Lying about pets

[Eera]

I drive by my properties every week to keep an eye on them. If there were dogs there I'd know pretty soon.

 

There are generally reasons why you wouldn't be allowed to have dogs; I don't allow it as it's specifically and exclusion on my landlord insurance so I'm not covered for any damage they do. I'm also not legally allowed to charge extra bond (in QLD) for pets, so there's no incentive for me to allow them, and lots against.

[blossom]

And of course, in Oz dogs breed to be registered with the local council. They seem to find out easily enough if someone has an unregistered dog to get their fines. They must have their ways.

[GetMeDownUnder]

We arrived in sydney northern beaches with a dog and 2 cats and applied and were accepted for the 2 properties we liked. Neither said pet friendly on the listing but we wrote a cover letter with our pets pics in the header to personalise it. My wife is a vet nurse though which no doubt helped.

We also offered an extra 20 per week as compensation which will always help to persuade a landlord to choose your application.

 

Ps.. I would be really annoyed if the tenant in our uk home had moved in pets without disclosing it. Trust is vital to me.

[itegoa]

Thanks all for the good advice

 

I think the best way to go will be to disclose that we have dogs.

[jonas valent]

I don't think "get rid of the dogs" is ever a solution - once you adopt them, an animal is part of your family.

 

damn right, only reason i'm not bringing my labrador is he'd really not do well in the heat, and i can leave him with my parents, least i know he'll be well taken care of and fatter than a baby hippopotamus before this time next year

[Captain Roberto]

We are currently letting our house out in the UK, before we move in July to Sydney with one dog (our 3 cats are getting re-homed).

 

We expect more hassles getting a place, but I wouldn't lie - too much at risk. With our house, we will probably ask for 'no pets' initially, but would listen to prospective tenants on a case-by-case basis. They would need to leave the place in the same condition they got it (less standard wear and tear) - so the place would need to be throughly cleaned when they left anyway.

 

Hopefully in Aus we will be able to convince a landlord of the same. I heard it's best to have references for the dog (and the kids) - plenty of evidence to show that they won't cause chaos and wreck the place.

 

I would like to think a common sense approach would prevail, but I can still image many landlords would still say no. It's just more work... but i hope it's doable.

 

If I was a good blagger, i'll possibly consider lying if we didn't have our kids with us too (i.e. if this was 15 years ago when we just a carefree couple), but i am not that best bullish*tter anyway... so honesty is best.

[wrussell]

I have a good recipe for dog.

 

From one of my novels:

 

The wife has ordered a feast of dog. Forget

rhinoceros horn, ginseng, vitamin E—dog works. You can't

get it down for a month. Martin will rise to the occasion. I

find myself in a moral quandary. Should I tell him? The

English and dogs—I think not.

The wife has had a quiet word with the hotel

manager. It is costing us three thousand pesos for the feast,

about a hundred Stateside dollars. We could have bought the

dog from a market in the province for five hundred. Dogs

for sale lie with their front legs tied behind their shoulders

and their back legs tied together, muzzled with a length of

twine, breathing frantically.

Filipinos respect rabid dogs. If a dog bites, you do

not kill it. You tie it up and see how it shapes up over a

week or so. If the dog carks it, the victim has a choice of

vaccine or death—rabies is usually fatal if not treated.

Vaccine means bankruptcy for the average family. Most

victims here say their prayers and take their chances with

the local medicine men. The mutt we are having for dinner

seems only mangy.

I cannot bring myself to lie, so I tell Martin my wife

has ordered a dish in his honour, kitu, which is Ibanag for

dog. I could have said aso, which is Tagalog for dog, but

there is an outside chance he might have understood. I can

always plead that I thought his wife would interpret for him.