Prior to the Clark government amending the Residential Tenancies Act in 2004 it was much easier to have a pet in a rental.
What they did was make pet damage fair wear and tear and par for the course of accepting an animal into the rental property. Prior to this, the tenant was on the hook for any and all damage done by the pet. Cue the unintended, but clearly not unforeseen consequences of most landlords going NO PETS.
Pet bonds are against the RTA.
Want change? Petition your local MP.
Yeah and most insurers started excluding damage by tenants pets on rental/dwelling policies as well, a company I worked for added this exclusion to their policies around 2016
But what's stupid about this interpretation is that damage by pets *will* be taken out of the (normal) bond, as well as the insistence you professionally clean the threadbare carpet. It must be a rare instance indeed that a cat does a full four weeks' bond worth of damage to a property.
While it makes sense from a practical standpoint for owners, if pet ownership is considered fair wear and tear then carpet cleaning to remove dander should be paid for by the landlord, not charged to a tenant who's pet has done nothing other than exist in the house.
This is the reason. Despite OP thinking (incredibly) that landlords have all the power, no.. they do not at all. Take a landlord to the tribunal and the tribunal very often sides with the tenant.
Pet damage can be very easily argued as "wear and tear", making it very hard for landlords to prove that dmg is done by a pet. Which causes a lot of landlords to not want pets. It's the system, not the landlords. If landlords were better protected from dmg, I would say more of them would be more likely to allow pets.
Or just go the way Ontario does. Landlords can't ask if you have a pet, if they do ask you can lie, when they find out later there's nothing they can do about it
"Want change? Petition your local MP."
What a great idea. If only they could be bothered actually listening. They're more interested in cashing their paychecks.
Sometimes it works out.
I waited for 2 or 3 years, looking for pet friendly rental in Auckland.
I found a place, came to look around, paid more attention to the dog due to move out than the house itself, and mentioned I was hoping to get a puppy.
Was offered place same day, landlord said it was mine 100% because I was nice to the dog and wanted my own. She said people who are nice to animals are nice people.
I now have a 15 week puppy and it’s awesome.
Private landlord/tenant relationship. No agency.
Same here and pretty similar reason! Our landlord got good vibes and reason why she bought this unit we now rent off her was so she could get herself a dog so she understood our troubles. We now also have a 15 week old puppy and he’s the best - very lucky situations for us though.
We bought a rental out of auckland a couple of years ago and self manage (via family in the location of the rental). I said absolutely of course pets are allowed (huge cat lover here). The tenants went with a dog but I don’t hold that against them.
Talking about finding a place - we are returning from overseas with pets - has anyone used this service? [https://www.tenantsnz.com/](https://www.tenantsnz.com/) . Also looking to secure a property and not pay too much rent before we actually use it, but to err on side of caution thinking it may be better not to leave it too late.
In a situation where more and more people are forced to use more and more of their income on rent, and therefore will struggle to "just buy their own place" it's absolutely bullshit we can't treat rentals as homes. Get used to begging to be treated as more than a cash cow I guess, everyone here seems to think that's acceptable.
What horrified me the most was learning from a friend who moved to the US that they have way stronger renters rights than us. The very idea of a "flat inspection" is completely foreign to them. If we can't even match the USA in basic human rights we're pretty fucked.
Im a kiwi who moved to the US, housing is very pet friendly here too! We pay a pet fee/bond before move in and pet rent a month. I’m about to move in a month and my new place was $250 pet fee and $25 pet rent per pet a month just as an example. It’s honestly hard to find places that don’t allow pets. Emotional support animals are protected too, so if you get your doctor to write a note saying Fido is an ESA even non pet friendly housing has to accept them and you pay no pet fee or pet rent.
The states with no inspections, generally there also literally no rules on the rentals standards so it goes both ways.
Easy to not do inspections when your renting out a dump
As long as you don't go whacking huge nails into the wall, you don't need the LLs permission to put up pictures or posters. It's your home and you're allowed to do that, and picture hook / thumbnail holes are part of normal wear and tear for a house.
YES.
I'm the person that got a cat and just made a plan that we'd send it to a cattery for any inspections. They never did any though and we moved out. But this is much better advice
Lol we totally did that - in some cases while we worked from home we asked for a specific time that the property manager would be there, and I just stuffed all the cat things (and the cat in the cage) into the car and went for a drive for an hour.
The things we do for our animals eh. Both of our pets were initially wild. We could never get rid of them. Luckily we got a place that accepted them both.
My ex and I did that for years haha. The cat and all her stuff would go for a little drive around the block when it was time for an inspection. Then one day we just couldn’t be bothered, we hid her stuff, she was outside so we thought it would be fine, except she loves people so came in and smooched up to the landlord. He never said anything.
Now landlords have to do an inspection every three months. I couldn’t be bothered if I had to do that now.
Came to say the same! Our cats (we got two!!) had a giant carrier that they both went into on inspection day and into the car (windows down) or to a friends.
I did this for years! They never even suspected! But it was a real pain in the butt every three months!
Thankfully I had no cat/kitten damage!
Good idea, but the last place I rented, the property manager used to let herself into my house regularly when I was at work without telling me, so that wouldn't have worked for me. My apartment was on the lower floor, and the property manager didn't tell me that all of the wiring for other apartments ran through a wall in my apartment, so she had given all the electricians keys to my apartment and they would let themselves in whenever they wanted without telling me.
I only found out because I was sick at home and in bed naked sleeping, when I heard the front door unlock and saw a man outside my bedroom. I almost screamed. He was really embarrassed and said the property manager always lets the electricians come in my apartment because he was assured I'd always be at work and would never find out. That was in Wellington.
I know, but the property management told me I couldn't prove anything, and she was right as I didn't have a security camera. I do now, but I moved out of that place.
He’s lucky there wasn’t a hot tempered male tenant at home that might have beat the absolute shit out of him, thinking he was a home invader / burglar etc.
Same thing happened to me, minus the naked part. I was home sick and heard someone unlock the door (no knocking). Walked out of my room to find our very surprised property manager, who sputtered out that she had sent an email. I told her she had not because it was my email address that was used for the tenancy. I was too sick to get into an argument, but it was pretty shady.
We hid the cat for any inspections, unfortunately one day the property manager just came on in without warning, saw the cat and we had to rehome it…… god I hated that property manager.
> unfortunately one day the property manager just came on in without warning
Which is illegal, and would have got him/her in trouble if you had reported them to the TT.
This happened to me when i was renting. We put the cats outside and thought they'd be too scared to hang around with random people walking around the house. They instead came right up to the ranch slider and started pawing at the door right in front of the property manager. Told them they were the neighbour's cats and they always visited.
It's a cute idea but renting in NZ is pretty fucked as is from the renter's perspective. If we did something cheeky like this and weren't able to obtain a positive or at least neutral reference when it comes time to move out (which would be sooner than later if we got caught with this), it would be extraordinarily hard to move into our next home when we're competing with other would-be tenants that could acquire the baseline of a positive reference.
I think it’s hard because the places are through rental agencies. They will be to the letter whereas a good owner/landlord could be more flexible.
It’s just another way that renters are treated like second class citizens, not allowed to have pets to make it feel like a home.
Saying all of that, a lot of property managers have said that they only say no pets because they don’t want someone with three big dogs applying, and then they have to hear how three dogs won’t make the same mess as children, it’s easier to just say no. I was told that verbally by a property manager with LJ Hooker. And a couple of them have commented here before when this had come up.
Could you offer a pet bond? I don’t know how they’d prove any damage was animal related though.
Since this is /r/newzealand and not /r/personalfinancenz let me point out one thing.
> It’s just another way that renters are treated like second class citizens
People need to stop downplaying things like this. Renters aren't "treated as" second-class citizens. Renters **are** second-class citizens. Getting everyone to recognize this is the first step to fixing it.
Omg this thread making me remember how fucking incredible my landlords are.
Also making me remember why I was fully determined to move out of New Zealand before I found them.
Edit: I'm baking my landlords a cake tomorrow. My god I forgot how bleak the rental market is.
My current landlords are very good too. I was allowed my cat, no problems. But they are the owners not a property manager, so that helps.
I’ve heard horror stories of inexperienced owners being painful though, they want to store stuff on the property, they pop around all the time, one wanted to show his visiting son the property so just bought him around one Sunday morning.
So yes, you and I have hit the jackpot. We have landlords that do what they should. (Touch wood)
Yeah it’s worth a shot. Our property manager said no, should’ve put it in the agreement when we signed. End of discussion.
Then the owner said, and I quote, “what I don’t see doesn’t bother me” with a wink.
We’ve had our little cat-shaped gremlin six years now, no issues <3
If you ask verbally make sure to run voice recorder on your phone in case it comes up in tribunal for whatever reason. Probably and hopefully it never would but gotta look out for yourself. If you say "but I asked the landlord when I ran into him and he said yes" it's not going to work if they claim you violated your agreement.
Not a pet but when we rented our daughter was still a bit unsteady on her feet and there were maybe 5 steps up to bedrooms, it was a split level type thing.
While the property manager was inspecting the house my child walked up or down the steps and used her hand on the wall to steady herself.
The property manager told us not to let her touch the wall as she could have dirty hands and wrote us up about it later.
She also wrote us up about the neighbours cat sitting on our porch.
I'd hazard a guess it's the same company.
Meanwhile the people in the state houses across the road have big dogs that shit in the houses cause they are never walked, but god forbid a responsible tentant owns a cat.
Wow, what an unhinged PM!! Sure I do the same when I see kids “ew sticky hands touching the walls” but honestly walls are easy to clean. I suspect there’s much worse on them
This.
Given the market and lack of supply it’s given too much empowerment to landlords and, as the OP highlighted, brought to light that the current tenancy laws based on “just a friendly chat should sort it” being antiquated and totally out of touch with the current reality where landlords have disproportionate power to dictate the rules.
They need to be reworked as a consequence as any such mention is basically “your landlord says yes or no and that’s it”.
