Looking to rent in Melbourne with 2 Cats

My partner had just been offered a job in Mornington VIC and we will be looking at renting around the

Bonbeach area as its midway between my son in Mordialloc and Mornington and needs to be walking distance to the Frankston line for me as only looking at one car. I keep hearing that we may have a problem renting with our two indoor cats. Does anyone know wether this is something to worry about. They are completely housetrained and leaving them behind is not an option.

We will be arriving around June /July time and can pay 6 months rent in advance. Any one else found this to be a problem?

Yes you'll definitely be limiting yourself by having the cats unfortunately. You'll probably only find 1 in every 10 (If that) will allow pets. Most listings will say if they're pet friendly or not. You could always 'Fail to mention' the cats? That's what most people seem to have to do. Good luck!

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It's difficult. But if your son is here he can sound out the places for you

Most ads on Domain or Real estate state if it pet friendly, if your cats are housetrained I would leave out the fact you have 2.

Hi Debbie, it's really strange as in Queensland especially Far North it is normal for people to have pets and agents advise their property owners to accept them.

Now all my years in Melbourne I found that agents don't always advertise that the property is pet friendly even if they don't really mind. Apply for any of the properties you see, put in a covering letter saying you are willing to pay for carpets cleaning and a pest controller to spray the house, offer a pet bond (although by law they can't ask for this) and like you said offer the 6 months in advance. If you rented in the U.K. a letter from your landlord or agent would also be good. At the end of the day you may be up against a couple of families, if I was a property owner and I had to choose between 2 cats or 4 children it would be the cats every time.

Thanks to all for the feedback. Guess it's a bit of a lottery but will take all your comments on board. Thanks Pom Queen for your suggestions seems like a good idea to offer the cleaning options, may help to sway owners in our favour.

As a landlord, I allow cats in my properties. But my agents do not advertise this for some reason. So best to ask.

If you can pay 6 months rent in advance then you will be ahead of almost every other applicant.

Thanks Buzzy Bee that's encouraging. It's a massive stress when moving your life to the other side of the world without worrying about my cats as well. We are just waiting for the Job offer/contract to be negotiated then hopefully we will be arriving around June time. Looking at the Bayside area as my son lives in Mordialloc and the job is in Mornington, we like Bonbeach/ Seaford. Will keep you updated with progress.

If you go for a house or a freestanding unit you have a much better chance than if its a flat. Ads generally say no pets if they definitely don't want pets but other than that just ask. I got a rental with cats as did my sister. If you see there are lots of dogs and cats in the area it makes it much harder to justify saying no. People can be destructive as much as pets can be so dont let some anti pet landlords put you off.

On 19/02/2017 at 9:06 PM, Debstu said:

My partner had just been offered a job in Mornington VIC and we will be looking at renting around the

Bonbeach area as its midway between my son in Mordialloc and Mornington and needs to be walking distance to the Frankston line for me as only looking at one car. I keep hearing that we may have a problem renting with our two indoor cats. Does anyone know wether this is something to worry about. They are completely housetrained and leaving them behind is not an option.

We will be arriving around June /July time and can pay 6 months rent in advance. Any one else found this to be a problem?

I live on the Mornington Peninsula and have 3 indoor cats and never had a problem.

i am sure if you offer that much rent upfront it won't be a problem I never have but if it helps. 

But make sure you take pictures before you move in (during inspection upon approval that is) I always do just to be safe, also make sure your animals are registered with the council also as it's a must. If you ever have more than x2 dogs and x2 cats you need a special license and that's a right pain just a heads up btw.

I wouldn't mention that you have 2- just ask if  it is ok that you have a house trained cat! I think dogs are harder because they dig up the gardens whereas a cat doesn't. Some areas might not like them e.g, Yarra Ranges because of council restrictions.