[Closed] What to do... (Lying tenant content)

If she is prepared to lie about the dogs, she will lie about other things. Ask her to move on...

Rachel

If it were me i'd just schedule in monthly inspections and closely monitor it...as soon as you notice the house condition deteriorating then i'd be inclined to say bye-bye to her.

If she's a decent tenant, she will look after the house, and it'll be win win for you both. However, doesn't change the fact that she lied though..

Rachel

extra bond money for cleaning.

Rachel

My thoughts exactly - schedule in monthly/bi-monthly inspections and deep-cleaning as required during the tenancy, paid for by her up front.

Surely it's about the condition of the place when she leaves? And you can fleece her deposit for any damages and all petty, minor cleaning requirements anyway (real or invented).

Why don't you shoot the dogs...

I'd just get over it, it's only 3 small dogs. As DezB says, it's about the condition when she leaves.

I also don't see why you'd want to take a portion of the deposit unless any actual damage has been done.

I consider it a pleasant surprise if tenants pay and a miracle if they don't trash the place. Six months up front is a lot (in France the legal max is one month) and there's no mention of the neighbours complaining about the dogs in your post. As for wanting to keep most of the deposit, why? How can you justify that?

She sounds like a great tenant, give her a nice bottle of wine at Christmas if all is going well.

The agent said it would be reasonable to impose a £150 additional charge (1 off) for a dog, so I've said that's fine... Multiply it by 3. So she pays an additional £450 up front to cover additional cleaning etc.

Ross

Surely the deposit will cover any cleaning bills.

As above, more regular inspections?

It can be hard to find places to rent that will allow dogs.
They are small.... so Extra for cleaning, more inspections. She will know shes on a shaky hook, if shes been good otherwise, it would save a lot of hassle in the short term.

I reckon if she's not being honest when she takes up tenancy, she'll be even worse when it comes to leaving time.

Leave some laxative drenched steak in the garden. This will fulfill multiple points

1. The dogs will learn not to mess with you.
2. They'll shit all over the house meaning you can kick her out
3. The owner will learn not to mess with you
4. There's an important lesson about lying in there
5. While I'm a big lover of dogs I've never been that keen on Yorkshire terriers so I'd be happy to hear it nearly turned its insides out.

so few places will take pets, i haven't lied but have been tempted to. Keep tabs on them by all means.

I'm a dog lover too, but I know the impact they have on properties in which they're kept, so the definitely has to be some sort of financial recompense to cover additional cleaning.

Maybe I get a quote from contract cleaners for a full deep clean and insist that she pays that up front. Then it's just further damages or unpaid rent that would come out of the deposit.

Chandler

so few places will take pets, i haven't lied but have been tempted to

Monica

so I'd return the remainder and look at keeping as much of the deposit as possible.

On what grounds?

On what grounds?

Returning the property to the state in which it was left.

Phoebe

My neighbours rent and they don't have dogs - they are just vile pricks!

I'd give anything for a nice lady with dogs rather than cider fuelled scum!

The damage they have done is way worse than any dog could do .

The tenant may have a lot more opportunity to argue the toss over deposit deductions (even if there have been little deposits all over the house 🙂 )

If it's separate money for a specific purpose, as suggested by the agent, at least it's available during and after the tenancy as required with no wrangling.

Trouble is, if she's not that fastidious about cleaning up properly after her dogs, the amount of damage to floor and wall coverings can quickly mount up and may even exceed the value of the deposit if they need replacing rather than just cleaning.

You seem to be assuming she won't clean. She will because she'll want her deposit back.

This thread is telling me more about some posters than I've learned from any other.

This is my main concern Martin, plus, if she stops her standing order a month early (you'd be amazed how many try this) and ask me to take the final month's rent out of the deposit, I'm screwed.

If it makes any difference, she's butt ugly.

Joey

So she pays an additional £450 up front to cover additional cleaning etc

Ugly naked guy

There must be a joke about deposits somewher in all of the above

Chandler

In future strictly no pets policy IMO. We were always honest/completely upfront so missed out on a few properties. Not everyone likes dogs and 3 is taking the piss. Carpets/hard flooring will age quicker. Look closely and you'll spot the odd thread/carpet loop pull etc.

Do you really think the sort of woman who owns a Chihuahua will be happy to live in filth? I doubt it. I suspect she'll be exceptionally clean.

We have two "illegal" guinea pigs in our house and it's spotless.

She could be the Mary Poppins of squeaky-clean tenants - or the reverse. OP doesn't know yet, although he's been misled already, so he's wise to be wary and to take steps to make sure he doesn't end up totally out of pocket.

Edukator, it's not a matter of whether or not she cleans, it's more the fact that no matter how fastidious she is, the carpets will smell of dog long after she and her menagerie have left.

Try letting a property that smells like Battersey Dogs Home, especially to people who don't keep dogs because they tend to live in rented properties that don't allow them!