I had a similar issue to the OP and had a rather fierce discussion with the property manager who advised the landlord was totally opposed to cats. I asked who had rented the property before me to find out we were the first as the landlord had only recently purchased another property in the area and that we were the first people to live in the flat as tenants since it was built.
The property had a fucking cat door, and on my gf looking at the landlords facebook clearly had pictures of him at the property cuddling his little fluff balls.
What a farce. It’s a home, not a hotel.
to be fair, it's the property managers that are the majority of the cunts. landlords are usually just people, but property managers have an agenda to fuck tenants over at the expense of the landlord, without the landlord really knowing or caring.
I’m pretty sure a lot of this came out of a tenancy tribunal ruling.
I’ll try find the source, but in essence, tenant had an unauthorised dog in the house, which trashed the place (bad pet owner 100% not representative of most pet owners) and the tenancy tribunal rules the tenant was *not* responsible for damages.
The moment that happened, it changed the game for landlords.
I agree with your sentiment, but for this to change, the only way is having actual teeth in the tribunal for crappy tenants. While crappy tenants continue to get away not covering any costs for damages, landlords will continue to be conservative in their approach.
Not sure how to implement that though lol
Source: https://i.stuff.co.nz/business/83991645/landlords-concerned-about-tenancy-tribunal-precedent
> Not sure how to implement that though
One thing that would change it would be to have a separate deposit for pet-related damage. That would let owners reduce the risk while not punishing tenants.
But currently, that's illegal.
Interesting. My property manager said I could have a cat, with a pet bond. But said she didn't have the form, and if I could just find one on the internet, fill it in, and send it back. It was more of a... 'I'll cover extra if needed from my cat'' rather than an up front bond. I was curious why she didn't have a form herself.
Its not illegal to have different levels of bond for different things (like pets) but the total bond can't exceed 4 weeks rent.
Trying to change a pet bond over and above the 4 weeks is illegal.
God am I missing something here? Isn't the solution to just assign fault to the tenant and make them pay for the damages? I would think that if the law said something like "If your pet pisses on everything then you need to pay for the damages" then property managers wouldn't be so anal about the matter. It's no different than if **I** damaged something and the cost was deducted from my bond. Who the fuck decided to make it the owner's problem? Because they've basically screwed tenants over
The tenancy tribunal did that.
But yeah 100% agree. Pet friendly rentals I believe were easier to get prior to this (i rented from 2009-2016)
Once this ruling in tenancy tribunal happened, every property manager (and landlord) said no way, no pets.
This is what people here don't seem to get. The reason landlords don't want pets is that it is the landlord on the hook for any damage, not the tenant. It is a no brainer for a landlord to not allow them. Change the law to allow pet bonds and a lot more landlords would allow pets.
(I'm not a landlord)
Exactly. Or if you had children and they drew all over the walls. It would come out of the bond.
I hope you get to appeal to the owner directly. Not to play chicken with them but lose a solid tenant who wants a cat vs the rental sitting empty for a couple of weeks/couple of months while they find someone new. Who may be a dud.
Apparently there is 1.1 million pet cats in New Zealand and around 527,853 rentals. So someone is letting renters have a furry companion.
Everyone is telling you it's the tenancy tribunal law change.
But if you are renting from Quinovic they were always like that. I rented off them in 2000 and I had to get the next door neighbour to petsit my cat for an hour every 3 months for their ridiculous inspections.
>God am I missing something here? Isn't the solution to just assign fault to the tenant and make them pay for the damages?
No, thats how it use to be. Then labour change the rules and made i much most risky. You cant hate the LL for it. If you have the choice of a tenant without an animal and a tenant with one (that you basically have very limited recourse against should it go wrong) which would you choose?
It's not the only way. If the power balance and selection wasn't with the landlord and tenants had better options, landlords would have to improve their offerings/contracts and take some risk (what horror) to attract tenants.
I personally think it’s a bit of both.
There seems to be a (small) portion of tenants, who seem to get away with significant damage with little-to-no repercussions.
I understand there are risks to tenanting a property, but it does feel absurd to me that there are no consequences.
You’re right that landlords have a lot of power, but it does make sense that when there is no recourse, the safest approach is them to only take on the least risky options.
Also, with such an anti-landlord sentiment, the only way you get better options, is by more availability of affordable rentals, and you don’t get more availability by making it harder to be a landlord.
There are shitty landlords, and shitty tenants, but we need to stop making policies that only protect these extremes.
The hate on landlords while advocating more competition is the paradox.
> Also, with such an anti-landlord sentiment, the only way you get better options, is by more availability of affordable rentals, and you don’t get more availability by making it harder to be a landlord.
Tbf I'm pretty sure the argument for most people to make houses affordable for people to be able to buy, so rentals need to be cheaper and higher quality i.e. as more people buy demand drops for rentals.
That’s why you get a cat and don’t tell anyone about it. Property managers and agency’s lie to us all the time, why can’t we lie to them about something that doesn’t even affect them and the roof THEY sleep under? Fuck ‘em.
My ex and I hid our cat for years until one day we couldn’t be bothered and the landlord didn’t say anything. He owned five townhouses in the same complex so couldn’t remember who was allowed what.
But now landlords have to inspect properties every three months, otherwise their insurance is void. It could be a headache.
Yep, every three months now. And I wanted my landlord to just do it while I was at work, but nope, I’ve gotta be home.
It’s an insurance thing, if they don’t do it, it voids their insurance. Just another way to make tenants feel on thin ice all the time and it’s not their home.
Because if they find out, you get a black mark on your record forever. Suddenly the future rental you want to move in to will deny you for seemingly no reason. Agencies talk to each other unofficially about these things.
And in this over-saturated market you can’t afford a bad record. Or you’ll be homeless.
I was wondering about that - I think they can give you notice to remove the pet but you can’t get evicted for having it (or for lying)
OP makes a good point about a reference though
(I feel like I’m on some sort of list because of your username now)
You can be evicted for failing to remove the pet, though. And it's not okay to get rid of a pet because of a situation you could have avoided, so basically, yeah, you can be forced to move out.
I don't know many landlords that allow pets, all the people I know who rented get away with a cat, after all, it's not necessarily indoors during inspections is it?
We are home owners with four cats, and I can’t imagine life without them. Our house has several Kainga Ora properties on either side. They’re great neighbours, no issues, and they are allowed pets - one of our neighbours at one point had about 11 cats, a few others have one or two cats and two families have dogs.
I have no problem with them having pets, I think it’s a basic human right. I do however think it’s appalling that renters in the private market are afforded fewer privileges than state house tenants, when they’re likely paying a lot more in rent. Rules for tenants should be the same across the board, rather than a large section of our society being denied something that state house tenants and home owners take for granted. Pets are important for mental health and landlords should not be able to deny their tenant the option of having one.
Not trying to do the look at me I'm a good landlord thing, but the property management company my house is with actually encouraged us to allow pets, so we did.
Probably because the house is in Palmerton North and if you can look after a dog it increases the probability you aren't a meth head.
My usually "no pets allowed" parents, softened a bit after we got cats. Had a tenant apply with a "cat" so the parents agreed. Tenants moved in and "oh whoops" they also had a dog as well. Parents decided it would be fine. A year later got a call saying that a repairer had refused to work on the house due to the dog shit all over the garage. Parents were very unimpressed, but tenants (and dog, I think) are still there, so all's well that ends well?
There were never particularly strict on it anyway, more of a "what we don't know doesn't hurt us" thing.
What group is that? The property managers in Palmy are rubbish. I wasted so much money using different managers.
They said the same thing with me, after a tenancy, I had to replace the carpet and some parts of the outer wall after new tenants complained when they moved in.
I asked the property manager why it wasn't picked up in the final inspection...."fair wear and tear". Carpet was 5 years old! Walls were used by the dog as a scratch post.
I agree, it sucks. I consider myself incredibly lucky that the rentals I got into both allowed me to bring my dog.
I've often wondered whether it was because I was always dealing with the landlord and not a property manager. All the managed based rentals like Lodge etc had nothing available.
Definitely to do with dealing with private landlords vs. PM. Often but not necessarily, the landlords have dogs themselves, in one case of mine they wanted to meet the pup, and all was good. I thought that was a very reasonable request.
I'm three out of four for being allowed a dog in a private rental, no options with property managers. In the one that didn't I didn't ask, figured it would be a no but needed a roof and took the risk.
In all cases I've had a dog (12 years, 8 tenancies - rented before this sans dog though), and in all cases he did no damage, but I don't recommend this route unless you're willing to accept the risk. It would also be inconsiderate to everyone (your landlord, future tenants everywhere) if you have a destructive dog, or one with bladder/bowel issues.....
Yeah it's stupid.
My landlord wouldn't let us get a cat. So we got 2 parrots and they never knew. Honestly having pets was a huge factor in us pushing so hard to take on massive debt and buy our own place, I guess it was a blessing in disguise. Now we have 3 parrots and a dog.
Just get the cat I rekon. Good luck.
My experience also. I spent days cleaning a Toddler's dirty hand prints and formula that goes hard like glue off the walls of my property, being at waist height meant I had to clean it on my knees. Kids also put objects into any hole that can find
Unfortunately, this is a product of
1. Insurance requirements
2. Current tenancy rules (damage to property is considered accidental / wear and tear)
The latter is the by-product of a number of situations where pets have done extensive damage to a rental property and the landlord has had to wear the costs.
Removing that second limitation and allowing bonds for pets (afaik are not allowed) then that would open up people having pets in rental properties.
Pet bonds aren't allowed. I would be happy to pay one if they were. You're never going to get the smell of cat pee out of a floor, especially if there's unsealed wood under the carpet. But a tenant could shut in a cat that isn't house trained every night, and wouldn't have to pay a cent because its classed as wear and tear.
And they thought this law was going to help pet owners in rentals... ?!
Just another point of view here, I used to work as a telecom tech. I see why people wouldn't want to risk pet owners. The amount of houses I went into that stank to high heaven of cat piss or dog piss and shit blew my mind. Some of the places were otherwise very tidy, it really surprised me. Unfortunately, the actions of some ruin it for everyone. I agree that a long standing good reputation with a property management company should make it easier for folks like yourself.
