Tenant Requesting for Small Dog in Apartment

CheapSticks on 14/02/2018 - 22:59

hi

I am in NSW and my tenant has requested for a small dog. Generally they have been good in terms of paying rent, my agent tells me that they maintain the property well. Agent is for us letting them have a dog. I am told that I can't ask for a "pet bond".

My concern is around that both the partners work - though some day from home. Our lounge/dining/hallway has pretty expensive laminate (recently laid) which won't withstand the dog relieving himself - i cant say about scratching surface etc.

Wondering if anyone had any ideas before i say "No"!

Home & Garden

Comments

  • ozhunter on 14/02/2018 - 23:08
    +3

    Our lounge/dining/hallway has pretty expensive laminate (recently laid) which won't withstand the dog relieving himself - i cant say about scratching surface etc.

    Tell them this, even with pet bond, doubt that it would cover the damage if there happened to be some.

      • citygal on 15/02/2018 - 00:34
        +1

        I don't think it's legal to get a pet bond

      • CheapSticks on 15/02/2018 - 06:08
        -3

        neg it for what? - i just spent $5k to put the laminates - costs $60 psqm plus instal. My hard earned money !

        • pegaxs on 15/02/2018 - 08:43
          +134

          Then don’t rent your precious laminated floor house out if the floor means that much to you.

        • SlickMick on 15/02/2018 - 09:32
          +22

          wow I don't understand the negs either. Obviously you can't get a bond like that, but you aren't limited to recovering just the bond amount.
          But if you're sure your house isn't suitable for pets, just say no. Any reason why you'd struggle to get a new tenant if current ones would rather move to a dog friendly place?

        • Baghern on 15/02/2018 - 10:52
          +15

          @SlickMick:

          Haha pet owners who dont want to take responsibility.

          Just say no to Pet.

        • CheapSticks on 15/02/2018 - 16:41

          @pegaxs:

          I am renting it for income to pay expenses to keep it and ofcourse not expecting people will damage it - fair wear and tear is ok ! Damaged flooring means costs to fix it plus lost rental !!

          Think reasonably you will get it !

        • knk on 15/02/2018 - 17:19
          +3

          @pegaxs:

          Laminate, tiles, floating floors or actual floorboards. Whatever the case - It's expensive to get that shit fixed and alot of the time the insurers don't cover that level of damage (in terms of dollars) if done by pets.

          That said, we have laminate floors in our place and my little beast hasn't done any damage to them. That's not the point though, its the risk factor.

        • MikeKulls on 15/02/2018 - 17:43
          +8

          This is why you don't rent out houses that are too nice.

        • pegaxs on 15/02/2018 - 23:23
          +16

          @CheapSticks:

          Then your whole original post is a rhetorical question.

          You’re worried about a dog ruining it? Then the answer is already there. No pets. Don’t like? GTFO. If it’s in Sydney, you will have a million people lined up to rent it.

          /thread

        • sydsm on 16/02/2018 - 10:45
          -7

          @pegaxs: What a shit comment!

        • abb on 16/02/2018 - 14:54
          -2

          neg it for what?

          myb cuz u spk lik a bby

        • dsp26 on 16/02/2018 - 17:18

          @CheapSticks:

          I agree with this. Tax depreciations on renos and capital works only covers "fair wear and tear".

          But there is no way around this, I had over $6k in damages from my property and the non refund of the $1,440 bond obviously didnt cover it… They moved around the corner laughing…

          Best I could do was to make an arrangement with my rental agent to let the tenants know i was the maintenance guy for the property just so i can keep an eye on it and scare them a bit by pointing things out on subsewuent visits.

          But I would have only changed to laminate if I was going to move back in at some point, but even then would have been after tenants. This is why a lot of new properties aimed at investors are fitted with industrial carpet

        • macrocephalic on 16/02/2018 - 17:19
          +1

          @MikeKulls: True. Many people choose investment rentals based on what they like, not what is sensible for a rental, and what is the best value for money.

        • O15 on 16/02/2018 - 19:06
          +2

          This is OzBargain, people like to neg without a legitimate reason.

