# Renting in Auckland with a dog ???



## pedro8000

Has anybody any experience of renting in auckland (north shore) to be exact with a dog ? Ive moved over from Newcastle in the UK with my partner, daughter and dog and we're finding it next to impossible to find anywhere to rent because we have a dog. As soon as i mention the dog the agents tone changes and its a big no no. Ive been up to auckland for days looking for somewhere and we're getting a bit desperate now as we're expected at work v soon up there.

i dont know what sort of replies im looking for but any help or advice anyone can give would be much appreciated. The daft thing is all the rental properties welcome children with open arms when in reality my daughter would potentially do a lot more damage than my well trained family pet. 

Any pointers would be great !

thanks

Peter


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## hopers7

Hi Peter,

I posted a few weeks ago about renting with a dog as we are planning to make the move later in the year and have a 9 year old lab we are bringing with us. He's also very well trained (ex-drugs dog) so that may be helpful. 

Also, I remember reading that some may say no pets but it is worth asking the owner as it may be negotiable esp if they meet your dog. 

Out of interest what dog do you have and how much was the shipping costs...any tips as we are about to start the process...looks like we may have to move a few months before him with the new rabies jabs needed and them having to have had the first 6 months prior to leaving the Uk :-( 

Good look and will be interested to know how you get on house hunting and if you have any advice for when we arrive...we'll be looking to rent near Albany...


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## anski

pedro8000 said:


> Has anybody any experience of renting in auckland (north shore) to be exact with a dog ? Ive moved over from Newcastle in the UK with my partner, daughter and dog and we're finding it next to impossible to find anywhere to rent because we have a dog. As soon as i mention the dog the agents tone changes and its a big no no. Ive been up to auckland for days looking for somewhere and we're getting a bit desperate now as we're expected at work v soon up there.
> 
> i dont know what sort of replies im looking for but any help or advice anyone can give would be much appreciated. The daft thing is all the rental properties welcome children with open arms when in reality my daughter would potentially do a lot more damage than my well trained family pet.
> 
> Any pointers would be great !
> 
> thanks
> 
> Peter


Peter let me tell you of my experience , we rented our house out whilst we were overseas. We instructed the rental company we did not want anyone with pets of any description, instead foolishly we were talked into accepting a couple with a small well behaved adult cat!
On our return our house stank, we later discovered the smell was coming from the central heating floor vent in the bathroom floor which the cat had obviously urinated in on a regular basis judging from how saturated the ducting was. 

The brand new curtains I had installed on my departure had claw marks all over, the cat must has used them to climb up.

The Tenancy Tribunal refused our claim for damages saying it was wear & tear!

So that may be the reason landlords say NO to pets.

I would never allow any type of pet if ever I decided to become a landlord again.

Children are normally supervised or at least they should be, when we rented a house for 2 years when our children were toddlers the owners remarked the house looked in better condition when we moved out.


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## cheeser

Our landlords agreed to let us rent with our dog by stipulating that when we leave we must have the carpets professionally cleaned. Seemed fair to us.

Maybe if you offer something similar they might be more receptive?


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## hopers7

cheeser said:


> Our landlords agreed to let us rent with our dog by stipulating that when we leave we must have the carpets professionally cleaned. Seemed fair to us.
> 
> Maybe if you offer something similar they might be more receptive?



Hi Cheeser,

Out of interest where did you look for accomodation? I'm looking for somewhere close to Albany but not for 3 or 4 months....

Thanks
Sarah.


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## cheeser

That was with a realtor/ rental agent called Barfoot and Thompson.

www.barfoot.co.nz


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## anski

cheeser said:


> Our landlords agreed to let us rent with our dog by stipulating that when we leave we must have the carpets professionally cleaned. Seemed fair to us.
> 
> Maybe if you offer something similar they might be more receptive?


*This is illegal according to the Dept of Tenancy.
*

We had a carpet cleaning requirement clause written into our rental contract by our reputable & experienced letting agents. It stipulated the carpets had to be cleaned at the renters expense at the end of the tenancy, when we applied to have it reimbursed* we were informed this clause was illegal & could not be enforced.*

We rented the house at below market rent price in the hope that the family would appreciate this & take better care of our home. We paid for total garden care which we did not have too (again to free the tenants up in their leisure time.