Gunther

I have the strangest urge to watch some tightly scripted 90s American comedy...

i am a landlord, the tenant i have in for 18 months is an absolute diamond. When we met her for the first time she told us that she has 2 horrible little yappy horrors. My misses was not happy with the situation but compared to some of the people who came to visit the place she was definitely the type we wanted.

She is clean, the dogs don't make a mess. And she pays the rent on time. BOSH. What more could a landlord dream of?

She also told us how hard it is to find a place that accept dogs.

If it was the difference between no dogs and dogs I'd see the problem, but with this being a question of extent, less so.

[img] [/img]

Smokes-a-lot lady

May be intresting to ask where the dogs are going to crap, and who is looking after them when she is at work.

I have the strangest urge to watch some tightly scripted 90s American comedy...

[img] [/img]

Do you really think the sort of woman who owns a Chihuahua will be happy to live in filth?

She's more emotionally-damaged-mid-to-late-forties-emotionally-unstable-crazy-dog-woman than Paris Hilton.

Marcel

Trying to rehome the dogs- why not offer to help?

I was always upfront- didnt smoke/allow smoking or shoes in the house either. I wanted my deposit back! (Cheque received in 2 days after vacating).

Thats a point. If she works fulltime what do all 3 do?!

*glitchy bump*

If it makes any difference, she's butt ugly.

Of course it does.

did you stipulate no tattoos..?

If not it's your own fault.. I bet either the tennant and/or 1 or more of the dogs is a tattooed loser

She has no tattoos... If she'd had cats, I would have been more than happy to help 'rehouse' them.

She's a mature student doing a post grad, sounds like she's split up with someone and sold their house - hence the rent up front.

So yes, 3 unattended dogs is a huge concern. The property is a mid-terrace, garden fronted and yard to the rear. I wouldn't keep dogs there. (When I say that, I don't mean it's really bad, I mean it's not suitable for keeping dogs!!)

Janice

Signing off as Gunter, Joey then Marcel suggests you are trolling. I hope this is the case.

Edit: and now as a woman, Janice.

She has no tattoos...

I hope you're 100% certain about that.. she could be lying about that too, or did you conduct a thorough inspection..?

If not, you haven't got a leg to stand on

Bet no-one ever told her life was going to be this way - she's broke, her job's a joke, her love life's DOA.

Frankly as a dog owner who has just gone through trying to find a rental property I have a lot of sympathy for the woman. It seems dog owners are automatically excluded from 90% of the rental market with the remaining 10% being at the sh!tty end. I discussed with my misses whether we should just lie but we decided to be honest and have finally found a suitable property (landlord is a dog owner herself) but it wasn't easy. We've paid a larger deposit and have agreed to have the carpets professionally cleaned at the end of the let all of which a don't have a problem with. Not quite sure why dogs are discriminated agianst more than say children. I've never had a dog that's writen on the walls! To the OP please give her a chance she may well have been desperate. Just ask for a larger deposit and profrssional cleaning at the end of the let.

Signing off as Gunter, Joey then Marcel suggests you are trolling. I hope this is the case.

You wouldn't understand...

I hope you're 100% certain about that.. she could be lying about that too, or did you conduct a thorough inspection..?

You're absolutely right - I took her word on this, and recent events obviously call this into question. Don't fancy strip searching her though... 🙁

Fun Bobby

If she is a good tenant otherwise then I would probably let it go.

On another note I went to a zoo the other day and it was almost completely empty. All the had was one dog

It was a Shitzu

Tom Selleck

Bet no-one ever told her life was going to be this way - she's broke, her job's a joke, her love life's DOA.

We have a winner! 😀

To the OP please give her a chance she may well have been desperate. Just ask for a larger deposit and profrssional cleaning at the end of the let.

Contrary to popular belief, I do have the ability to empathise - I just choose not to. The biggest problem is the bare-faced lies and trying to take advantage of my good nature by getting me to agree to one tiny tea-cup dog and then over-running the place with the bloody things!

I'm afraid I can't just let this go. I think I'm going to get a quote for a full deep clean and make her pay for that up front, plus additional deposit to cover replacing carpets if necessary.

The Chick and The Duck

I'm sure I would understand if you explained clearly. You normally post things that are serious and/or vaguely amusing. I'm not smiling and hope you aren't serious. perhaps an explanation would raise a smile or convince me you're not being serious.

My wife was a post grad student last year, and now works for a uni, and is home 90% of the time. She says she wished she'd been able to have a dog then as it's the best opportunity she'll have to look after one.

My impression of this is that you're being a malicious bellcheese for the sake of it.

Richard

Google tells me they are Friends characters whatever Friends is.

They're the names of Friends characters Ed.

Naked guy

Google tells me they are Friends characters whatever Friends is.

Trying Googling 'Friends'.

The biggest problem is the bare-faced lies and trying to take advantage of my good nature

Nice one

I hope the dogs shit on your carpets and ruin the house- I could empathise I am just choosing not to 😛

Smelly cat

That sounds reasonable. Having allowed one dog already you're on a bit of a sticky wicket though...

Ed, quite a few threads on which Rachel (allthegear) posts descend into mild ribbing of her fondness for signing off with her signature.

