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There are 3 flats in the attic of my building. Me and t'missus own two, the third is rented out ( reluctantly - the owner cannot sell)
its let out cheap and supposed to be for two people and no pets. I have known the owner for =a long time and helped keep an eye on her aged father when he lived there
The dilemma - there is at least 4 folk living it it - I think the owner would turn a blind eye to that but they have a big dog - Alsatian sort of thing. I know she would not want it and they know as well - " Its a friends we are looking after" as they said to me when I met them on the stairs
Apart from leaving the door ajar on occasion they are fine as neighbours - not bothering me at all. But I know the owner would not want a dog there.
Do I dob them in? They have been there a few months. I also know the agent that is looking after the flat so I could do it very easily just suggest to the agent they might want to do an inspection
Or am I being an interfering old busybody?
Is the dog bothering you? Can you hear it chewing the furniture? If not then the latter.
If I’d known the owner for ages I’d probably have a word.
How would the owner feel if they value your friendship and they felt you did nothing to warn them a dog was ruining their flat?
Not being a busy body at all. A dog can cause hundreds of pounds of damage to a rental flat. Worth a mention and let them decide
If you've known the owner for a long time, do you think they would want you to tell them about the dog?
If you've known the dog for a long time, how would the owner feel about you telling the renters?
Could be a counter intelligence, deep cover strike from Mumsnet?
Anyway, if it's a nice dog and they look after it properly then you could maybe broach the subject for them?
Happy to pay additional cleaning, wear and tear?
Decent dogs are excellent to be around, but other people's decent dogs are a pure win win.
Do you hate dogs? Could it be this that is subconsciously motivating you?
If they and the dog cause you no angst then personally I would leave. Better the devil you know and all that.
When I rented a property I actively looked for a dog owner as they care for their animal and have limited access to rental accommodation so therefore my twisted logic is that they actually look after it.
Maybe an inspection just to check everything is ok?
Is the dog wearing a bike helmet and have you kicked it yet? 😉
“Better the devil you know”
This.
I'd ask the dog's view on a 2nd referendum first, only then can we decide if it's fit to remain
If they are good neighbours, I'd take it at face value that they are looking after the dog.
Better the devil you know +1
I think you are in Scotland, but in England cases where a tenant has been served eviction notice for pet ownership have been thrown out of court. The judge said its the human right of tenants to own pets irrespective of the contract.
My agent told me this, he would know as he works for a national chain and is the area boss. Maybe the court cases were about cats and goldfish, not big dogs though.
I would speak with the owner if you know him well.
When I rented a property I actively looked for a dog owner as they care for their animal and have limited access to rental accommodation so therefore my twisted logic is that they actually look after it.
This could be true, but your agreement with tenants specifically allowed dogs. If the tenants are breaking the rules as TJ's neighbours are, they'll almost certainly start breaking plenty of others.
Did the dog go to boarding school?
You don't like dogs.
You have decent neighbours, who cause you no trouble.
Why would you want them evicted? That's pretty nasty.
If you grass them up and they get evicted I hope you get the neighbours from hell.
Folk who own property they don't live in deserve all they get.
Get them evicted and the next non dog owning tenants might be having parties to 3am every weekend. Not your job to police neighbours flat where it isn't affecting you.
scotroutes
Member
Folk who own property they don’t live in deserve all they get.
My neighbor has little choice. She lives in Spain, her father died who used to live in the flat and she cannot sell due to ongoing stat notice issues!
The issue is that my neighbour and the agent do not know that there are more folk in the flat than should be - its breaching regs as its not and HMO and that threre is a dog in there. Would I want to know if the positions were reversed? Yes.
I have known her 20+ years
Interesting that as usual very contradictory advice here! I hoped it would come down on one side or the other as at the same time as wanting to protect the owners interests I do also recognize that these are basically OK neighbours and have done nowt to me personally
Folk who own property they don’t live in deserve all they get.
Yep.
Also, anyone who has a dog in a flat in a city centre, especially a mahoosive big thing like that, needs their baws booted.
Folk who own property they don’t live in deserve all they get.
My neighbor has little choice. She lives in Spain, her father died who used to live in the flat and she cannot sell due to ongoing stat notice issues!
You thought that was a dig at your neighbour?
It wasn't? 😉
If you were the owner of the flat would you want to be told the tenants are breaching the lease conditions?
I wouldn't put tenancy conditions on a let without good reason so if they were being broken I'd want to know. However, your neighbour's agent should be doing inspections anyway so should pick up any issues. I suppose you could suggest they throw in an odd random inspection - if the renters can make a flat occupied by 4 and a big dog look like it's occupied by 2 having only had a couple of days notice there probably isn't a problem.
However, your neighbour’s agent should be doing inspections anyway so should pick up any issues. I suppose you could suggest they throw in an odd random inspection
They don't do random inspections and this is what I thought of suggesting " it might be a good idea to do an inspection"
I think you are in Scotland, but in England cases where a tenant has been served eviction notice for pet ownership have been thrown out of court. The judge said its the human right of tenants to own pets irrespective of the contract.