Our tenants left owing us 2 outstanding water bills (which we claimed through the Tribunal & were awarded but a slip up at their end resulted in the tenant getting 100% Bond money returned leaving us out of pocket for the water bills & repairs that were disallowed.

Our letting agent then requested our ex tenant repay the water bills which he ignored, so a small claims was taken out & a collection agency requested the ex tenants employer recover the amount from their employee's salary. This has now been done & we were informed we will receive the amount less their collection costs at the end of June- some 9 months after our tenant moved out.


It appears the Tenant usually wins the argument. Having spoken with many other landlords they all agree with me. At least our tenant paid his rent. My work colleague is out of pocket by $3,000 because she had to evict her single mother for rent arrears that she has no hope of recovering.

If you want to learn more about the Tenancy requirements both for landlords & tenants read through this mumbo jumbo

Tenancy - Department of Building and Housing


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## anski

cheeser said:


> That was with a realtor/ rental agent called Barfoot and Thompson.
> 
> Auckland's leading Real Estate company | Barfoot & Thompson Real Estate


We used the same rental agent but if you read my other post you will see it is illegal & cannot be enforced.


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## cheeser

I understand that you have had a bad experience renting out your property, but that doesn't change the fact that as a renter with a pet, stating that you will clean the carpets when you leave may get the landlord to consider your application more favorably.

In my situation the landlord will not need to enforce the contract I made with them, as I fully intend to have the carpet professionally cleaned when I leave. I said I would, and I will.


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## anski

cheeser said:


> I understand that you have had a bad experience renting out your property, but that doesn't change the fact that as a renter with a pet, stating that you will clean the carpets when you leave may get the landlord to consider your application more favorably.
> 
> In my situation the landlord will not need to enforce the contract I made with them, as I fully intend to have the carpet professionally cleaned when I leave. I said I would, and I will.



Yes but if you did not there is nothing the landlord can do. *Furthermore the clause is illegal no matter who inserted it.*

Landlords will not accept pets in any decent property for very good reasons.

Normally properties that will accept a pet are not as attractive.


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## cheeser

anski said:


> Landlords will not accept pets in any decent property for very good reasons.


Luckily, this hasn't been the experience in my case.

Maybe I have a trustworthy face :eyebrows:


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## hopers7

anski said:


> We used the same rental agent but if you read my other post you will see it is illegal & cannot be enforced.


Thanks for the link Cheeser. I have found a few that are happy for pets so fingers crossed! We will not be in a position to buy for a few years and would not ever consider not bringing our dog with us. Although I'm sure lots of people say their pets are well trained when they are possibly not, our is and was previously a prison dog before he was retired to be a pet!

We would be more than happy to pay a bigger bond as well are 100% confident he would do no damage - we bought a house here just before we got him and gutted it and refurbed - no damage to our property at all (not even a accidental wee inside!) which obviously we considered at lot before getting him...so I understand where landlords come from but not everything with a dog is irresponsible and there are a lot of people (including myself) who would make good if there were any concerns about the property when leaving it...we will be renting our houses in the UK out so are very much of the view treat the one we rent as if it were our own as we will be taking the same risks ith our property in the UK (and being in NZ will make it harder to inspect )


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## cheeser

Sweet! Good luck with the home hunting and the move.


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## pedro8000

*renting with a dog*

Hi there 

We have secured an excellent property on the north shore and in the end had our pick of 3 very good properties. Thats despite having a labrador albeit very well trained.

In the end we put togther a portfolio about ourselves which was full of references going back years. We put togther a few photographs of us all with our dog and a bit of narrative about the type of people we are and what the landlord can expect from us. You really need something thats going to stand you out from the crowd. There were tons of people viewing the properties we went to see but none that went to the lengths we did to put our case forward.

Speaking to the landlords its very clear that they get a lot of excellent potential tenants for every property so you really need to stand out. In the end like i say we were offered three properties all of which were excellent so it can be done. 