        • Beefking on 16/02/2018 - 20:30

          @CheapSticks: don't come here asking for advice, most of the idiots here wouldn't have houses to rent in the first place and there is probably good reason for that. Be smart and take care of your property; don't let them have the dog.

        • Blitzfx on 16/02/2018 - 21:34
          +1

          @abb:
          I was annoyed by that as well.
          It takes me a significant amount of effort to talk lyk dis insted ov playn inglesh

        • [Deactivated] on 16/02/2018 - 22:09
          +1

          @Beefking: There seems to be a strong correlation between being a landlord and being a controlling jerk.

        • MikeKulls on 16/02/2018 - 23:18
          +2

          @blue-dinosaur: if that is an issue for you when loaning someone's half million dollar asset then maybe you should buy.

        • nikey2k27 on 17/02/2018 - 11:49

          @pegaxs: My family own unit and house many have a pet and no pet floor are not cheap.

        • Baghern on 17/02/2018 - 20:56

          @Beefking:

          hah, most people I know who dont have an investment and do have pets… 1 case lying they don't… would never let a pet in an investment property

          If people could they would also say no kids… but they can't.

          incense in an apartment is a possible indicator that someone has pets

        • snook on 17/02/2018 - 23:28
          +2

          I'd like to know if you're going to blame any women in the place from wearing heels? As I hear it, they do the most damage to flooring.

          WHY would anyone lay expensive flooring in a rental property? $60 sqm?? I wouldn't even use that in my own house because I would have totally wasted MY HARD EARNED MONEY!

          Sounds like your first rental to be doing something like this. You're going to lose the floor anyway. If you have tenants that will stay long term and otherwise look after the place, I'd allow one lousy little dog.

          That plastic stuff from Bunnings is the ants pants. Withstands anything.
          Yes, I have a few rentals. Go cheapest for the best return and ease of maintenance.

        • Beefking on 18/02/2018 - 09:42
          +1

          @blue-dinosaur: Yeah well a landlord is the one who controls the property and pays the rates. If you're agreeable people will walk all over you; you need to be stern and respectable. Telling someone "no" to having a pet on your property is not being a jerk; being pissed off as a tenant is.

        • Beefking on 18/02/2018 - 09:46

          @Baghern: Baghern, you're on the money my friend. Will keep a keen eye out for incense; most people I know who have that around their home are avid pot smokers as well.

        • syousef on 19/02/2018 - 10:52

          @O15:

          Wasn't sure whether I should neg that comment or upvote it ;-)

          Just kidding. I upvoted.

        • syousef on 19/02/2018 - 10:56
          +1

          @snook:

          Can't believe there are so few comments asking this question. You want your rental property to be tidy and attractive but also as resilient and practical as possible. Putting in expensive, easy to damage flooring is a strange choice.

    • sparkles on 15/02/2018 - 10:56
      +67

      You can always tell who are the renters and who are the landlords in these threads. Renters generally have a massively high sense of entitlement convinced they are doing the landlord a massive favour, while landlords don't want to see what is effectively their entire life savings get wrecked for what is essentially peanuts in the grand scheme of things.

      • mattyman on 15/02/2018 - 12:20
        +161

        You sound like a landlord.

        • sparkles on 15/02/2018 - 12:55
          +5

          In a past life. Rental property is currently empty. When "Damage By Renters After Bond" > "Rental Income Earned Minus Maintenance and Tax" an empty property is the easiest (and possibly the most "profitable") option if you own it, and the bank doesn't.

        • try2bhelpful on 15/02/2018 - 15:02
          +6

          @sparkles: Home owner now, but I rented a bit before we got our place. We always had our kitties and we always got our full bond back. We always left the place very clean and made sure the cats were properly house trained. If the agency had wanted extra bond, or for us to get the place professionally cleaned when we left, we would've been happy to do that.

        • Potofgold on 15/02/2018 - 16:54
          +11

          @sparkles:
          Been both, renter and landlord. Maintenance and tax should be factored in when you buy an investment property. Damage after bond? Tenant is still responsible for damage above bond amount and landlord insurance is a must!

