Recently I have found that landlords in the UK prefer renting to people with cats. Why is that?
I specialise in UK pets and property. At Pets Lets, our clients have pets. The pets come first or many clients and second the property.
I have a lovely client. They are buying a pet friendly property. Yes, some London and UK building say no to pets, regardless of whether you are the owner or the tenant. Astonishing. You buy a UK property and it still does not allow pets. Anyway, the point of the client is that they had to have a balcony for their cats. Yes, so it can become a cattery. In this case the cats will be enjoying a view over the Maida Vale canal
Seriously, I have estate agents saying to me, ‘yes cats much easier than if there is a dog” or “sorry, only cats allowed.”
Last year it was a lot more balanced. Landlords did not mind dogs, especially renting to people with small dogs.
However, I am coming across London cat friendly buildings. Yes, buildings where only cats are allowed. I have found some of those in Westminster. My clients had cats, so that was fine.
Landlords love house cats
If you have a house cat(s), then you need to specify that.
If you cats are just indoor then say so. If you have a few cats, then show that you are organised, well ordered bowls, scratching post, which you may laugh, but it is important as it shows a responsible cat owner and your cat(s) are not going to scratch the carpet and the curtains. Landlords care about their furniture.
Important cat owning property tips
- Create a Pet CV . It is the only way for an estate agent or landlord to visualise what your cats look like. Some cute images. Without stating the obvious; no pictures of your cat scratching anything please!
- If you have a few cats, you need to show you are a responsible cat owner.
- An organised feeding system: I had 2 clients, one with 5 cats and the other with 4 cats. They both had an awesome organised way of keeping ‘feeding’ time non-messy. One client had the bowls lined up and it looked brilliant. Even the landlord was impressed!
- Scratch towers/ toys: landlords would much prefer that your cats use their claws on towers and toys rather than their furniture! A pictures showing that can work too. I sometimes walk into properties and see these huge towers. Impressive and shows an organised tenant who
Your own personal Info/ CV
The rental market is competitive. You need to ‘stand out’ amongst the crowd. Personally, I do think a personal CV, and I’m not meaning a pet CV, is a good way to do that.
You take a landlord who use to live in the property. It was their home. May have been the family. It is more than ‘brick & mortar’. It is a ‘special’ place to them. They want some to look after it properly. Sometimes, it is more about the tenant profile than the highest price.
A buy to let landlord, has little attachment to the property. It is all about the figures. They just want to know the landlord can afford to pay the rent.
UK Guarantor
With the Renters Rights Bill and the abolition of section 21, it will be much harder to evict tenants, so landlords are worried about taking on tenants who may have issues paying the rent.
So if you have a UK guarantor that is great. If not and say you are based overseas, there are UK Guarantor companies, such as Rent Gurantor as a potential option.
Summary
Yes it is easier to rent with cats (house cats) rather than dogs, (especially larger dogs). However, with at lease 9 potential tenants, many of which don’t have pets, chasing each property, it is a competitive market.
If you are relocating to the UK with pets, I would plan at least 2 months ahead. If you don’t know the UK well, plan at least 3 months ahead.
For more information, feel free to join The Relocating to the UK with Pets Facebook Group. Members have or are relocating from around the world to the UK with their pets and are happy to offer helpful advice.
If you have any questions about the UK rental market, please feel free to join The Ask A UK Pets and Property Professional Facebook Group or book a no obligation call with me.
Russell Hunt is the founder of Petslets.com , where he serves as a pet-friendly UK property specialist. He was also a property agent for many years and still advises clients on their purchases. People forget that some buildings say no to pets, even if you own the property.
