typically say "pet friendly" but that does not mean they will not consider it when asked.

Many, many people are pet owners and many rent as well.

I have never heard of an insurance company insisting on no pets and I have worked in that industry for many years. Having just read the terms of the Suncorp landlord insurance policy, it states that damage by animals is not covered (in some circumstanes) but it certainly does not state that animals are not allowed. It would be quite extraordinary for an insurance company to dictate how people can live their lives and whether they have pets or not!

Bungo, it's exactly that; I am not covered by damage caused by animals which are allowed to be there as part of the tenancy, page 22 of the PDS. the simple fact is I have had major damage caused by pets; in excess of $5000 worth in fact. Tenant absconded, and because under legislation I cannot charge a pet bond n QLD, the bond did not come anywhere near covering the amount I needed to outlay.

No pets inside. Sorry. Keep them outside, fine.

Bungo, it's exactly that; I am not covered by damage caused by animals which are allowed to be there as part of the tenancy, page 22 of the PDS. the simple fact is I have had major damage caused by pets; in excess of $5000 worth in fact. Tenant absconded, and because under legislation I cannot charge a pet bond n QLD, the bond did not come anywhere near covering the amount I needed to outlay.

 

No pets inside. Sorry. Keep them outside, fine.

I was very surprised at the statement that your insurance company has made a condition of no animals in house, so I checked the PDR and it says no such thing. Hence just correcting an inaccurate statement or a misunderstanding you may have had. They just have a limit on that particular type of cover /claim. You were unlucky, with your tenant. But most people own pets without causing any damage to the property and certainly not more than a bond. Most landlords know that, which is why there are very many willing to rent to people with pets.

I don't think there is any need to frighten those that are planning their move (not suggesting you are, but some posts in the thread might be a bit worrying). I had the frighteners put on me too, it was in fact one of my biggest worries before we moved, but turned out there was no need whatsoever. Would just like to reassure the OP and others that it is not so bad.

I think they would want a bit more than $15 for our dog! I've been quite lucky with landlords in the past, fingers crossed we find a decent one!

 

 

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have you gong through the criteria for getting your dog to Oz could he travel a while free you do giving you chance to look for a place ?

have you gong through the criteria for getting your dog to Oz could he travel a while free you do giving you chance to look for a place ?

I've started the process, rabies vaccination etc and we will hopefully be over end of January so yes will we have a good few months to look for a suitable place before she can fly over.

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Hello there

It is possible. But can be hard. So make sure your dog is up-to-date with vaccinations, worming, flea treatments.

Hard to impossible, to have pets in flats and units, as the body corporate can be quite anal about pets.

Best to try the outskirts of Sydney. Somewhere you can rent a house with a fenced yard.

For example, this one says "pets considered" : http://soames.com/search/display.aspx?ln=2484255

Some ads will say strictly no pets. But some will certainly consider it.

I am allowed to have a cat in my rental. But cannot have a dog, as garden is unfenced.

Hello there

 

It is possible. But can be hard. So make sure your dog is up-to-date with vaccinations, worming, flea treatments.

 

Hard to impossible, to have pets in flats and units, as the body corporate can be quite anal about pets.

 

Best to try the outskirts of Sydney. Somewhere you can rent a house with a fenced yard.

 

For example, this one says "pets considered" : http://soames.com/search/display.aspx?ln=2484255

 

Some ads will say strictly no pets. But some will certainly consider it.

 

I am allowed to have a cat in my rental. But cannot have a dog, as garden is unfenced.

Thanks for the advice, much appreciated. Our friend has offered to adopt our dog, they have a load of land and we know she would love it there, so have decided to leave her in the uk. It will kill me to leave her but personally I wouldn't of agreed if it wasn't good for her, but it also make our lives easier trying to find somewhere to live. Thanks again for all the feedback!

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but it also make our lives easier trying to find somewhere to live.

Well it will certainly take the stress off you. And give you so much more choice for accommodation.

Most of the kennels are on the outskirts of Sydney and can be expensive. I had my cat boarding at a cattery for over a year whilst I got settled. Got a discount on a long term stay, but it was still quite expensive.