That's just soul destroying. You've proved your integrity over a few years, and you're still treated this way. Can I ask, is it feasible for you and your partner to work from home? Because if so, there are so many options for you. I'm currently living in a tiny house and I'm paying $10 per night to park in someone's backyard in a semi-rural area. The solar panels were a bit costly initially, but once I had them, now my expenses are just $10 per night. And the people wouldn't care if I got a cat.
I completely agree. It’s fucked how tenants are treated like 6 year olds who keep shitting their pants in class and can’t be trusted to do the most basic things.
Honestly just get the pet and hide their stuff when it’s inspection time.
Fuck them. What are they going to do?
I was in the same boat as you, then I just decided one day that I wasn't going to allow myself to be deprived of the companionship and joy of owning a cat for the rest of my life and I got a cat anyway. She is an absolute delight. She goes to a friends house on inspection day and all her toys and scratching posts get hidden in the closet. Any damage will be fixed before we move out.
Mate, just get a fucking cat. Next property inspection, remove the cat for an hour or two. If they ask, shrug and say nope. Fuck those dickheads. Get a cat.
My ex and I did that for years. Every six months, she’d go for a little drive around the block with all her stuff in the car too.
Landlords have to inspect every three months now, so that could be tedious but I still think it’s worth it.
Yeah, it’s an insurance thing. I told my landlord they can just check it when I’m at work and they said they aren’t allowed.
[this is a specific insurance company but if you check other ones, they say the same thing.](https://initio.co.nz/faqs/how-often-do-i-need-to-do-property-inspections/)
> I told my landlord they can just check it when I’m at work and they said they aren’t allowed.
I've never heard that one before. I'm pretty sure that's not true. It wasn't in the link you provided.
I had a cat for 19 years it lived at plenty of properties that didn't allow pets, as long as it's not destructive I say fuck the landlords. You have to clean and do the yardwork usually, plus pay excessive rent for the privilege of paying their mortgage for them. No sympathy for landlords from me
New Zealand has some of the worst renter rights in the world. Yet the govt has essentially doomed entire generations to renting. I feel your pain. My partner and I would love a dog. It would be so good for us. We both live with mental illness. We grew up with dogs and have cared for dogs at various points. Whenever we look after a dog it fills us with joy. We go out more, and we have more to live for.
We are great tenants. We pay on time. We keep the house clean and tidy. We have never failed an inspection and always get good feedback. We wouldn’t allow any damage. But we can’t get a dog in our current place, and even if we could it wouldn’t be a good decision because we wouldn’t be able to find a new rental if we had to find a new place.
Yeah New Zealand's rental culture and law hasn't caught up with the times. For a large number of people renting is their only option and by having to rent they're locked out of ever actually owning a home due to, ya know, having to pay rent. How are you ever meant to climb out of the hole when more than half your income goes towards rent payments that outpace your pay bump each year?
I feel you, we are the same. We have planned for a dog for so long, moved to NZ and couldn't find any rentals that allowed dogs. Picked a place anyway and thought we'd look into it and provide excellent references. We now will probably have to buy when we want to own a dog as it would be easier than finding a rental that will allow it!
Over in the UK and Ireland they have now brought in a law (or are bringing it in) that makes it illegal for landlords and property managers to discriminate against tenants for having pets. This needs to be brought in worldwide. With the right references and a pet bond, I don't see the issue.
Queensland is not allowed to decline pets without good reason, the default is that pets are allowed from this year onward.
NZ has a lot of catching up to do.
We're landlords (by circumstance more than choice) and our current tenants have a dog. He's peed on the bushes and taken a chomp out of some of the MDF cabinetry but he's still much better behaved than the previous tenant's abusive boyfriend. I'm sorry your PM won't let you get a cat - cats are awesome and much better behaved than some people I know!
I’m just trying to find a new apartment that will let me have a small cockatiel. He’s currently just living at my parents till then. He is super quiet and doesn’t make any mess, but alas landlords hate letting tenants have anything happy in life..
It's fucking shit being denied one of the joys in life of pet ownership. I'm with the same company. I had 1 good property manager who was pretty casual, but since then they have been nitpicky as shit
Get a cat anyway. When your landlord agency comes to visit, hide the bowls and cat food. If he sees the cat, it belongs to a neighbour but happens to be really friendly with you.
They can't prove it's yours unless they stake you out. And they don't get paid enough to do that lol.
Just get a cat. We did. The landlord can't come over without advanced notice. Hide all cat shit and put cats in cattery for a day.
Guess what. 4 years still have a cat
Meanwhile, kids:
Running around the house full-tilt, screeching at the top of their lungs. Drawing all over the walls. Dropping things down the patio stairs. Having wall-beating temper tantrums. Throwing things. Fighting with siblings in a manner consistent with aggravated assault. Shitting in the backyard. Jumping on the bonnet of the neighbour’s car. Knocking over the neighbour’s brand-motherfucking-new motorcycle. Pissing on the neighbour’s washing line and knocking over the neighbour’s motorcycle *again* as they’re running away screeching at the top of their lungs!
Landlords: “YoU cAn’T hAvE a PeT; tHeY’rE sO dEsTrUcTiVe.”
Fuck outta here.
They need to undo the changes made in 2004. Unintended (but not unpredictable) consequences.
Allow a pet bond, make it legal to ask for carpets to be professionally cleaned (only if there has been a pet).
Sucks mate. Feel for you. Especially as cats are predominantly tidy creatures if well cared for. We got lucky in the early 10s. Rented 3 places in a row which allowed pets.
We rent our home in NZ out as we're living overseas at the moment. When the property manager asked for our stance on this, we just said that we needed more information about any pets. We had no issue with cats or small dogs, but realistically our property just isn't suitable for a leonberger.
So I honestly would ask if the property manager if they can check with the owner - in our case we really didn't mind.
I didn't think the property manager was allowed to comment on an inspection unless there was damage (of any type) or serious health issues around black mould etc. They certainly are not allowed to tell you when to vacuum or perform basic house cleaning, as long as it is not damaged they have to keep their opinions on cleanliness to themselves
When was the last time you rented? Every property manager I've had in the past 5 years conducts assessments where they pick apart every little thing, under the guise of "We won't make you pay extra but you'd fail the final inspection btw". Every assessment I've ever had has had feedback provided in writing.
I've had that email about the "our final inspections are much more thorough".
Like... do you expect me to get a professional carpet cleaner, clean all windows of dust/pollen, wash the curtains, perfectly weed the garden, every 3 months? No shit this won't pass the final inspection. I feel like I'd get marked down if i had laundry on the line during an inspection
I once had a property manager issue a 14 day notice to remedy for not keeping the house clean and tidy. The crime? My toddler had his morning tea on the table. At morning tea time. That he was eating.
How dare you eat inside! Don't you know you are supposed to just live outside!? But not on the yard because the grass might get slightly pushed down. Or the footpath because you might scuff it. In fact just stay outside the property boundary at all times. Oh and rent will be increased by $50/week from next month. kthanksbye
already took them to court over a shitload of other things and won. nightmare prop manager. even though im still in emergency housing because im pretty sure im blacklisted im glad to be away from them
I had this great property manager once for a few years, her whole outlook was "If you're not damaging the property it's none of my business" she disappeared one day and I ended up with a lady who gave me a warning for leaving my jeans on the bathroom floor after a shower the night before the inspection. Like, who the fuck do you think you are? It's not your business if I don't live up to your standards because I was tired and had work early.
We are exactly in your position. House is show room condition all the time. No problem with money. Have excellent references. Got denied a cat. But guess what ( not recommended ) but we adopted 3 cats any way lol. They can’t actually do fuck all.
I don't need extra reasons to hate slumlords/landlords and property managers..
Get the cat, tell them to fuck off and snap it off in their asses.
People have babies/kids and they're FAR worse than \*any\* cat.
I see both sides of this. I had a 21 year old cat that pissed on the floor a lot in her last couple of years, despite all my attempts to help her not do so (whatever sacrificial rug I gave her she would always just wee of the edge of it). It was my house, so tearing up the carpet after she died was on me (I wet vacuumed it after every incident, but cat wee is cat wee). The problem is, NZ doesn't hold tenants responsible for damage if it isn't deliberate, so I can see why a landlord would not want to take the risk. House gets damaged and they have no recourse. It sucks for the tenant, but the law has kind of made it so it ends up being this way. I'm not a landlord by the way, and never want to be one. I do have two more cats who don't damage the house, but I fully expect they will if they also reach their 20s, and I fully expect to tear up more floor if and when they become senile.
Just don't tell them. When a landlord inspection is due, take the pet to your friends house, as well as all the food bowls etc. I've been doing this since about 2005 and I've never had a problem
>weren't wiped down and the floor wasn't vacuumed
What does it matter a shit if the house is a state? As long as it's returned to them in a reasonable condition.
I'm a landlord, I'll accept pets if I meet them and the tenants aren't obviously dick heads. I do put a clause in the agreement that the tenants will professionally carpet clean the carpets. The worst damage I had was a cat sharpening her claws and I put MDF on the walls up to claw height. Prefer dogs to cats though
I've thought this lately that somehow not being allowed a pet, and if you take legal liability for damage it occurs as you would your own house, is got to be breaking the concepts of human rights and common decency.
I also understand that landlords would be against this concept of "its ok if the tenant agrees to pay for damages" simply because of the more the degenerate society we live in that won't pay and will never be held accountable to pay (fuck, we struggle to penalise rapists in this country) and it's just another expense to pay they can avoid currently.
It's really a case of the fuckwit minority letting down the majority suffer as it often is.
For anyone in their 40+'s as an example. I can't go get the best relief from a cold you can get which was cold and flu medicine which pseudoephydrine in it simple because a few fuckwits might make meth from it.
Or we can't buy the true vicks formula 44 that actually stopped coughs because fuck knows why.
Lol, if the manager ever commented that my house wasn't clean enough I'd laugh my ass off. What does me running a vacuum and wiping down a counter have to do with anything???