        • knk on 15/02/2018 - 17:21
          +3

          @Potofgold:

          Mentioned it up top, but most insurers have a limit on how much they cover with damage done by pets.

          From memory (and I hope my policy is right), with Terri Scheer these limits weren't present. From memory AAMI was like $1500 damage max done by pets and $5000 malicious damage. Not alot in the scheme of things.

        • [Deactivated] on 18/02/2018 - 02:47
          +1

          You sound like a tenant

        • Tsim on 18/02/2018 - 18:52

          @sparkles: I was under the impression that if you had a rental property, it needed to be let out to claim anything through tax.

      • [Deactivated] on 15/02/2018 - 19:00
        +3

        Are you sure it wasn't the first sentence of the OP that gave it away?

      • jacross on 15/02/2018 - 20:34
        +7

        Owner. In favour of the pet.

        • Clemfandango on 16/02/2018 - 14:12
          +11

          Me also. With the way the market has gone many Renters are going to have to rent for life and that needs to be taken into account. Australian landlords have it pretty good compared to similar countries where tenants have far more rights.

        • [Deactivated] on 17/02/2018 - 22:03

          unless you rented to a drugo who wont leave the property unless you go to tribunal 3x

        • Save 50 Cent on 15/02/2018 - 23:24
          +5

          difference is the landlord, unlike a restaurant owner, can only have one "customer" at a time anyway and it wouldn't be too hard to replace you in a week depending on the location.

        • esty on 16/02/2018 - 08:50

          @samBee: Yeah pretty much, the agent probably has a long list of renters waiting.

          It's an owners market

        • M1ndFu7 on 16/02/2018 - 11:08
          +6

          Just because they are paying the landlord does not mean they are doing the land lord a massive favour. The tenant and the landlord entered a fair lease agreement. It it was such a big favour why not go somewhere else?

          If there is any changes to the initial agreed condition (no pets), the owner has the right to decline.

          I have never been a landlord and have been a tenant for close to a decade, and in my opinion it is unreasonable for the landlord to decline the ask if this is what was agreed at the start of the lease.

          On the other hand, it would be unacceptable for a landlord to change the rules from Yes pet to no pet during the term of a lease.

        • jayel on 16/02/2018 - 20:01
          +5

          @samBee:

          unlike a restaurant that sells a service for recreational nights out, renting is selling someone access to shelter. The laws are already in the rent seekers/landlords favour. i just don't know any other business industry where people complain so much about their customers who contractually pay them thousands a year. are you not making any money from your rental? our are you a property speculator? plenty of other asset classes foot you to invest in if you can't provide a decent service to society.

      • Jalif on 18/02/2018 - 07:36
        +1

        Who needs things like timely maintenance, and keeping the property in the state it was rented in.

        I feel so entitled.

    • Draxxx on 16/02/2018 - 11:08

      Just say no then.

  • KaTst3R on 14/02/2018 - 23:20
    +1

    You can allow and ask the agent to do more frequent house inspections. If they do well for a period of time then maybe it wont be an issue. Im not sure how many month bond did your tenant provide for the property, if it is only 1 month, I think it is reasonable to ask for another 1/2 month.

    It is also in your right to reject. I see that your property is in Sydney, depending on which area, the property rental market is pretty hot. So it wont be an issue to find another tenant. But do take note agent might charge a small relisting fee.

  • Quantumcat on 14/02/2018 - 23:24
    +6

    Why can't you ask for a pet bond? It sounds normal

    • CheapSticks on 15/02/2018 - 06:09

      am told its not allowed

      • peterpaoliello on 16/02/2018 - 18:20

        There's a space for it on the WA bond lodegment form. Correct it is only an extra week or similar - not much.

    • ilikeradiohead on 15/02/2018 - 17:34

      I assume it varies by state. In WA you can ask for a pet bond which I think it like 1/2 a week's rent or something.

      • Quantumcat on 15/02/2018 - 22:02
        -3

        1/2 a week? That wouldn't do much!! Did you mean 1/2 a year?

        • ilikeradiohead on 15/02/2018 - 22:07
          +3

          Nope. Our pet bond was something like $250. Would not cover much at all.

