Dog unfriendly
A landlord’s blanket ban on dogs makes life difficult for prospective tenants with furry companions.
Pat Dudley was sick of life in France, so he moved to New Zealand with hopes of a fresh start for his family and his beloved dog.
However, he was shocked to discover how dog unfriendly landlords were.
Dudley, originally from Bristol, lived in France for 13 years before deciding to move to New Zealand.
After searching for more than a year, he finally found a house in Te Aroha, Waikato, that would accept his dog, only to be told his children were not welcome, with no explanation as to why.
‘‘It’s a nightmare,’’ Dudley said. Dudley, a carpenter and electrician, arrived in February and spent 12 months before that trying to find a rental that would accept his family and his dog.
‘‘Hardly any would accept a dog, but to my amazement they would accept cats, which I thought bizarre. I’ve lived in the UK and France and never experienced dogs not being allowed.’’
His beloved eight-year-old border collie Blue is still in France with his wife and is due to be shipped over here when his wife moves over with one of their four children next month.
‘‘We are paying $7500 to ship him [Blue] over. If he wasn’t important I’d save my money; he is my best mate.’’
Dudley has been living in an apartment in Hamilton central with his youngest son Austin, 16, but they moved out last weekend due to renovations. They managed to find a share house online, but it doesn’t compare to what he had back in France.
He is allowed his dog, but shares the amenities of the house with the owner who lives there as well. Dudley plans on relaxing for a few months before searching again for his own place.
‘‘I love New Zealand since I’ve been here but people’s logic … seems to be a real unbalance in the rental market.’’
His experience may be typical. Out of the 430 Hamilton properties for rent on Trade Me, only 35 allow pets. That’s only 8.1 per cent, and, according to Statistics New Zealand, New Zealand has 4.6 million pets, meaning pets outnumber owners.
At least once a day Rachael Maher, of Paws for Life in Hamilton, has people ringing her because they can no longer have a pet at their rental.
She believes many landlords have a blanket ban, but said it was often possible talk to them and show them that a pet was well trained. ‘‘It depends on people. All animals have potential to be destructive,’’ she said.
People who adopt an animal from Paws for Life who are currently renting must bring in a signed form from their landlord to confirm they are allowed a pet, Maher said.
Jeremy Baker, a property manager for Glasshouse Property Management, said Dudley’s case was typical.
‘‘I think that probably reflects what you see out there in the market. Most landlords are probably taking the cautious approach.’’
He said 70 per cent of landlords generally said no to dogs, and he recommended that renters be honest and provide references when they view a rental.
‘‘Bring us a photo of your dog. [I’m] not wanting to tar everyone with the same brush, [but] we’ve been told about these lovely golden labradors lots of times to find out they’re actually pitbulls or something like that.
‘‘Our recommendation, really, is cats. You know if they’ve got good tenancy history. We don’t have too much negative experience with cats.’’