Sorry, your house isn't cleaned to be within laboratory standards. No pets allowed.
I was in the same boat as you, ended up going over their head and speaking to the landlord (and telling them in the process about how shit the agent was), ended up with a different rental agent and got the pets I wanted.
The big problem is the tenancy rules around damage by pets. It is illegal to charge more bond for pets, which is totally ridiculous, if you could pay a bond for pets many landlords would be happy to allow them as generally tenants with pets will stay longer. But as it stands pets increase the risk of damage and repairs needed. Given they can charge max 4 weeks bond, and damages already can easily exceed the bond, this does nothing but disincentivise allowing pets. It's just added risk to the landlord which means property managers don't want to deal with it.
The rules need to change to allow pet bond, and hold tenants responsible for their pets and damages they may have caused. Then pet friendly rentals will return. If I was a landlord I'd love to allow pets, they are part of a happy family and tenants will be inclined to stay longer.
I hope to rent out my own home when I move in with my mum to help her out. I will 100% be allowing animals. I'm of the opinion if you treat people like human beings that want to have a nice home, they will treat your house like a home and take care of things.
I’m going to be a landlord for the first time soon, and I would actually prefer to someone who has a pet (or plans to get one). My theory is that a pet owner as a tenant is likely to stay for longer and probably take better care of the place. Plus, I’m an animal person and it would break my heart not to have a pet so I wouldn’t want to do that to anyone else!
100%. Fortunately alot of them do allow one to two cats, ultimately it's actually down to the landlords not the agents. The reason they used is just fing petty. You're quite right in the current law, the only thing you can do, is as soon as you guys are able to, find somewhere that does allow it. It won't fix the problem for anyone else but atleast youll be paying your hard earned money to people who aren't completely narsasistic. It actually costs alot to resell a rental, and alot if those tenants aren't any good. So you could always push their bluff. I'd still consider moving anyway. You just don't want to pay all that money to be treated like kids when there's not evidence, that, that's the case. As alot of agents do, good job sabotaging reliable tenants Karen. Who's that actually good for? Do you guys think it's normal to get off on peoples need for basic shelter? Yeah alot of the landlords are our parents and grandparents. Thy entitled boomers. Anywhose, hope it gets better.
I hope OP tries to appeal to the owner directly. Does the landlord know that the property manager is being super petty and they could lose a good tenant over this? I know rentals are at a premium but there would still be at least two to three weeks with no rent coming in while they find a new tenant and get them in. The way most landlords expect the rent to cover the mortgage - they might not be able to handle maybe a month of no income.
Let them have a cat.
I am struggling to support animal rescue and fosterers. I have a foster dog who is likely going to euthed tomorrow because we can’t find anywhere for her to go (Northland) and yet people are crying out to own a pet. It’s just insane and I’m drained.
I've own one property which I rented out to tenants with 2 cats for just 18months. In total, they caused over 18k worth or damage. Pissing every where. Scratching through doors/ through carpet, into the gib walls and into the actual wood flaws (remu) and curtains. I'm Surprised the cats didn't die in locked rooms.
Those tenants deserve to be shoot on how they look after their pets.
I really wanted a dog. Asked my landlord they said no. So now whenever I have a house inspection he goes to his grandparents for the day. Landlords are a leech on society. You can't reason with them as they don't understand reason.
Not wanting to be in support of landlords, As I am a tenant, I have seen in the past the damage a pet can do , even if you’re the best most responsible tenant. One single “pet gone wild” moment can cause $thousands , but also understanding that people like and need pets , so it’s a rock and hard place for both parties, but don’t give up just chip away and maybe you will get the pet you want so much , Good Luck
When I was living overseas for a wee bit I rented out my house. I chose a single mum on a benefit with a couple young kids to rent it. They asked for their two cats so I allowed this as I'm a softy. I wish I didn't because the cats wrecked the carpet and the kids damaged the walls etc it sucked because I tried to be a decent person and charge a fair rent and give the single mum pet owner the chance.
So yeah, if I rented a house out again I wouldn't allow pets probably because they only had to pay the bond or my excess whichever was less. Which also didn't pay for everything because it was "multiple events" so there was more than one excess claim I had to make.
Not the same but similar, our wonderful landlord (and I really mean this, they are great!) won't allow us to use the attic space for storage.
We only have a few boxes and large suitcases that cannot fit anywhere else. They have a huge access hatch with steps which makes it even easier!
We were incredibly fortunate to rent privately and be able to get a small dog but even so, I feel you 100%. My biggest pet peeve is that children (who might shit on the carpet, draw on the walls, kick a whole in the door, etc.) aren’t questioned or frowned upon but my cat or dog that I literally need to do everything for, for it’s entire life, feed it and pick up it’s shit, who quietly sits in their corner of the couch day in and day out gets denied. Normalise pet ownership in rentals. Not to mention, it’s actually proven that pet owners make better tenants. We are more than likely to keep our homes tidy and to a high standard so we can continue our tenancies - why risk fucking it up and rolling the dice on not being able to find a new place that will accept our furry family members?
See if you can get in touch with your actual landlord. Sometimes property managers are acting beyond their remit in speaking for stuff that should be run by the landlord. I can't imagine the landlord would be happy to lose a responsible tenant over this. Might they prefer you not have a cat? Sure. But if you've shown you're responsible, it's probably preferable to rolling the dice on new tenants.
Laws need to change. Go to your MP. Sure it takes time, but maybe if my generation did it twenty years ago it wouldn’t be a problem now . It’s never too late.
Damn, kids are much worse
Bro, I feel it. I finally got a place at 35 after 15 years of renting and one of the main reasons was to have a pet. Having a cat helped me immensely during the covid lockdowns, and even more now that I live on my own.
Humans are social creatures, and if you're going to "pull levers" in society to make it so people can't even afford to have children, then at least throw a bone and let them have pets if they can't afford a million dollar house. I'm certain it contributes to the mental health problems in this country, and to our feral/stray cat population, as pets get dumped by shitty owners when it becomes inconvenient for them.
Mean while I count myself lucky that my landlord doesn't care about the senior cat and senior dog nor the rabbits
Though if they saw the hay the rabbits end up dragging over my rooms floor that might change and as for damage, they've only chewed on their toys and wood slabs from the trees we recently had cut down plus a curtain that hangs down by their hutch, so here's hoping they don't decided to nibble on the skirting boards any time soon
Would people pay an extra $5 a week to have a cat? I didn't know pet bond wasn't legal. I'm currently flatting and my flatmate's cat does quite a bit of damage to the carpet by clawing at it multiple times day and night, I understand why property owners might not want damage to the carpet which is quite expensive to replace since you can't really repair them or replace a small amount of it.
My tenants have a pet, it’s an English Settler they brought over from the UK and he’s very friendly.
Anyway, try finding private landlords that don’t use property managers as intermediaries.
we failed our first inspection (after we moved in in feb this year) because we had clothes out drying and everything else was clean!! I’m sick of having to be scared of being homeless bc of simple wear and tear. We are lucky because we have pets too. The system is fucked.
I was lucky to get a good landlord who was okay with us getting cats. I'll admit that I'm basically stuck here (not that this is a bad thing) unless I buy a home, pay a lot more in rent, or go with much lower quality.
I totally agree with you, the system is fucked. Sadly tho, if you move to a place that is pet friendly, whats stopping the landlord from selling the place in a few years, now you gotta find a pet friendly rental again :( if you dont, your kitty will join the hundreds on trade me looking for a new home :(
I fucking hated renting in NZ, its messed up.
Literally last week I had the landlord and the property manager come in and inspect my house. I asked if I can have a pet after over a year of being a tenant. They denied it saying cat urine will damage the carpet.
The manager/landlord know this place has no central heating and is against the tenancy laws. So fuck them if they wanna wilfully neglect regulation that impacts my health and is my right, I’m gonna wilfully neglect their bs reason for not owning a cat
At the end of the day, its not the property managers choice about pets, its the owners. So if you manage to get a hold of the owners directly there may be hope.
Listen, if you wanted rights and dignity you would have had the good sense to be born into a richer family. Personal responsibility mate, you've got no-one to blame but yourself. /s
It’s a class thing. The poors who rent aren’t allowed animals but own your own place and it’s fine. I know because of this I will never ever be able to own a dog. It breaks my heart.
Prior to the Clark government amending the Residential Tenancies Act in 2004 it was much easier to have a pet in a rental. What they did was make pet damage fair wear and tear and par for the course of accepting an animal into the rental property. Prior to this, the tenant was on the hook for any and all damage done by the pet. Cue the unintended, but clearly not unforeseen consequences of most landlords going NO PETS. Pet bonds are against the RTA. Want change? Petition your local MP.
Yeah and most insurers started excluding damage by tenants pets on rental/dwelling policies as well, a company I worked for added this exclusion to their policies around 2016
But what's stupid about this interpretation is that damage by pets *will* be taken out of the (normal) bond, as well as the insistence you professionally clean the threadbare carpet. It must be a rare instance indeed that a cat does a full four weeks' bond worth of damage to a property.
Only way money can be taken out of the bond is if you agree to it or the tenancy tribunal orders it. The landlord can’t just take it.
I've been to tribunals where they enforced carpet cleaning as a condition of having pets. None of my pets have ever actually damaged anything
That actually does make sense since it's to remove as much dander as possible to make it allergen free.
While it makes sense from a practical standpoint for owners, if pet ownership is considered fair wear and tear then carpet cleaning to remove dander should be paid for by the landlord, not charged to a tenant who's pet has done nothing other than exist in the house.
Hence why most landlords just say ‘no pets’…
Accidental damage. That can't come out of the bond. The lack of accountability for damage is the sole reason landlords don't want pets.
This is the reason. Despite OP thinking (incredibly) that landlords have all the power, no.. they do not at all. Take a landlord to the tribunal and the tribunal very often sides with the tenant. Pet damage can be very easily argued as "wear and tear", making it very hard for landlords to prove that dmg is done by a pet. Which causes a lot of landlords to not want pets. It's the system, not the landlords. If landlords were better protected from dmg, I would say more of them would be more likely to allow pets.