  • D C on 14/02/2018 - 23:26
    +108

    The thing I don't understand about sma- yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap SHUT UP! -ll dogs is why people have them.

    • follow on 15/02/2018 - 02:21
      -8

      helpful

      • D C on 15/02/2018 - 16:47
        +57

        Sorry, having trouble hearing you over the yappy dog.

        • downbythecreek on 17/02/2018 - 10:21
          +1

          If a dog is barking, it is because of a useless human, not because of the breed/size.
          I don't own dogs, but my mate has 2 tiny 'foxies' and they're very quiet even when at home alone and incredibly well trained.
          Would have no issues with him renting my unit if he wanted, but I doubt he'd ever move anywhere without a backyard because he is a responsible pet owner.

        • slipperypete on 17/02/2018 - 16:51

          @shtgnjns:
          Totally wrong. Different dogs have different behaviours. Small dogs yap, not all, but as a generalisation. Fox Terriers aren't yappers.

          As for useless humans, yes!! We inbreed dogs and give them all kinds of congenital abnormalities in the name of cuteness. A lot of these dogs have short lives, are neurotic with poor intelligence and often live that short life in discomfort.

          The sooner humans stop doing this the sooner we will have dogs that don't yap, nip or piss all over the place.

          I'm a dog lover, just not a lover of inbred deformities

        • D C on 17/02/2018 - 19:13
          +6

          @shtgnjns:

          and they're very quiet even when at home alone

          Says every yappy dog owner ever. Sorry, that 'friend' of said owner.

          Confucius ponders: "If a yappy dog yaps in an empty apartment, does it still make a noise?"

        • downbythecreek on 19/02/2018 - 00:59
          +1

          @slipperypete: Sure, there are 'yappy' breeds, but most mini foxies I've come across in the past would bark a lot.

          In fact I used to live next to a foxie that would go apeshit whenever anyone walked passed the yard. It'd also go apeshit at various times throughout the night whenever it felt like it. I've seen similar reactions from them in parks etc so I considered them pretty yappy.

          Despite what old mate below asserts, I've been round to his house probably 25 times over the last 10 or so years when he hasn't been home and knocked on his door, I hear them scuttling around at the door but I've only ever heard them bark a couple of times.

        • slipperypete on 19/02/2018 - 03:24

          @shtgnjns:

          Yeah that's a pain.

    • Godric on 15/02/2018 - 07:22
      +7

      Those little Maltesers, pain in the butticks

      • THICKnSLOW on 16/02/2018 - 14:54
        +6

        Most people eat Maltesers with their mouth

        • bbourke85 on 16/02/2018 - 16:11
          +1

          ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) Mal-teasers

        • Musing Outloud on 17/02/2018 - 13:10

          And Def-Tone's…

        • slipperypete on 17/02/2018 - 16:53

          He doesn't, he shoves them between his buttocks. Can't you just be happy with a few gerbils?

    • dogboy on 15/02/2018 - 11:12
      +10

      Any dog will bark incessantly if not properly trained or cared for.

      • D C on 15/02/2018 - 19:38
        +1

        What are your views on people who leave small yappy dogs alone in a small apartment all day?

        • dogboy on 15/02/2018 - 19:44
          +29

          I don't think an apartment is a suitable environment for any dog.

        • D C on 15/02/2018 - 19:58
          +1

          @dogboy: I'll agree with that.

        • try2bhelpful on 16/02/2018 - 10:46
          +2

          about the same as people who let there kids run around screaming their heads off all day. Personally I think dogs need packs, I would never have only one dog. If the dog had a companion it might not yap so much.

        • LlamaFarmer on 16/02/2018 - 17:47
          +5

          @try2bhelpful:
          Or you might get double the yapping. My neighbour has 3 small dogs and I can assure you it's triple the yapping in this case.

        • try2bhelpful on 16/02/2018 - 22:09
          +1

          @LlamaFarmer: sounds like the dogs might need some training or something to keep them amused during the day.

