Advice please: finding pet-friendly rental accomodation in small towns.

In My Humble Opinion
1

Inspired by this thread:

I am moving interstate for work, shortly, to a small country town. I have no choice as to whether I take this job - it’s part of a bond to pay for my university fees.

I have no issue with moving to this small town and the job looks like it will be fun.

Now, here is the only problem.

I have been investigating accomodation options in my new town, and there are three rental agents. I have the rental listings from all three of them. Two agencies have a blanket rule - “NO PETS”.

The third agency does it on a property by property basis, but currently is only listing one property which allows pets, and it’s a 5 bedroom house half an hour drive out of town (in other words, totally unsuitable for me - I need a two bedroom house or apartment within town so I can be close to work… it’s also way way out of my budget).

I have checked with a community organisation and in the local paper, and private rentals seem to be non-existant.

I have an elderly cat. Due to my parents inability to deal with my life, and my boyfriend recently dumping me, I have no-one else in my life to support me apart from my cat. There is no concievable way I would even consider leaving her behind.

However, the dearth of pet-friendly accomodation in this town seems to be a problem.

My cat and I have lived in (pet friendly) rental accomodation many times. She has never soiled a carpet, scratched furniture other than her scratching post, or caused me to lose any part of my bond or deposit. She’s 11, arthritic, indoor only and very quiet. I can provide references from previous landlords as to her character and good behaviour. And, not that it should make any difference, but I’m a vet and can provide a full medical history. Pet friendly accomodation has never been a big problem to find in the past as I’ve always lived in large cities. I’ve always been aware/prepared to pay extra rent or bond because of my cat, although I have always got such deposits back.

So, my question is this:
Have you ever had to move to a small town with a pet? How did you go about finding accomodation? Is it worth approaching agencies with my cat’s record and history and asking if they’d be prepared to approach landlords for negotiations?

Any other constructive suggestions as to how my cat and I can live somewhere other than our car when we move?

2

Sounds like an unusual place, with no private rentals…nor have I ever heard of a property management company with a blanket “no pets” rule, but I do understand it. We aren’t animal haters, most of us have animals in our lives, although we generally own our own homes and take complete financial responsibility for damages. It would be the rare property manager that didn’t have seriously bad personal experience with “perfect pets”.

If you have time, I would write, not call each rental agency and put an ad in the local paper with your needs.

Personally, I wouldn’t be impressed with past references, and I’d soon be crosseyed trying to read a medical report on a cat. What would turn my eye, would be a tenant offering to put down a serious pet deposit. Some of my owners feel more confident in allowing animals if they know that their manager holds a couple thousand in escrow for potential damages.

If I have a rental that is slow to rent, I’ll offer a reward to anyone sending me a viable tenant. Maybe it would work in your situation. In your letter and ad, you could offer a 100 dollar reward to anyone finding you suitable digs.

When you do find a place and put up a serious deposits, you need to be proactive in documenting things to ensure that you get it back. If the landlord doesn’t do a thorough walk through, documenting conditions at move in, you should do it yourself and insist on both of you agreeing and signing the condition report.

In the thread you referenced, you probably noted that I use a portable black light. You should obtain one and use it during your walk through. It will ensure that you or your cat aren’t blamed for problems in the past.