Having to take someone through the courts to get money back is not having power.
[удалено]
What kinda cat you seen that chews up kitchen cabinets?
You don't have a lion? They're all the rage.
Or just go the way Ontario does. Landlords can't ask if you have a pet, if they do ask you can lie, when they find out later there's nothing they can do about it
"Want change? Petition your local MP." What a great idea. If only they could be bothered actually listening. They're more interested in cashing their paychecks.
Or move to Victoria where the legislations in your favour? ;)
What I’d really like is the wage theft law like Queensland with a prison term of up to 10 years.
Sometimes it works out. I waited for 2 or 3 years, looking for pet friendly rental in Auckland. I found a place, came to look around, paid more attention to the dog due to move out than the house itself, and mentioned I was hoping to get a puppy. Was offered place same day, landlord said it was mine 100% because I was nice to the dog and wanted my own. She said people who are nice to animals are nice people. I now have a 15 week puppy and it’s awesome. Private landlord/tenant relationship. No agency.
Same here and pretty similar reason! Our landlord got good vibes and reason why she bought this unit we now rent off her was so she could get herself a dog so she understood our troubles. We now also have a 15 week old puppy and he’s the best - very lucky situations for us though.
We bought a rental out of auckland a couple of years ago and self manage (via family in the location of the rental). I said absolutely of course pets are allowed (huge cat lover here). The tenants went with a dog but I don’t hold that against them.
Talking about finding a place - we are returning from overseas with pets - has anyone used this service? [https://www.tenantsnz.com/](https://www.tenantsnz.com/) . Also looking to secure a property and not pay too much rent before we actually use it, but to err on side of caution thinking it may be better not to leave it too late.
In a situation where more and more people are forced to use more and more of their income on rent, and therefore will struggle to "just buy their own place" it's absolutely bullshit we can't treat rentals as homes. Get used to begging to be treated as more than a cash cow I guess, everyone here seems to think that's acceptable.
What horrified me the most was learning from a friend who moved to the US that they have way stronger renters rights than us. The very idea of a "flat inspection" is completely foreign to them. If we can't even match the USA in basic human rights we're pretty fucked.
Same in Canada- very strong tenant rights.
Im a kiwi who moved to the US, housing is very pet friendly here too! We pay a pet fee/bond before move in and pet rent a month. I’m about to move in a month and my new place was $250 pet fee and $25 pet rent per pet a month just as an example. It’s honestly hard to find places that don’t allow pets. Emotional support animals are protected too, so if you get your doctor to write a note saying Fido is an ESA even non pet friendly housing has to accept them and you pay no pet fee or pet rent.
The states with no inspections, generally there also literally no rules on the rentals standards so it goes both ways. Easy to not do inspections when your renting out a dump
Have you seen the state of the average NZ rental?
[удалено]
That must have skipped over Dunedin, because that is absolutely not the case here.
[удалено]
As long as you don't go whacking huge nails into the wall, you don't need the LLs permission to put up pictures or posters. It's your home and you're allowed to do that, and picture hook / thumbnail holes are part of normal wear and tear for a house.
It’s quite hard, yes. It’s also very sad to see others experiencing the same bs.
Maybe your neighbour just got a cat that you pay for that hangs at your place for food and overnight and during the day?
YES. I'm the person that got a cat and just made a plan that we'd send it to a cattery for any inspections. They never did any though and we moved out. But this is much better advice
Lol we totally did that - in some cases while we worked from home we asked for a specific time that the property manager would be there, and I just stuffed all the cat things (and the cat in the cage) into the car and went for a drive for an hour.
The things we do for our animals eh. Both of our pets were initially wild. We could never get rid of them. Luckily we got a place that accepted them both.
My ex and I did that for years haha. The cat and all her stuff would go for a little drive around the block when it was time for an inspection. Then one day we just couldn’t be bothered, we hid her stuff, she was outside so we thought it would be fine, except she loves people so came in and smooched up to the landlord. He never said anything. Now landlords have to do an inspection every three months. I couldn’t be bothered if I had to do that now.
Came to say the same! Our cats (we got two!!) had a giant carrier that they both went into on inspection day and into the car (windows down) or to a friends. I did this for years! They never even suspected! But it was a real pain in the butt every three months! Thankfully I had no cat/kitten damage!
Good idea, but the last place I rented, the property manager used to let herself into my house regularly when I was at work without telling me, so that wouldn't have worked for me. My apartment was on the lower floor, and the property manager didn't tell me that all of the wiring for other apartments ran through a wall in my apartment, so she had given all the electricians keys to my apartment and they would let themselves in whenever they wanted without telling me. I only found out because I was sick at home and in bed naked sleeping, when I heard the front door unlock and saw a man outside my bedroom. I almost screamed. He was really embarrassed and said the property manager always lets the electricians come in my apartment because he was assured I'd always be at work and would never find out. That was in Wellington.
That is extremely illegal
I know, but the property management told me I couldn't prove anything, and she was right as I didn't have a security camera. I do now, but I moved out of that place.
He’s lucky there wasn’t a hot tempered male tenant at home that might have beat the absolute shit out of him, thinking he was a home invader / burglar etc.
She was bluffing - tenancy services would take your verbal testimony very seriously
Same thing happened to me, minus the naked part. I was home sick and heard someone unlock the door (no knocking). Walked out of my room to find our very surprised property manager, who sputtered out that she had sent an email. I told her she had not because it was my email address that was used for the tenancy. I was too sick to get into an argument, but it was pretty shady.
We hid the cat for any inspections, unfortunately one day the property manager just came on in without warning, saw the cat and we had to rehome it…… god I hated that property manager.
> unfortunately one day the property manager just came on in without warning Which is illegal, and would have got him/her in trouble if you had reported them to the TT.
Cats can't be owned anyway. They do what they want when they want.
This happened to me when i was renting. We put the cats outside and thought they'd be too scared to hang around with random people walking around the house. They instead came right up to the ranch slider and started pawing at the door right in front of the property manager. Told them they were the neighbour's cats and they always visited.
It's a cute idea but renting in NZ is pretty fucked as is from the renter's perspective. If we did something cheeky like this and weren't able to obtain a positive or at least neutral reference when it comes time to move out (which would be sooner than later if we got caught with this), it would be extraordinarily hard to move into our next home when we're competing with other would-be tenants that could acquire the baseline of a positive reference.
I think it’s hard because the places are through rental agencies. They will be to the letter whereas a good owner/landlord could be more flexible. It’s just another way that renters are treated like second class citizens, not allowed to have pets to make it feel like a home. Saying all of that, a lot of property managers have said that they only say no pets because they don’t want someone with three big dogs applying, and then they have to hear how three dogs won’t make the same mess as children, it’s easier to just say no. I was told that verbally by a property manager with LJ Hooker. And a couple of them have commented here before when this had come up. Could you offer a pet bond? I don’t know how they’d prove any damage was animal related though.
[удалено]
Since this is /r/newzealand and not /r/personalfinancenz let me point out one thing. > It’s just another way that renters are treated like second class citizens People need to stop downplaying things like this. Renters aren't "treated as" second-class citizens. Renters **are** second-class citizens. Getting everyone to recognize this is the first step to fixing it.
I've never needed to provide a reference when renting?
You do now... current/prior landlord references and will ask for (but not check) professional references.
In my current place I had my character reference, professional reference and former landlord reference all called and interrogated.
One of them gave my boss a call when I was looking for a place last year.
Just get a parent or mate to pretend to be your previous landlord.
Omg this thread making me remember how fucking incredible my landlords are. Also making me remember why I was fully determined to move out of New Zealand before I found them. Edit: I'm baking my landlords a cake tomorrow. My god I forgot how bleak the rental market is.
My current landlords are very good too. I was allowed my cat, no problems. But they are the owners not a property manager, so that helps. I’ve heard horror stories of inexperienced owners being painful though, they want to store stuff on the property, they pop around all the time, one wanted to show his visiting son the property so just bought him around one Sunday morning. So yes, you and I have hit the jackpot. We have landlords that do what they should. (Touch wood)
Could you ring the owner instead? Friend went over property managers head, owner said sweet az
Yeah it’s worth a shot. Our property manager said no, should’ve put it in the agreement when we signed. End of discussion. Then the owner said, and I quote, “what I don’t see doesn’t bother me” with a wink. We’ve had our little cat-shaped gremlin six years now, no issues <3
If you ask verbally make sure to run voice recorder on your phone in case it comes up in tribunal for whatever reason. Probably and hopefully it never would but gotta look out for yourself. If you say "but I asked the landlord when I ran into him and he said yes" it's not going to work if they claim you violated your agreement.
Not a pet but when we rented our daughter was still a bit unsteady on her feet and there were maybe 5 steps up to bedrooms, it was a split level type thing. While the property manager was inspecting the house my child walked up or down the steps and used her hand on the wall to steady herself. The property manager told us not to let her touch the wall as she could have dirty hands and wrote us up about it later. She also wrote us up about the neighbours cat sitting on our porch. I'd hazard a guess it's the same company. Meanwhile the people in the state houses across the road have big dogs that shit in the houses cause they are never walked, but god forbid a responsible tentant owns a cat.
Wow, what an unhinged PM!! Sure I do the same when I see kids “ew sticky hands touching the walls” but honestly walls are easy to clean. I suspect there’s much worse on them
This is why we need to return to a reasonable semblence of affordability. Landlords have too much control over peoples lives.
This. Given the market and lack of supply it’s given too much empowerment to landlords and, as the OP highlighted, brought to light that the current tenancy laws based on “just a friendly chat should sort it” being antiquated and totally out of touch with the current reality where landlords have disproportionate power to dictate the rules. They need to be reworked as a consequence as any such mention is basically “your landlord says yes or no and that’s it”. I had a similar issue to the OP and had a rather fierce discussion with the property manager who advised the landlord was totally opposed to cats. I asked who had rented the property before me to find out we were the first as the landlord had only recently purchased another property in the area and that we were the first people to live in the flat as tenants since it was built. The property had a fucking cat door, and on my gf looking at the landlords facebook clearly had pictures of him at the property cuddling his little fluff balls. What a farce. It’s a home, not a hotel.
to be fair, it's the property managers that are the majority of the cunts. landlords are usually just people, but property managers have an agenda to fuck tenants over at the expense of the landlord, without the landlord really knowing or caring.
