Worried About Finding a Cat Friendly Rental?
You're not the only one wondering how difficult it's going to be to find a rental in Sydney that is pet-friendly. Below is a question I got from a Sydney Moving Guide community member.
My husband has already relocated to Sydney and has been chatting with his co-workers about rental properties.
He was surprised to learn that it will be very difficult to find a rental with our cat (just one). His co-workers said that lying about pet ownership is common on rental applications and recommended that we take this route. I don’t feel comfortable with this.
Is this standard practice? Can you offer any insights?
You’re Going to Need a Pet Resume for Your Rental Application.
Yes, your cat will need a resume.
I have a post that cover what to include in your pet resume so I won't go into details, but in short it's a list of references from previous landlords and vets plus a short description of your pet and you as a pet owner.
It's probably not absolutely needed if you find an landlord who has pets and understands life with pets. I'm sure they would be more relaxed about it, but I won't count on it.
Rent with Pets is specificly for pet-friendly rentals but, unfortunately, they have very few listings.
I would instead use Domain.com.au to search for pet-friendly rentals.
After you select the “rent” tab and enter the area you want to live, click on the filters button that shows up in the search bar after you enter an area. Scroll down to “More filters” and there you will see a pets allowed checkbox.
Realestate.com.au is another option although there is a lot of overlap with Domain. The filters are in the same spot except their checkbox says “pets considered”.
Gumtree.com.au also lists apartment rentals, some are listed by the owner which might be a good option because you'll sidestep a rental agency. If you find a pet-friendly rental listed there and the rental is handled by the owner, you'll probably have better odds.
As far as just keeping your cat a secret, that's a bit risky. Though we have never had someone check on us after we rented a place, but then we also didn't get any complaints or have noisy neighbours.
If the rental is in a building with a strata management committee, then the allowance of pets is handled through the strata. So if you try to be sneaky and end up renting in a building that is not pet-friendly and you get caught, there are usually high fees and a deadline given to have the pet removed. That's not either or, but both paying the fee and removal of your cat.
In that case, if you don't want to find your cat a new home, then you are back to square one with a very short deadline to find a new place and most likely you won't get your deposit or rental bond back. Plus, you will have a ding on your tenant history which will come up every time you apply for a rental.
I would definitely not risk lying about having a cat in a strata managed building. I would also not shy away from rentals that don't specifically say they do accept pets. Ask straight off and have your pet resume ready to go.
