Renting Houses & Reptiles

[nsceen]

Just curious about people out there who own reptiles and rent houses.

My question for you all is if it is hard to find places where the landlord is alright with this?

Most rental properties have "no pets" on the advertisment but I mean its not like reptiles are messy, they are in their own cages etc.

Any comments are welcome.

Thanks!

 

[diamond_python]

I moved out of my rental property 3 weeks ago and kept snakes and beardies no problems. Everyone actually loved them.

 

[staffsrule]

I would not have thought it would be a problem. It is not like they are noisy or messy or dig up the yard etc. I guess with all things though some landlords are reasonable and some are not !

 

[nsceen]

Ok Diamond python, thats great. Did you need to apply for a lot of houses? And with any rejections that you got (if you did ), did you think that maybe the reptiles were the reason for this?

 

[alexr]

I assume that when they say no pets - they mean Dogs, Cats, Horses Etc. I would not think it would be even worth mentioning it.

From a landlords perspective - they just don't want the house trashed.

It might be different if your breading mice and rats and have 50 Cages and dodgy wiring all over the place.

I think the average person would see a snake or a lizard in a enclosure and would treat it similar to having a big fish tank full of fish. (Just make sure that there not out of enclosure when its inspection time.)

 

[nsceen]

Thanks for your replies, your comments have been great! I'm not so worried now!!!

 

[peterescue]

Reptiles are generally categorised as aquarium animals and dont come under the no pets rule(generally)
I got my landlord to sign a letter stating that it was ok for me to keep reptiles on the property.
Up front with everything so no comeback from him.
Peter

 

[diamond_python]

I just got them and didn't say anything. The landlord came through and didn't even care that I had them. Generally, when they say no pets, it is cats and dogs due to hair inside the home and the ruined gardens that these animals can create

 

[Ricko]

dont tell them and hide the reptiles. easy.

 

[Guest]

dont tell them and hide the reptiles. easy.

The legal thing to do is what Peterescue has said.

Just tell them you will have a few terrariums and they wont know any different. If you want you can just say you have a few fish tanks. I live on a military establishment and got specific permission to keep herps from the barracks commander so i dont think a landlord should give you an grief about it. Also, i just moved here from a rental place and had no dramas at all about the fish tanks and reptile enclosures that i kept on the premisises.

Truly i wouldnt even think about it as a drama if i were you mate!!!

 

[playwell]

I havnt had a problem with it, but I dont tell them that I have snakes when I apply for the house.

The hard thing to do is finding someone to rent the room next to all the snakes.
Yes the room is still available. :roll:

 

[olivehydra]

Yes I have had problems in the past. I find that when you mention the word "snake" alarm bells sometimes go off. I have fantastic rental references and have even offered to pay up to a years rent in advance with no luck. In the past I have stated that I have a couple of "pet lizards" in a fish tank or two and then after a month or so of "good behaviour" write a letter stating that I have sold some of the lizards and replaced them with harmless pythons. My enclosures are too big to hide and you can almost guarentee that on the day of a landlord inspection my big snakes decide its a good time to take a smelly dump. I think it is best to tell the agent / landlord eventually.

If any herp friendly landlords have properties on Sydneys nrth beaches pm me as I have to move shortly

 

[krusty]

just hide them if they come around

 

[foxysnake]

Me and my boyfriend rent a house, the snakes ( just over a dozen and numbers still growing). Our house is enclosed underneath and a whole room is just for the snakes. When we applied for a rental we just said we had a dog! the lady who comes around to inspect our house ie rather interested (but phobic) of snakes and she likes to ask a few questions and have a quick look at what snakes we have (As long as we don't take them out when shes here!)! We also breed our own rats and mice which are in a different room downstairs. - We just make sure the rooms are always tidy (luckily they're all tiled!) and the rats and mice are regularly cleanded out so they don't smell. The real estate has always shown more concern about the dog - who occasionally likes to chew paper and anything else she finds and sometimes makes a mess of the yard. We've been here for at least a year and a half if not more!

 

[womas4me]

We have found some rental agents to flat out refuse to rent us anything when we have mentioned our pets, but others are supportive. We always make a point about them being contained in tanks and not leaving hair and faeces all over the place. Our current property manager has a reptile mad son who comes to see the animals while she does an inspection! We have also taken photos of our setup to show property managers, offered to pay an extra pet bond (because we know we will get it back), offered the agent to have a look at our current setup in the house we were moving out of, and we always say we will be present at any inspection so the agent does not feel uncomfortable. Some agents are good, some are ignorant, so hope you find a good one.

 

[Wrasse]

I tried to tell mine, she just said, "those are no big deal, do you have dogs or cats?"

 

[Brodie]

I have never had a problem with rental properties. Though, I have only had two homes since I moved away from the parents!

The landlords were pretty iffy about it at first, but once I explained to them exactly how the snakes were kept, they didnt have a problem with it.

Both of my apartments were advertised in the paper saying 'no pets'.

If you want to be really sneaky, just ask if you can keep aquarium animals.

Cheers,
Brodie