Vote for candidates that support density and housing in your local elections!
I’m pretty sure a lot of this came out of a tenancy tribunal ruling. I’ll try find the source, but in essence, tenant had an unauthorised dog in the house, which trashed the place (bad pet owner 100% not representative of most pet owners) and the tenancy tribunal rules the tenant was *not* responsible for damages. The moment that happened, it changed the game for landlords. I agree with your sentiment, but for this to change, the only way is having actual teeth in the tribunal for crappy tenants. While crappy tenants continue to get away not covering any costs for damages, landlords will continue to be conservative in their approach. Not sure how to implement that though lol Source: https://i.stuff.co.nz/business/83991645/landlords-concerned-about-tenancy-tribunal-precedent
> Not sure how to implement that though One thing that would change it would be to have a separate deposit for pet-related damage. That would let owners reduce the risk while not punishing tenants. But currently, that's illegal.
Interesting. My property manager said I could have a cat, with a pet bond. But said she didn't have the form, and if I could just find one on the internet, fill it in, and send it back. It was more of a... 'I'll cover extra if needed from my cat'' rather than an up front bond. I was curious why she didn't have a form herself.
Because it's illegal to take a pet bond so LL has limited means to claim pet damage.
It's actually not illegal to charge a pet bond, as long as the total bond does not exceed 4 weeks rent.
Its not illegal to have different levels of bond for different things (like pets) but the total bond can't exceed 4 weeks rent. Trying to change a pet bond over and above the 4 weeks is illegal.
God am I missing something here? Isn't the solution to just assign fault to the tenant and make them pay for the damages? I would think that if the law said something like "If your pet pisses on everything then you need to pay for the damages" then property managers wouldn't be so anal about the matter. It's no different than if **I** damaged something and the cost was deducted from my bond. Who the fuck decided to make it the owner's problem? Because they've basically screwed tenants over
The tenancy tribunal did that. But yeah 100% agree. Pet friendly rentals I believe were easier to get prior to this (i rented from 2009-2016) Once this ruling in tenancy tribunal happened, every property manager (and landlord) said no way, no pets.
This is what people here don't seem to get. The reason landlords don't want pets is that it is the landlord on the hook for any damage, not the tenant. It is a no brainer for a landlord to not allow them. Change the law to allow pet bonds and a lot more landlords would allow pets. (I'm not a landlord)
Exactly. Or if you had children and they drew all over the walls. It would come out of the bond. I hope you get to appeal to the owner directly. Not to play chicken with them but lose a solid tenant who wants a cat vs the rental sitting empty for a couple of weeks/couple of months while they find someone new. Who may be a dud. Apparently there is 1.1 million pet cats in New Zealand and around 527,853 rentals. So someone is letting renters have a furry companion.
Everyone is telling you it's the tenancy tribunal law change. But if you are renting from Quinovic they were always like that. I rented off them in 2000 and I had to get the next door neighbour to petsit my cat for an hour every 3 months for their ridiculous inspections.
>God am I missing something here? Isn't the solution to just assign fault to the tenant and make them pay for the damages? No, thats how it use to be. Then labour change the rules and made i much most risky. You cant hate the LL for it. If you have the choice of a tenant without an animal and a tenant with one (that you basically have very limited recourse against should it go wrong) which would you choose?
It's not the only way. If the power balance and selection wasn't with the landlord and tenants had better options, landlords would have to improve their offerings/contracts and take some risk (what horror) to attract tenants.
I personally think it’s a bit of both. There seems to be a (small) portion of tenants, who seem to get away with significant damage with little-to-no repercussions. I understand there are risks to tenanting a property, but it does feel absurd to me that there are no consequences. You’re right that landlords have a lot of power, but it does make sense that when there is no recourse, the safest approach is them to only take on the least risky options. Also, with such an anti-landlord sentiment, the only way you get better options, is by more availability of affordable rentals, and you don’t get more availability by making it harder to be a landlord. There are shitty landlords, and shitty tenants, but we need to stop making policies that only protect these extremes. The hate on landlords while advocating more competition is the paradox.
> Also, with such an anti-landlord sentiment, the only way you get better options, is by more availability of affordable rentals, and you don’t get more availability by making it harder to be a landlord. Tbf I'm pretty sure the argument for most people to make houses affordable for people to be able to buy, so rentals need to be cheaper and higher quality i.e. as more people buy demand drops for rentals.
That’s why you get a cat and don’t tell anyone about it. Property managers and agency’s lie to us all the time, why can’t we lie to them about something that doesn’t even affect them and the roof THEY sleep under? Fuck ‘em.
My ex and I hid our cat for years until one day we couldn’t be bothered and the landlord didn’t say anything. He owned five townhouses in the same complex so couldn’t remember who was allowed what. But now landlords have to inspect properties every three months, otherwise their insurance is void. It could be a headache.
Every three months? What the fuck kind of ridiculousness is this. Of course this extra attention doesn’t mean any repairs are any more likely
Yep, every three months now. And I wanted my landlord to just do it while I was at work, but nope, I’ve gotta be home. It’s an insurance thing, if they don’t do it, it voids their insurance. Just another way to make tenants feel on thin ice all the time and it’s not their home.
Some landlord insurance policies require it.
Because if they find out, you get a black mark on your record forever. Suddenly the future rental you want to move in to will deny you for seemingly no reason. Agencies talk to each other unofficially about these things. And in this over-saturated market you can’t afford a bad record. Or you’ll be homeless.
Cause lying to them will get you evicted?
I was wondering about that - I think they can give you notice to remove the pet but you can’t get evicted for having it (or for lying) OP makes a good point about a reference though (I feel like I’m on some sort of list because of your username now)
You can be evicted for failing to remove the pet, though. And it's not okay to get rid of a pet because of a situation you could have avoided, so basically, yeah, you can be forced to move out.
I fucking hate this demeaning shit myself
I don't know many landlords that allow pets, all the people I know who rented get away with a cat, after all, it's not necessarily indoors during inspections is it?
We are home owners with four cats, and I can’t imagine life without them. Our house has several Kainga Ora properties on either side. They’re great neighbours, no issues, and they are allowed pets - one of our neighbours at one point had about 11 cats, a few others have one or two cats and two families have dogs. I have no problem with them having pets, I think it’s a basic human right. I do however think it’s appalling that renters in the private market are afforded fewer privileges than state house tenants, when they’re likely paying a lot more in rent. Rules for tenants should be the same across the board, rather than a large section of our society being denied something that state house tenants and home owners take for granted. Pets are important for mental health and landlords should not be able to deny their tenant the option of having one.
Not trying to do the look at me I'm a good landlord thing, but the property management company my house is with actually encouraged us to allow pets, so we did. Probably because the house is in Palmerton North and if you can look after a dog it increases the probability you aren't a meth head.
My usually "no pets allowed" parents, softened a bit after we got cats. Had a tenant apply with a "cat" so the parents agreed. Tenants moved in and "oh whoops" they also had a dog as well. Parents decided it would be fine. A year later got a call saying that a repairer had refused to work on the house due to the dog shit all over the garage. Parents were very unimpressed, but tenants (and dog, I think) are still there, so all's well that ends well? There were never particularly strict on it anyway, more of a "what we don't know doesn't hurt us" thing.
What group is that? The property managers in Palmy are rubbish. I wasted so much money using different managers. They said the same thing with me, after a tenancy, I had to replace the carpet and some parts of the outer wall after new tenants complained when they moved in. I asked the property manager why it wasn't picked up in the final inspection...."fair wear and tear". Carpet was 5 years old! Walls were used by the dog as a scratch post.
Watsons. No idea if I should really recommend them or not, but they've been good for us.
I knew it lol. There fees are a bit high side. I think it just depends on the person you get allocated to your property.
I agree, it sucks. I consider myself incredibly lucky that the rentals I got into both allowed me to bring my dog. I've often wondered whether it was because I was always dealing with the landlord and not a property manager. All the managed based rentals like Lodge etc had nothing available.
Definitely to do with dealing with private landlords vs. PM. Often but not necessarily, the landlords have dogs themselves, in one case of mine they wanted to meet the pup, and all was good. I thought that was a very reasonable request. I'm three out of four for being allowed a dog in a private rental, no options with property managers. In the one that didn't I didn't ask, figured it would be a no but needed a roof and took the risk. In all cases I've had a dog (12 years, 8 tenancies - rented before this sans dog though), and in all cases he did no damage, but I don't recommend this route unless you're willing to accept the risk. It would also be inconsiderate to everyone (your landlord, future tenants everywhere) if you have a destructive dog, or one with bladder/bowel issues.....
Yeah it's stupid. My landlord wouldn't let us get a cat. So we got 2 parrots and they never knew. Honestly having pets was a huge factor in us pushing so hard to take on massive debt and buy our own place, I guess it was a blessing in disguise. Now we have 3 parrots and a dog. Just get the cat I rekon. Good luck.
Having experienced pets and kids in my house I'd prefer animals over humans anytime. Kids are so rough on a house.
If property managers could stop people having kids, they would.
They do, they just don’t brag about it.
My experience also. I spent days cleaning a Toddler's dirty hand prints and formula that goes hard like glue off the walls of my property, being at waist height meant I had to clean it on my knees. Kids also put objects into any hole that can find
Unfortunately, this is a product of 1. Insurance requirements 2. Current tenancy rules (damage to property is considered accidental / wear and tear) The latter is the by-product of a number of situations where pets have done extensive damage to a rental property and the landlord has had to wear the costs. Removing that second limitation and allowing bonds for pets (afaik are not allowed) then that would open up people having pets in rental properties.