        • camtraband on 17/02/2018 - 08:03
          -1

          @dogboy: my Great Dane is more than happy in our inner city apartment. They don't need that much space as long as they get appropriate exercise every day. Granted, smaller dogs generally need a lot more exercise than a Dane, so unless people can walk and play with them for 4+ hours every day without fail, a backyard is a requirement.

      • Musing Outloud on 17/02/2018 - 13:27

        Good point.

        OP won't just have either scratch damage to his floor from paws or swelling damage from pee, plus the added smells. OP will have complaining neighbours and a complaining body corporate. The consequence will be a complaining managing agent and no pet bond to claim on.

        Trade this off against keeping a good tenant happy.

        First step is to find out if you have the right to say "no" under the new strata laws. If you have that right use it.

        Second step is if the tenant accept this, well things continue or the tenant moves out.

        Third step is if the tenant ignores you and gets the dog anyway, you can give notice.

        I am always bemused by the it's only a "SMALL" dog line. Having been a multiple dog owner, many small dog breeds (not all) are highly strung, harder to train, are yappier and need more exercise to exhaust them. The exact worst dog for an apartment.

        • Baghern on 17/02/2018 - 20:59
          -1

          small dogs also often have a lack of bladder control

        • snook on 17/02/2018 - 23:16
          +1

          @Baghern: what a load of hooey. Were you a small dog in a previous life and speak from personal experience?

          I have had HEAPS of small dogs (and a couple of big dogs) and they are no different when trained. Totally ridiculous comment.

        • Baghern on 18/02/2018 - 00:02
          -1

          @snook: You clearly don't know dogs then…

          its called getting excited

        • snook on 18/02/2018 - 12:28

          @Baghern: No mate, it's you that don't know dogs.

          Not everyone pisses their pants when they're scared like you, same with dogs. Very few dogs do that.

  • bdl on 14/02/2018 - 23:26
    +1

    Renters insurance may help too if you do decide to allow the tenant to have a dog: https://www.rentcover.com.au/. I haven't read the PDS but maybe worth it until you know how responsible the tenant is with animals.

    If it's a new puppy there may be accidents while it is being toilet/obedience trained (hopefully the tenant is planning on toilet/obedience training :) ).

    • Toons on 14/02/2018 - 23:48
      +3

      Yeah thats always a bit of a trick we have about 80 dogs on the farm at any time the good thing we did notice in the way we ended up setting up the place the older pups can play with the newborns and they mimic copy the habits of the older ones by the time they are 8 weeks they are house trained it's not enforced training just allowing them to pick up the habits by letting them learn from the older pups beats standing out in the cold at night begging it to go.

      Not all of them are allowed in the main house and we have had no accidents since we reset the layout to make it more friendly for them and they can last a nearly 4 hour car trip without making a mess either.

      • one man clan on 15/02/2018 - 09:11
        +45

        80 dogs!? what are you farming, fleas?

        • kolorijo on 15/02/2018 - 09:18
          +2

          ^ cracked me up lol.

        • Toons on 15/02/2018 - 10:53
          +5

          We did try taking the ones we found to one of those markets advertised but they only had all this old junk. :-)

          But in all seriousness if they weren't our own dogs then yeah there would be a huge potential for it and we can't afford to have things like that introduced into the farm.

          Some of them are sent to be trained as guide dogs and those guys can do without that kind of thing to deal with either.

          Some go all to places all around the world so they have to be checked for anything that potentially introduce a pest into the country they are going to

          So the whole place is actually fairly clean it's not you're typical suburban kennel or breeder. the large enclosure to let them have a good run out is the size of a footy oval.

        • [Deactivated] on 15/02/2018 - 14:56
          +3

          Turds

        • Toons on 15/02/2018 - 18:36
          +3

          @4sure: Yeah haven't managed to breed that out yet and we know the Japanese toilets are no good.

          There was one of the guide dogs whose owner had a Japanese toilet to make things easier for himself which unfortunately they don't get trained for, after the bloke was done and the toilet was doing it's thing the dog nudged the control panel and it started making more noises the guys wife walked into the bathroom to see what was happening the lid lifted the poor thing looked inside and copped a laser guided jet of water to the mush suffice to say it's happy to sit at the bathroom door now.

