Management company pet fees

[DaGuv]

I’m the landlord of a flat and my tenant wants to have a house cat. She’s a long term tenant and she’s great. I have no objections to the request. However the lease says I need written permission. I presume this is from the management company on behalf of the leaseholder. I wrote to the management company and they want me or the tenant to pay a £75 fee to apply to have the pet. Does this sound right? Seems extortion to me!

[Pistonheader101]

sounds about right.

[surveyor]

Exact wording of the clause?

[Wings]

This landlord does not consider £75 to be an extortionate fee, and if any of my tenants in a leasehold flat/house, requested my permission to have a pet, i would first consider the type of pet, facilities for the pet, refer to the Lease, and/or confer with the management company, freeholder etc.

A landlord can also consider an additional "Pet Rent" to cover not only the above charge, but also the future risks of pet infestation, damage, odours, allergens, oet hairs etc.

Keeping a good relationship with the management company and/or fellow leaseholders, is not a bad thing for a/us landlord/s.

[Biker 1]

£75 sounds cheap. Some management companies charge ridiculous admin fees - its how they make profit....

[Centurion07]

Wings said:

This landlord does not consider £75 to be an extortionate fee...

For what? Somebody to rubber stamp it and add it to the file? Bargain.

As for the rest of it, children are more likely to cause issues than pets.

[Nickbrapp]

Centurion07 said:

For what? Somebody to rubber stamp it and add it to the file? Bargain.

As for the rest of it, children are more likely to cause issues than pets.

Yes but you can’t say that because children can do no wrong.

As above it’s literally just a money making exercise. If you don’t get permission would they ever find out?

Doubt it.

[anonymous-user]

Centurion07 said:

Wings said:

This landlord does not consider £75 to be an extortionate fee...

For what? Somebody to rubber stamp it and add it to the file? Bargain.

As for the rest of it, children are more likely to cause issues than pets.

Really ? When I looked after a private residential block a couple of years block it wasn't the kids that pished in the communal areas or the odd dump as they were 'rushed' a 100m or more across carpets and lifts to get outside.

Unfortunately one new floor was pretty unmortgageable so the cash buyers pretty much got free rein and about 40% of the 20 apartments had dogs with the associated toiletry issues on brand new carpets.

[Centurion07]

That sounds like the tenants were the issue, not the pets.

[Pip1968]

Surely that's just it though. A bad tenant without a dog/cat will not sh#t in a communal area. The pets cause the damage not the owner. It may ultimately be the owner/tenant's fault for not training and controlling the animal but it's still the pet causing the damage.

Pip

[Centurion07]

It's a bit different in an apartment building with communal areas though.

In an individual dwelling it's pretty easy to say who's responsible and bill/deduct accordingly.

What's a £75 "admin fee" going to cover? That won't replace a carpet etc etc so you either bill someone after the damage has occurred or you just outright refuse animals.

Same as insurance companies charging an admin fee to make tiny immaterial changes to policies. Sure, charge SOMETHING as there are costs involved, but £25/30 for a two minute phone call for somebody to go into your file and change your address or whatever is taking the piss.

[JQ]

Centurion07 said:

What's a £75 "admin fee" going to cover?

The person's time to review the request.

[InitialDave]

Pip1968 said:

Surely that's just it though. A bad tenant without a dog/cat will not sh#t in a communal area.

I love how certain you seem of that.

[Centurion07]

JQ said:

Centurion07 said:

What's a £75 "admin fee" going to cover?

The person's time to review the request.

You either accept pets or you don't and you already know if you're going to refuse something like 4 BIG dogs or similar.

£75 for 10mins?! There are certain professions that command that kind of money but this isn't one of them.

[JQ]

Centurion07 said:

JQ said:

Centurion07 said:

What's a £75 "admin fee" going to cover?

The person's time to review the request.

You either accept pets or you don't and you already know if you're going to refuse something like 4 BIG dogs or similar.

£75 for 10mins?! There are certain professions that command that kind of money but this isn't one of them.

It will take more than 10 minutes.

[Centurion07]

JQ said:

Centurion07 said:

JQ said:

Centurion07 said:

What's a £75 "admin fee" going to cover?

The person's time to review the request.

You either accept pets or you don't and you already know if you're going to refuse something like 4 BIG dogs or similar.

£75 for 10mins?! There are certain professions that command that kind of money but this isn't one of them.

It will take more than 10 minutes.

When you already have a pet policy?

And even if it takes an hour, £75 is extortionate.

[JQ]

Centurion07 said:

JQ said:

Centurion07 said:

JQ said:

Centurion07 said:

What's a £75 "admin fee" going to cover?

The person's time to review the request.

You either accept pets or you don't and you already know if you're going to refuse something like 4 BIG dogs or similar.

£75 for 10mins?! There are certain professions that command that kind of money but this isn't one of them.

It will take more than 10 minutes.

When you already have a pet policy?

And even if it takes an hour, £75 is extortionate.

If pets were permitted within the lease, then permission would not be required. Permission is required because the landlord wants to make an assessment based on the merits of the application. I don't think £75 is extortionate to make an amendment to a legal document.

[Gareth79]

I don't think the landlord could pass the management fee on to the tenant though? They would have to either refuse, pay it, or raise the rent.

[surveyor]

Gareth79 said:

I don't think the landlord could pass the management fee on to the tenant though? They would have to either refuse, pay it, or raise the rent.

OP seems to have gone away anyway

[Wings]

With the introduction of the Tenant Fees 2019 Act, until the matter is brought before the courts, charging management (Pet) fees will be still open for interpretation. However there is nothing to stop a private landlord, and/or an agent having a higher/additional rent for a tenant with a pet. The agent would clearly have to display, stipulate the same in their offices, and/or on their web site.

My preference would be that none of my tenants had pets, but that in the future may not be a decision landlords/agents will be allowed to decide upon, see link below.

I am presently dealing with a noise complaint, made to me over a tenant's barking dog. When letting a property, the property is vacant of all furniture, with just a boiler and cooker in the property, no other white goods. My reason being, that any furniture and/or other white goods, only increases the possibility of increase call outs by the tenant/s, complaints, repairs etc. The same applies to pets etc., a noisy barking dog, Tomcats visiting and crying at 3 a.m. in the morning, the complaint of the same arrives at the leaseholder/landlords front door, see above.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/jenrick-overhau...