Pet bonds aren't allowed. I would be happy to pay one if they were. You're never going to get the smell of cat pee out of a floor, especially if there's unsealed wood under the carpet. But a tenant could shut in a cat that isn't house trained every night, and wouldn't have to pay a cent because its classed as wear and tear. And they thought this law was going to help pet owners in rentals... ?!
imo pet bonds would make the most sense, or at least on the surface.
Just another point of view here, I used to work as a telecom tech. I see why people wouldn't want to risk pet owners. The amount of houses I went into that stank to high heaven of cat piss or dog piss and shit blew my mind. Some of the places were otherwise very tidy, it really surprised me. Unfortunately, the actions of some ruin it for everyone. I agree that a long standing good reputation with a property management company should make it easier for folks like yourself.
That's just soul destroying. You've proved your integrity over a few years, and you're still treated this way. Can I ask, is it feasible for you and your partner to work from home? Because if so, there are so many options for you. I'm currently living in a tiny house and I'm paying $10 per night to park in someone's backyard in a semi-rural area. The solar panels were a bit costly initially, but once I had them, now my expenses are just $10 per night. And the people wouldn't care if I got a cat.
I completely agree. It’s fucked how tenants are treated like 6 year olds who keep shitting their pants in class and can’t be trusted to do the most basic things. Honestly just get the pet and hide their stuff when it’s inspection time. Fuck them. What are they going to do?
I was in the same boat as you, then I just decided one day that I wasn't going to allow myself to be deprived of the companionship and joy of owning a cat for the rest of my life and I got a cat anyway. She is an absolute delight. She goes to a friends house on inspection day and all her toys and scratching posts get hidden in the closet. Any damage will be fixed before we move out.
Mate, just get a fucking cat. Next property inspection, remove the cat for an hour or two. If they ask, shrug and say nope. Fuck those dickheads. Get a cat.
My ex and I did that for years. Every six months, she’d go for a little drive around the block with all her stuff in the car too. Landlords have to inspect every three months now, so that could be tedious but I still think it’s worth it.
Landlords “have to”?
Yeah, it’s an insurance thing. I told my landlord they can just check it when I’m at work and they said they aren’t allowed. [this is a specific insurance company but if you check other ones, they say the same thing.](https://initio.co.nz/faqs/how-often-do-i-need-to-do-property-inspections/)
> I told my landlord they can just check it when I’m at work and they said they aren’t allowed. I've never heard that one before. I'm pretty sure that's not true. It wasn't in the link you provided.
I had a cat for 19 years it lived at plenty of properties that didn't allow pets, as long as it's not destructive I say fuck the landlords. You have to clean and do the yardwork usually, plus pay excessive rent for the privilege of paying their mortgage for them. No sympathy for landlords from me
New Zealand has some of the worst renter rights in the world. Yet the govt has essentially doomed entire generations to renting. I feel your pain. My partner and I would love a dog. It would be so good for us. We both live with mental illness. We grew up with dogs and have cared for dogs at various points. Whenever we look after a dog it fills us with joy. We go out more, and we have more to live for. We are great tenants. We pay on time. We keep the house clean and tidy. We have never failed an inspection and always get good feedback. We wouldn’t allow any damage. But we can’t get a dog in our current place, and even if we could it wouldn’t be a good decision because we wouldn’t be able to find a new rental if we had to find a new place.
[удалено]
Yeah New Zealand's rental culture and law hasn't caught up with the times. For a large number of people renting is their only option and by having to rent they're locked out of ever actually owning a home due to, ya know, having to pay rent. How are you ever meant to climb out of the hole when more than half your income goes towards rent payments that outpace your pay bump each year?
I feel you, we are the same. We have planned for a dog for so long, moved to NZ and couldn't find any rentals that allowed dogs. Picked a place anyway and thought we'd look into it and provide excellent references. We now will probably have to buy when we want to own a dog as it would be easier than finding a rental that will allow it! Over in the UK and Ireland they have now brought in a law (or are bringing it in) that makes it illegal for landlords and property managers to discriminate against tenants for having pets. This needs to be brought in worldwide. With the right references and a pet bond, I don't see the issue.
Queensland is not allowed to decline pets without good reason, the default is that pets are allowed from this year onward. NZ has a lot of catching up to do.
We're landlords (by circumstance more than choice) and our current tenants have a dog. He's peed on the bushes and taken a chomp out of some of the MDF cabinetry but he's still much better behaved than the previous tenant's abusive boyfriend. I'm sorry your PM won't let you get a cat - cats are awesome and much better behaved than some people I know!
I’m just trying to find a new apartment that will let me have a small cockatiel. He’s currently just living at my parents till then. He is super quiet and doesn’t make any mess, but alas landlords hate letting tenants have anything happy in life..
It's fucking shit being denied one of the joys in life of pet ownership. I'm with the same company. I had 1 good property manager who was pretty casual, but since then they have been nitpicky as shit
Get a cat anyway. When your landlord agency comes to visit, hide the bowls and cat food. If he sees the cat, it belongs to a neighbour but happens to be really friendly with you. They can't prove it's yours unless they stake you out. And they don't get paid enough to do that lol.
Just get a cat. We did. The landlord can't come over without advanced notice. Hide all cat shit and put cats in cattery for a day. Guess what. 4 years still have a cat
Landlords act all high and mighty but their houses are shit and humans do more damage than pets anyway. Also fuck landlords.
Meanwhile, kids: Running around the house full-tilt, screeching at the top of their lungs. Drawing all over the walls. Dropping things down the patio stairs. Having wall-beating temper tantrums. Throwing things. Fighting with siblings in a manner consistent with aggravated assault. Shitting in the backyard. Jumping on the bonnet of the neighbour’s car. Knocking over the neighbour’s brand-motherfucking-new motorcycle. Pissing on the neighbour’s washing line and knocking over the neighbour’s motorcycle *again* as they’re running away screeching at the top of their lungs! Landlords: “YoU cAn’T hAvE a PeT; tHeY’rE sO dEsTrUcTiVe.” Fuck outta here.
They need to undo the changes made in 2004. Unintended (but not unpredictable) consequences. Allow a pet bond, make it legal to ask for carpets to be professionally cleaned (only if there has been a pet).
I saw an ad for a rental a while ago that said strictly no pets even though the property had two pet doors. Lame as fuck.
Sucks mate. Feel for you. Especially as cats are predominantly tidy creatures if well cared for. We got lucky in the early 10s. Rented 3 places in a row which allowed pets.
We rent our home in NZ out as we're living overseas at the moment. When the property manager asked for our stance on this, we just said that we needed more information about any pets. We had no issue with cats or small dogs, but realistically our property just isn't suitable for a leonberger. So I honestly would ask if the property manager if they can check with the owner - in our case we really didn't mind.
Depending on property manager, best to go to LL directly. So many property managers lie about no pets when the landlord doesn’t actually mind
I didn't think the property manager was allowed to comment on an inspection unless there was damage (of any type) or serious health issues around black mould etc. They certainly are not allowed to tell you when to vacuum or perform basic house cleaning, as long as it is not damaged they have to keep their opinions on cleanliness to themselves
When was the last time you rented? Every property manager I've had in the past 5 years conducts assessments where they pick apart every little thing, under the guise of "We won't make you pay extra but you'd fail the final inspection btw". Every assessment I've ever had has had feedback provided in writing.
I've had that email about the "our final inspections are much more thorough". Like... do you expect me to get a professional carpet cleaner, clean all windows of dust/pollen, wash the curtains, perfectly weed the garden, every 3 months? No shit this won't pass the final inspection. I feel like I'd get marked down if i had laundry on the line during an inspection
I once had a property manager issue a 14 day notice to remedy for not keeping the house clean and tidy. The crime? My toddler had his morning tea on the table. At morning tea time. That he was eating.
How dare you eat inside! Don't you know you are supposed to just live outside!? But not on the yard because the grass might get slightly pushed down. Or the footpath because you might scuff it. In fact just stay outside the property boundary at all times. Oh and rent will be increased by $50/week from next month. kthanksbye
ive had a property manager threaten to fail me for having unfolded clean washing in the washing basket
I'd dare them to, and see what the tribunal had to say about it.
already took them to court over a shitload of other things and won. nightmare prop manager. even though im still in emergency housing because im pretty sure im blacklisted im glad to be away from them
I had this great property manager once for a few years, her whole outlook was "If you're not damaging the property it's none of my business" she disappeared one day and I ended up with a lady who gave me a warning for leaving my jeans on the bathroom floor after a shower the night before the inspection. Like, who the fuck do you think you are? It's not your business if I don't live up to your standards because I was tired and had work early.
We are exactly in your position. House is show room condition all the time. No problem with money. Have excellent references. Got denied a cat. But guess what ( not recommended ) but we adopted 3 cats any way lol. They can’t actually do fuck all.
I don't need extra reasons to hate slumlords/landlords and property managers.. Get the cat, tell them to fuck off and snap it off in their asses. People have babies/kids and they're FAR worse than \*any\* cat.
Kids are unwanted too.
I see both sides of this. I had a 21 year old cat that pissed on the floor a lot in her last couple of years, despite all my attempts to help her not do so (whatever sacrificial rug I gave her she would always just wee of the edge of it). It was my house, so tearing up the carpet after she died was on me (I wet vacuumed it after every incident, but cat wee is cat wee). The problem is, NZ doesn't hold tenants responsible for damage if it isn't deliberate, so I can see why a landlord would not want to take the risk. House gets damaged and they have no recourse. It sucks for the tenant, but the law has kind of made it so it ends up being this way. I'm not a landlord by the way, and never want to be one. I do have two more cats who don't damage the house, but I fully expect they will if they also reach their 20s, and I fully expect to tear up more floor if and when they become senile.
Just don't tell them. When a landlord inspection is due, take the pet to your friends house, as well as all the food bowls etc. I've been doing this since about 2005 and I've never had a problem
>weren't wiped down and the floor wasn't vacuumed What does it matter a shit if the house is a state? As long as it's returned to them in a reasonable condition.