    • imurgod on 15/02/2018 - 16:43

      The rentcover product isn't the best out there anymore.

      Look for a Steadfast product (IAL or AIG wordings are great).

    • knk on 15/02/2018 - 17:23
      +3

      Problem with toilet training is they slip up at first. Our doggo took about 4 months of training before he didn't have any accidents. All of a sudden he got the hang of it and never pissed in the house again.

      That said, If we had any carpet at all in the house I can Imagine it would need to be ripped out or cleaned professionally at the very least.

    • [Deactivated] on 17/02/2018 - 23:21

      rentcover is sht now, the lost in rent is max 8 weeks

  • Bullion78 on 14/02/2018 - 23:30
    +3

    To get around Pet insurance, could you put the rent up by $50 per week. Draw up a contract that if there is no damage at the time they move out down the track, they get reimbursed?

    • ozhunter on 14/02/2018 - 23:45
      +4

      So, a pet bond; just paid weekly instead of upfront?

    • ilikeradiohead on 15/02/2018 - 17:35

      I doubt that would be legal if pet bonds are not allowed.

  • Toons on 14/02/2018 - 23:34
    +2

    I've been open to dogs as long as they look after the place but they sign a caveat that they replace anything damaged. damage to the garden has to be corrected immediately i.e if they dig holes or chew sprinklers at their cost. the property manager knows not to even bother asking about a cat. and thats in the contract as grounds for immediate termination. the rest of the house has to be inspected as normal and excessive damage to the house is to be reported as soon as noticed so we're not fighting about it at the end of lease. and they commit to a professional clean so carpets are cleaned properly etc.

    some times a pet you don't mind can be the least of your worries.

    • salbee28 on 16/02/2018 - 14:40
      +1

      Out of curiosity, if your tenants will agree to sign a caveat about paying for damages by dogs, why not extend the same to tenants with cats? Both animals are capable of large amounts of damage, no more by cats than dogs.

      • Toons on 16/02/2018 - 15:27

        I've had a cat in the house reluctantly as i'm allergic to them throat gets all itchy etc. granted it does die down after the years of torture.

        But I've never had to pull up every single carpet in the house because of a dog because they have Pee'd in the corner out of spite generally when it's felt put out by something i.e. The baby suddenly there was a change that didn't suit it and the amount of damage petulant damage it did was astounding ripped apart the chair next to the baby bouncer and Pee'd on the bouncer ripped the blinds and fly screens to shreds in his room. we had to lock the laundry door and put it in there at night and if we went out, and a buzzer on it's collar even while we were in just on the hallway towards the babies room. it was free to roam the rest. over 12k in damage just because it wasn't suited.

        Most damage the our dog did was take the knock the flyscreen door off because the dog door installed in it was locked and we walked in to the lounge to find him on the island bench with a packet of steaks in his mouth so he made a runner for it. Damage yes but accidental but guilty o the packet of steaks.

        If you think Petulant is harsh or not something they are capable of think again. is harsh we had to look after a family members dog. it was blind on it's last legs really it had the hump first night it wouldn't go into the basket realised why when we picked it up he cat had unloaded in it (if you have a cat you know it's putrid) so we stuck it in the wash dried it he got in it that night but found him in the lounge walked into the laundry next morning there was a massive turd in it. and a smug looking cat sitting in the corner.

        I'm sure not all cats are like that but i'm not prepared to go through the same shit again.

        and i slept better after the house had be de catted it wasn't affecting my sinuses so i could breath easier.

        • enzioFirenze on 17/02/2018 - 12:29

          bloody hell, I've never had a cat and never liked them either! I see that was with good reason.

        • Toons on 17/02/2018 - 13:19

          @enzioFirenze: Like i said i'm sure not all cats are like that but i just can't take that chance again irrespective of allergies. it was the first and last that would ever be welcome in my house.

        • THICKnSLOW on 17/02/2018 - 13:31
          +1

          @Toons:

          That was a difficult read

        • Toons on 17/02/2018 - 13:36

          @THICKnSLOW: Sorry they asked why and it still makes my blood boil thinking about it so it was a rant

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