This made me wonder, and there's some truth to it. You have the right to ask permission to keep a pet, and a refusal has to be reasonable. Small attic flat keeping a goldfish perfectly reasonable, large dog not so much.
Link.
https://www.landlordlawblog.co.uk/2016/10/04/tenant-penalties-breaching-tenancy-rules-pets/
If you value your neighbours and the dog doesn't bother you, don't dob them in. You never know who might replace them.
Renting in Edinburgh with a doggo is pretty tough going. We finally managed to get a decent flat purely because the floors were already a bit past their best even though I knew our dog would do zero damage. I even worked out that the owner had bought the flat for £160k 16 years ago and had done 0 work to it since yet was charging £1300 a month for rent.
Basically I'm saying if they seem nice and the doggo seems friendly I'd turn a blind eye.
If you were the owner of the flat would you want to be told the tenants are breaching the lease conditions?
Ethics aside, I'd want to be told if they were breaching lease conditions and that was causing damage to my property. But obviously doing that without inspecting the flat is problematic.
One option might be to see if they'll let you have quick informal look at the flat to make sure the dog's not damaging it - kind of an off the record inspection - but of course doing that risks opening a whole other can of worms and it depends on your having a friendly enough relationship with them that you can raise the issue without it seeming intrusive.
Interesting that as usual very contradictory advice here! I hoped it would come down on one side or the other
Well, like a lot of things in life, it's not black and white unless you choose to adhere strictly to a set of regulations. You have to balance the pros and cons of whatever you choose to do and come to a decision. The easy one is simply to do nowt and deal with the consequences - of there are any - later. Mostly they would, worst case, be that the dog ate the flat and you chose not to tell the owner what was potentially going on. She feels resentful from a long way away, you feel guilty. Best case: no-one ever knows.
If you get involved and your neighbours realise this, you risk having to live in a building with neighbours who resent you. Oh, and potentially they have to find a new flat / re-home the dog.
I think if you knew that the dog was eating the flat, the decision's pretty straightforward, but actually knowing whether or not that's the case is tricky.
How's your strict moral compass? 😉
I'll keep an eye on the Edinburgh evening news for "Man mauled by dog" when they work out you've dobbed them in.
I’ll keep an eye on the Edinburgh evening news for “Man mauled by dog” when they work out you’ve dobbed them in.
Also look out for "Dog kicked in head. Saved by helmet"
Anyway, as always , the answer to TJ's question is....
Don't be a dobber.
I think if you knew that the dog was eating the flat, the decision’s pretty straightforward, but actually knowing whether or not that’s the case is tricky.
I have a cunning plan...
"Accidentally" take some of their post, then knock on the door to deliver it personally. Have a wee look around the door when they answer...
It would be "man bites dog"
If you were the owner of the flat would you want to be told the tenants are breaching the lease conditions?
My assumption here was that the lease being breached wasn't the one between tenants and owner but rather owner and ???
@TJ When you say flat for two people do you mean a one bed flat or two bed flat. Don't know about Scotland but here flats are let on number of rooms not number of people.
As a (reluctant) landlord, I'd appreciate a message from one of my old neighbours if they thought something might be amiss with the house.
If I were TJ, I'd have a quiet word with the owner, since I know them, and just make them aware, "I've no problem with the tenants and I don't want to see them evicted, but I think you'd be concerned that they have a big dog. They say they are looking after it for somebody else so you might want to remind them of the contract and ask them to find somebody else to take it."
You say
The dilemma – there is at least 4 folk living it it – I think the owner would turn a blind eye to that but they have a big dog
But you then say..
The issue is that my neighbour and the agent do not know that there are more folk in the flat than should be
To me this sounds as if the issue is you & dogs with very little to do with protecting your neighbour’s interests
Your neighbours are close and the owner lives in Spain.
Upset neighbours can be a pain in the arse, someone in Spain can’t really bother you.
I’d leave it.
The obvious solution is for TJ to buy the neighbouring flat and evicting the dog, thereby solving his neighbours problem, increasing his vice like grip on the Leith property market and furthering his ongoing canine vendetta.
It's a win-win-win scenario.*
*not for the dog.
To me this sounds as if the issue is you & dogs with very little to do with protecting your neighbour’s interests
And why would that be an issue? I'm no a dog lover (tbh, it's more doggy folk that annoy me! 🙂 ) and if I was in a city centre flat I wouldn't be too enamoured with a mutt next door. Tbf Alsations are not particularly noisy though, granted.
It’s a win-win-win scenario.
Winalot.
Tbf Alsations are not particularly noisy though, granted.
Except when they're being bummed.
Apparently.
And why would that be an issue? I’m no a dog lover
Well. He’s framing this as him looking after his absent neighbour. Whereas he actually doesn’t want a dog living next to him. = hypocrisy in my book.
Winalot.
Well played Nobber 🙂