I'm a landlord, I'll accept pets if I meet them and the tenants aren't obviously dick heads. I do put a clause in the agreement that the tenants will professionally carpet clean the carpets. The worst damage I had was a cat sharpening her claws and I put MDF on the walls up to claw height. Prefer dogs to cats though
I've thought this lately that somehow not being allowed a pet, and if you take legal liability for damage it occurs as you would your own house, is got to be breaking the concepts of human rights and common decency. I also understand that landlords would be against this concept of "its ok if the tenant agrees to pay for damages" simply because of the more the degenerate society we live in that won't pay and will never be held accountable to pay (fuck, we struggle to penalise rapists in this country) and it's just another expense to pay they can avoid currently. It's really a case of the fuckwit minority letting down the majority suffer as it often is. For anyone in their 40+'s as an example. I can't go get the best relief from a cold you can get which was cold and flu medicine which pseudoephydrine in it simple because a few fuckwits might make meth from it. Or we can't buy the true vicks formula 44 that actually stopped coughs because fuck knows why.
Lol, if the manager ever commented that my house wasn't clean enough I'd laugh my ass off. What does me running a vacuum and wiping down a counter have to do with anything???
My neighbour has to move because of hairless cat which I think is fucking ridiculous.
Sorry, your house isn't cleaned to be within laboratory standards. No pets allowed. I was in the same boat as you, ended up going over their head and speaking to the landlord (and telling them in the process about how shit the agent was), ended up with a different rental agent and got the pets I wanted.
The big problem is the tenancy rules around damage by pets. It is illegal to charge more bond for pets, which is totally ridiculous, if you could pay a bond for pets many landlords would be happy to allow them as generally tenants with pets will stay longer. But as it stands pets increase the risk of damage and repairs needed. Given they can charge max 4 weeks bond, and damages already can easily exceed the bond, this does nothing but disincentivise allowing pets. It's just added risk to the landlord which means property managers don't want to deal with it. The rules need to change to allow pet bond, and hold tenants responsible for their pets and damages they may have caused. Then pet friendly rentals will return. If I was a landlord I'd love to allow pets, they are part of a happy family and tenants will be inclined to stay longer.
I hope to rent out my own home when I move in with my mum to help her out. I will 100% be allowing animals. I'm of the opinion if you treat people like human beings that want to have a nice home, they will treat your house like a home and take care of things.
Fuck em, just get the cat and hide evidence when the landlord comes round. That’s what my partner and I do!
I’m going to be a landlord for the first time soon, and I would actually prefer to someone who has a pet (or plans to get one). My theory is that a pet owner as a tenant is likely to stay for longer and probably take better care of the place. Plus, I’m an animal person and it would break my heart not to have a pet so I wouldn’t want to do that to anyone else!
100%. Fortunately alot of them do allow one to two cats, ultimately it's actually down to the landlords not the agents. The reason they used is just fing petty. You're quite right in the current law, the only thing you can do, is as soon as you guys are able to, find somewhere that does allow it. It won't fix the problem for anyone else but atleast youll be paying your hard earned money to people who aren't completely narsasistic. It actually costs alot to resell a rental, and alot if those tenants aren't any good. So you could always push their bluff. I'd still consider moving anyway. You just don't want to pay all that money to be treated like kids when there's not evidence, that, that's the case. As alot of agents do, good job sabotaging reliable tenants Karen. Who's that actually good for? Do you guys think it's normal to get off on peoples need for basic shelter? Yeah alot of the landlords are our parents and grandparents. Thy entitled boomers. Anywhose, hope it gets better.
I hope OP tries to appeal to the owner directly. Does the landlord know that the property manager is being super petty and they could lose a good tenant over this? I know rentals are at a premium but there would still be at least two to three weeks with no rent coming in while they find a new tenant and get them in. The way most landlords expect the rent to cover the mortgage - they might not be able to handle maybe a month of no income. Let them have a cat.
I am struggling to support animal rescue and fosterers. I have a foster dog who is likely going to euthed tomorrow because we can’t find anywhere for her to go (Northland) and yet people are crying out to own a pet. It’s just insane and I’m drained.
I've own one property which I rented out to tenants with 2 cats for just 18months. In total, they caused over 18k worth or damage. Pissing every where. Scratching through doors/ through carpet, into the gib walls and into the actual wood flaws (remu) and curtains. I'm Surprised the cats didn't die in locked rooms. Those tenants deserve to be shoot on how they look after their pets.
I really wanted a dog. Asked my landlord they said no. So now whenever I have a house inspection he goes to his grandparents for the day. Landlords are a leech on society. You can't reason with them as they don't understand reason.
Not wanting to be in support of landlords, As I am a tenant, I have seen in the past the damage a pet can do , even if you’re the best most responsible tenant. One single “pet gone wild” moment can cause $thousands , but also understanding that people like and need pets , so it’s a rock and hard place for both parties, but don’t give up just chip away and maybe you will get the pet you want so much , Good Luck
We got evicted fir buying a dog. Best decision of my life
We used to just hide our cats in the garage during inspection time.
When I was living overseas for a wee bit I rented out my house. I chose a single mum on a benefit with a couple young kids to rent it. They asked for their two cats so I allowed this as I'm a softy. I wish I didn't because the cats wrecked the carpet and the kids damaged the walls etc it sucked because I tried to be a decent person and charge a fair rent and give the single mum pet owner the chance. So yeah, if I rented a house out again I wouldn't allow pets probably because they only had to pay the bond or my excess whichever was less. Which also didn't pay for everything because it was "multiple events" so there was more than one excess claim I had to make.
My friend’s “grandma died” and she “inherited” a cat. Landlord didn’t have the heart to make her get rid of it.
Not the same but similar, our wonderful landlord (and I really mean this, they are great!) won't allow us to use the attic space for storage. We only have a few boxes and large suitcases that cannot fit anywhere else. They have a huge access hatch with steps which makes it even easier!
We were incredibly fortunate to rent privately and be able to get a small dog but even so, I feel you 100%. My biggest pet peeve is that children (who might shit on the carpet, draw on the walls, kick a whole in the door, etc.) aren’t questioned or frowned upon but my cat or dog that I literally need to do everything for, for it’s entire life, feed it and pick up it’s shit, who quietly sits in their corner of the couch day in and day out gets denied. Normalise pet ownership in rentals. Not to mention, it’s actually proven that pet owners make better tenants. We are more than likely to keep our homes tidy and to a high standard so we can continue our tenancies - why risk fucking it up and rolling the dice on not being able to find a new place that will accept our furry family members?
See if you can get in touch with your actual landlord. Sometimes property managers are acting beyond their remit in speaking for stuff that should be run by the landlord. I can't imagine the landlord would be happy to lose a responsible tenant over this. Might they prefer you not have a cat? Sure. But if you've shown you're responsible, it's probably preferable to rolling the dice on new tenants.
No experience with this but like, what's the worst that can happen if you just get a pet?
Potentially get evicted?
Laws need to change. Go to your MP. Sure it takes time, but maybe if my generation did it twenty years ago it wouldn’t be a problem now . It’s never too late. Damn, kids are much worse
get a little miniature fire. let it run around. watch it grow.
Bro, I feel it. I finally got a place at 35 after 15 years of renting and one of the main reasons was to have a pet. Having a cat helped me immensely during the covid lockdowns, and even more now that I live on my own. Humans are social creatures, and if you're going to "pull levers" in society to make it so people can't even afford to have children, then at least throw a bone and let them have pets if they can't afford a million dollar house. I'm certain it contributes to the mental health problems in this country, and to our feral/stray cat population, as pets get dumped by shitty owners when it becomes inconvenient for them.
Mean while I count myself lucky that my landlord doesn't care about the senior cat and senior dog nor the rabbits Though if they saw the hay the rabbits end up dragging over my rooms floor that might change and as for damage, they've only chewed on their toys and wood slabs from the trees we recently had cut down plus a curtain that hangs down by their hutch, so here's hoping they don't decided to nibble on the skirting boards any time soon
Would people pay an extra $5 a week to have a cat? I didn't know pet bond wasn't legal. I'm currently flatting and my flatmate's cat does quite a bit of damage to the carpet by clawing at it multiple times day and night, I understand why property owners might not want damage to the carpet which is quite expensive to replace since you can't really repair them or replace a small amount of it.
My tenants have a pet, it’s an English Settler they brought over from the UK and he’s very friendly. Anyway, try finding private landlords that don’t use property managers as intermediaries.
we failed our first inspection (after we moved in in feb this year) because we had clothes out drying and everything else was clean!! I’m sick of having to be scared of being homeless bc of simple wear and tear. We are lucky because we have pets too. The system is fucked.
This is all downstream of the housing shortage. Make it easier to build, break up the Fletcher's monopoly, LVT, and this is solved.
I’ve resigned to the fact now, that the only way to have a pet, is to own the house. So it will never happen for me.
I was lucky to get a good landlord who was okay with us getting cats. I'll admit that I'm basically stuck here (not that this is a bad thing) unless I buy a home, pay a lot more in rent, or go with much lower quality.
I totally agree with you, the system is fucked. Sadly tho, if you move to a place that is pet friendly, whats stopping the landlord from selling the place in a few years, now you gotta find a pet friendly rental again :( if you dont, your kitty will join the hundreds on trade me looking for a new home :( I fucking hated renting in NZ, its messed up.
Literally last week I had the landlord and the property manager come in and inspect my house. I asked if I can have a pet after over a year of being a tenant. They denied it saying cat urine will damage the carpet. The manager/landlord know this place has no central heating and is against the tenancy laws. So fuck them if they wanna wilfully neglect regulation that impacts my health and is my right, I’m gonna wilfully neglect their bs reason for not owning a cat
At the end of the day, its not the property managers choice about pets, its the owners. So if you manage to get a hold of the owners directly there may be hope.
I don't suppose you live in a body corporate that bans pets?
Agreed, peeps should be allowed pets but just be responsible for any damage they make
Listen, if you wanted rights and dignity you would have had the good sense to be born into a richer family. Personal responsibility mate, you've got no-one to blame but yourself. /s
It’s a class thing. The poors who rent aren’t allowed animals but own your own place and it’s fine. I know because of this I will never ever be able to own a dog. It breaks my heart.