Need help Please, with tenants who want to get a pet onboard

[dj_factor]

Hello everyone, My current tenants have been with me for the past 3 years this month, today i received a message from the tenant asking if they can get a pet cat in the property. Initially when i house was let out, it was on the bases of no pets with the estate agents. The tenants are both well with me and the rent has always been on time, i have never had any problems with the tenants apart from a few requests of change or carpets and boiler, etc.

My question is, do i need to do anything or draw up a new contract with the pets mentioned in the clause as its a monthly rolling contract at the moment, do i need to take a deposit to ensure that the house is not messed up. Thanks in advance

[JK0]

You replace carpets & boilers at tenant's request? No-one wonder they think you are a soft touch.

A cat is unlikely to care that his owners paid a deposit, so taking a deposit will make no difference.
If you are happy to have fleas & fur everywhere, and doors scratched, crack on.

[AndrewDod]

Forget the deposit. If you really really want this, give permission and increase the rent a lot (if it is a decent property, I would have thought at least 20% rent increase for a cat, if it's some old farm house then 1%). If things go well you can tweak the rent back down. They will be able to make a judgement as to how much they want the cat. Explain that if the cat has caused no damage after a year you will be happy to reduce the rent.

Remember you need formal notice to change the rent on a periodic tenancy under most circumstances.

[Interlaken]

I think you need more details on the cat. If if is a kitten then expect mega damage but an older cat maybe quite fine. I take a pet bond of £1-200 against damage and inspect regularly. Not had any of the flea and other damage myself but at end or tenancy I insist on a deep clean of everything and get tenants to sign a document reflecting this.

[leaseholder64]

Note that pet bounds count towards the 5 weeks' rent maximum deposit.

[jpkeates]

If you allow a pet, the "fair" wear and tear includes things that are inevitable with the pet allowed.
Always increase the rent not increase the deposit.

It's a trade off with decent tenants.
People with pets are less likely to move, pets can be a good sign of someone being happy where they are, plus it's very hard to find a new property with a pet.

[Hudson01]

Would agree with the above, good, paying and no problem tenants are not so common these days, i can see why your giving it consideration.

[alice123]

a cat is better than a dog - much better
BUT if it gets fleas your in trouble it takes 10 years for them to flee the carpets and they are difficult to eradicate once they are in - and they would need de-flea treatment after leaving or just renew all carpets -

i had a kitten once from the rescue centre and it came with fleas they were everywhere and really difficult to get rid of - they usually scratch furniture not usually walls

[jpkeates]

You treat cats for fleas monthly (and definitely on arrival from a rescue centre).
Cats don't have fleas as a matter of course (they're fairly easy to prevent).