In this case, I thought it might lighten the mood if I signed off with characters' names from Friends, and other posters have joined in.

It is a fairly dull, serious thread, and I was looking for genuine advice on what to do - there's a huge cross-section of people and opinions on here which are very helpful.

And I thought it rather nice that we could all join in with a bit of an "in joke", sorry if you got the wrong end of the stick and thought me flippant. 🙂

Emily

I have now Googled Friends. :-/

Now buy the box-set. It'll change your life.

Can't believe it took this long to get to Smelly Cat, though.

Can't believe it took this long to get to Smelly Cat, though.

And slipped in so beautifully! Chapeau! And I genuinely LOL'd at being called a bellcheese! 😀

Ursula Buffay

That sounds reasonable. Having allowed one dog already you're on a bit of a sticky wicket though...

Back on a [i]slightly[/i] serious note, it was an informal verbal agreement - the tenancy agreement is clearly worded, no pets and not to be used for keeping any animals, reptiles, fish or birds.

The Screamer

I had to pay a significantly larger deposit and have to have the place professionally cleaned when I move out because I have a pet. I have no problem with it and thought that it was fairly standard practise! I have every intention of getting back every last penny of that deposit though...

I only have a cat and it took me quite a while to find a place to rent that would tolerate me having her. I don't condone it at all but I can see why someone might lie about having 3 dogs as I suspect the odds of finding somewhere that allows them would be pretty slim.

Poor Emily 😥

I spent years renting then became a landlord. Perhaps that's why I have a "my property, their home" approach which means I sleep easy at night and generally manage to settle differences out of court.

Even when I had a tenant spending his money on sorting out family issues in the civil war in Ivory Coast rather than paying I just let it ride rather than going legal. He eventually left when EDF cut the power off.

I had to pay a significantly larger deposit and have to have the place professionally cleaned when I move out because I have a pet. I have no problem with it and thought that it was fairly standard practise!

How "significantly larger" are we talking Chvck?

You either take it on the chin or you make a big deal, either way you learn to put everything in writing next time.

Anyway, you are Mr Treeger and I claim my $5.

Document everything and get everything in writing then you put yourself in the best possible possible come the end of tenancy.

Deductions and the like come surely come at the time of moving out based on the condition of the property. If there have been breaches of contract by either side (assuming no pets is in the contract) then it makes it much easier for the Deposit Protection Scheme to allow X amount of the deposit to be used for cleaning/ replacement of items. Again, it is all about keeping accurate records, receipts, photos (need to be signed and dated by both parties) to back up your claims for deductions from the deposit.

You did register the deposit with a Deposit Portection Scheme and take a comprehensive inventory signed by the tenant at the start of tenancy didn't you.....?

Estelle

Cheers

Danny B

How "significantly larger" are we talking Chvck?

50% more, this is in Oxford too so to me it's a fairly significant sum!

She has tattoo's? Anchors and sailor tats?

Bernard x

You did register the deposit with a Deposit Portection Scheme and take a comprehensive inventory signed by the tenant at the start of tenancy didn't you.....?

Of course. All taken care of.

Charlton Heston

In that case document the dogs in some way as evidence of her breaching the contract and claim whatever puts you out of pocket at the end of the tenancy. Any worries beyond that?

it could actually work out quite well - assuming she's a reliable tenant the OP may land up with her staying for quite a long time because of the lack of places that take dogs - the minimal extra hassle associated with her having pets could result in not having to deal with any void periods for a few years.

[i]In that case document the dogs in some way[/i]

you could press them, like flowers?

Dale Winton.

Kill them all.

Edna Sharples.

Robdixon has a point.

Shabba Ranks

Go and inspect the property, then come and whinge about it on here if you still feel the need.

So she has 3 dogs, but what about their health.

My friends rent, they have a brain damaged cat and a healthy dog but the dog is uber well trained, though it's a smallish garden and it's burned out a bit. The cat is well trained too actually, but ...

... due to brain damage it wobbles as it walks, and falls over a lot. Means it uses it's claws quite a bit more to keep upright and they have to clean up quite a bit after it's been to the litter tray as it falls over in there frequently.

They both work full time so this often means it's when they get home after it's been a few hours.

I believe the landlord just knows it's a cat .. nothing else.

cheers
Fun Bobby

If it was me I would ask her to admit a portion of the rent will be needed to clean up/paint when she leaves AND then she can stay on the understanding that all but one of the dogs will be re-homed ASAP or the % increases. A good tenant is hard to find and this might be a good compromise.

Mind, having said this, my tenant left saying she'd only left a few empty boxes in the cellar, I removed 9 car loads to the local tip when I went in and am now disputing the cost of this - it included a fridge, a single bed in various parts, tons of boxes and waste paper and bottles of strange yellow liquid purporting to be homebrew... of and a bookshelf and packling crates.

nah... get shot of... serve her notice NOW! 😉

Bet no-one ever told her life was going to be this way - she's broke, her job's a joke, her love life's DOA.

Cheers,
BIG HEAD, BIG HEAD, BIG HEAD!