Before you come over just make sure that you have references for everyone and even for the dog and maybe a few photographs and reassurances that the pet isnt a destructive animal. Im sure if you do this youll be fine. If you have no rental history then even bring copies of your mortgage statememt which shows youve met payments for a number of years, even this will stand you out from the crowd and show your dependable.

As for costs, we have a labrador and it cost 1900 pound to get it over and then the injections of top. When we picked her up from wellington she was very dissorientated and her tail had been damaged. the quarentine which costs a fortune were dreadfull to be honests but in wellington i dont think you have a choice its the only one. 

In a nut shell, if you put yourself out you will find something no problem with your dog. Unfortunately i cant help you with the cost of shipping your dog, i think its an expensive business all round. 

What i found was that for every 10 properties you looked at only 1 would be what you were looking for, photos can be very deceiving. My advice would be to view very few good solid properties that you have a good feeling about rather then trying to view a lot that turn out to be not what you expected. Its costs time and money and stress travelling round viewing properties and i could have got the same property by being far more selctive on what i viewed. 

Sorry to go a bit but hope this helps.

Peter




hopers7 said:


> Hi Peter,
> 
> I posted a few weeks ago about renting with a dog as we are planning to make the move later in the year and have a 9 year old lab we are bringing with us. He's also very well trained (ex-drugs dog) so that may be helpful.
> 
> Also, I remember reading that some may say no pets but it is worth asking the owner as it may be negotiable esp if they meet your dog.
> 
> Out of interest what dog do you have and how much was the shipping costs...any tips as we are about to start the process...looks like we may have to move a few months before him with the new rabies jabs needed and them having to have had the first 6 months prior to leaving the Uk :-(
> 
> Good look and will be interested to know how you get on house hunting and if you have any advice for when we arrive...we'll be looking to rent near Albany...


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## hopers7

Hi Peter,

Thanks for the information. Sorry to hear about your dog and the damaged tail...is all okay now...? Who did you ship your dog with? We were just wondering why she went to wellington and not auckland. Was it just the 10 days in quaratine? What was the approximate cost?

Thanks for the info re:the portfolio...it's an excellent idea...we were wondering whether to take pictures of our home here to demonstrate he's not distructive etc...we haven't rented since being at university, however, my partner has had a house for approx 6 years without missing a payment and about 3 yrs ago we bought a second house and haven't missed a payment either so we will have the statements to demonstrate our reliablity.

Which agencies did you use out of interest? I think when we arrive we will be put up in a motel for 2 weeks so will have that time to find somewhere. I think our dog will be coming out a few months after us as he is yet to have the rabies jabs and the first one has to be 6 months prior to departure...


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## rebecca.c.farrier

anski said:


> *This is illegal according to the Dept of Tenancy.
> *
> 
> We had a carpet cleaning requirement clause written into our rental contract by our reputable & experienced letting agents. It stipulated the carpets had to be cleaned at the renters expense at the end of the tenancy, when we applied to have it reimbursed* we were informed this clause was illegal & could not be enforced.*
> 
> [/url]


Can you tell me more about why this is illegal? We've just been asked by our landlords to move out, and it states in our contract we have to have the carpets professionally cleaned upon moving out. I don't see why we couldn't just get a rug doctor etc... any advice?


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## escapedtonz

rebecca.c.farrier said:


> Can you tell me more about why this is illegal? We've just been asked by our landlords to move out, and it states in our contract we have to have the carpets professionally cleaned upon moving out. I don't see why we couldn't just get a rug doctor etc... any advice?


3 year old post. Unlikely you'll get a response.
We've always had a clause in our rental contracts that we must have the carpets professionally cleaned prior to moving out. Only done it once so far out of 3 contracts.
First one because they were dirty and it was a new house prior to us moving in. Second one we refused as the carpets weren't cleaned prior to us moving in. We were the first tenants after the owners moved to AUS. It was a dump when we moved in. Took us 3 days to clean it so it was liveable so true to our word we didn't make any effort to give it back spotless although it was way cleaner than when it was handed to us.
The house we're in now is a private let and although the carpets were cleaned prior to us moving in I doubt we'll have them professionally cleaned. More likely rent a rug doctor for half a day and give it a quick once over.


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