are no pets allowed in rentals?

[micky2011]

hello there

searching for a rental in Auckland on trademe, and it appears that nobody will allow pets, is then worth it to bring my dogs across?

is there a website dedicated for rentals that allow pets? or are owners prepared to  accept an incentive?

sorry for the tone, I'm a bit frustrated....

[dievissers]

I can understand your frustration, but unfortunately only you can make the call on bringing your pets.  From my personal experiences on pet friendly rentals on the Shore....... there were not many that allowed pets, and this was not negotiable at all.  The problem is you mostly deal with an agent and they would not negotiate this matter.  Unfortunately they don't have a shortage of tenants at the moment and therefore could not care less if they have someone they have to do "extra" for.  This is just my personal experience regarding this 

[Savayla]

Kiwiwannabee took her dog and found a rental, so perhaps ask her ?

Otherwise, to start off with, there are a lot of motels, b&B's etc that do take pets.  Do an internet search on pet friendly accomodation in NZ.  There are a few sites and even a book.  I was quite surprised when we were looking to take our dogs on holiday with us. 

[Rockhopper]

I agree with dievissers -- unfortunately some careless tenant somewhere with a cat or a dog totally ruined it for any pet lovers.  It is simply not preferred.  Here in Wellington, I have seen some rentals being advertised where they perhaps allow cats, but definitely no dogs - my only guess is that damp houses and damp dogs together make for an awful lingering most often permanent smelly house.  The smell of wet dog is one thing, but the smell of wet dog inside a wet house is quite another! 

And as dievissers rightly said - the demand for rentals, especially in the city centres, are so high, that the landlords and agencies simply don't care about your demands.

But all is not totally lost - where there is a will, there is a way!  From previous pet posts on this forum, I can only gather that there is quite a long quarantine period before you can get your dog.  I think they have to stay in quarantine for at least three weeks??  So that would suggest that you have some time to actively look around for a pet friendly rental before you actually get your dog.  You will find your options for possible rentals expanding much more once you are on this side.

It is a tough decision to make, especially if you are very close to your pets, so I wish you all the best with that!

[Gypsymom]

It is true, most rentals do not allow pets, but don't despair, there are some that do. I found a very nice rental that is letting me have my dogs,  OK, I had to convince the landlord that my dogs live outside!!! , but at least they can come.  A rental agency told me that the 'no pets' clause is standard, but anything is negotiable. It imagine it would be harder in a city than if you were in a small place or even rural.
Do you bring your pets?  It is up to you but the quarantine period has been changed to 10 days which is better (and cheaper).
With me it was not negotiable, and I admit I was thinking I would never find a place, but I did. My dogs are still in kennels in SA waiting for 2 May when the quarantine law changes then they will fly out.
Unfortunately, irresponsible pet owners have spoiled it for us. 
Keep looking, and if you find a place that suits you speak to the agent, you never know. There are places out there that are pet friendly.

[Rockhopper]

One more thing to remember, and I hope some of you that already shipped your dogs over can enlighten us, is that dogs are very tightly "controlled" in these parts.  One gets the impression that dogs are treated more humane than some people's kids.  I have encountered countless families in parks where the dog runs freely and the child is on a leash!! 

South African dogs are generally noisy barkers and less disciplined (and we all know why) - and from what I have experienced over here, people do not take kindly to barking dogs.

Those of you that brought dogs over, particularly aggressive guard dogs, have you found that your dogs behave better over here and also become less stressed and thus bark less?  Just an interesting idea...

[SA3001]

I'd also like to know as I see dogs all over our neighbourhood in the parks etc, but I never ever hear them barking 

[till23]

Kiwis have an irrational fear/attitude towards dogs. They see every dog as a potential vicious beast that will maim or kill their precious little ones. Staffies get a very bad rap here as well - when there is an unfortunate incident involving a dog it is usually a pitbull or a staffie cross. They also think a staffie and pitbull is the same. The irony is they are far more tolerant towards cats that spray mark their territories even in the house.

We also brought our staffie from SA 8 years ago and battled for 3 weeks to find a rental with the same result - no dog allowed. We offered to pay double the required bond - no luck. After 3 weeks of this I got fed up and told the agents/owners we have no pets( yes I lied ) and got the rental we wanted. We had the rental for a year and no one was any the wiser. Owners or their property managers have the right to inspect the rental property but only on prior notice to you and at a time when it  suits you. We decide that if they wanted such an inspection we would "arrange" for the kids to take it for a walk on the beach before they arrive. Our cover story in case somebody saw the dog would be that it is a friends dog we are "dogsitting" for the day. Our staffie also mostly sleep during the day and only go out to wee and poo. Bottom line we had no problems during the year - they did not even inspect the property once and we bought our own place after the year.

I know there are people on this forum who insist you do everything according to the rules. I am a law abiding citizen and always try to play by the rules but if you are confronted by such an irrational and uneducated prejudice something has to give and I was not prepared to sacrifice the family pet in the process.

[micky2011]

thanks guys, really appreciate the advice...

my 2 labradors saved my family's life when we had a break-in - I'll spare everybody the details, and we are therefore even more attached to them.

I'll still bring them, just have to make a plan with the rentals

[Savayla]

We have two puppies and a dog. The council is very strict regarding the licensing of your dogs, and that you know the rules about where you are allowed to take your dogs walking.

 Although we live on a 29 hectare park, and there are only 10 houses, we had to apply for a kennel license as our property is only 3/4 of an acre.  We are the only ones with a fence, and although the other dogs continually come to our fence and run around, we have been given a bit of flack for our dog jumping our fence and going jolling.   When I told the lady at the council that I didn't realise we had to get a kennel license (having more than 2 dogs in a residential area on a property smaller than 1 acre, and not used for working purposes ) she said it was up to me to read up on all the rules.  She also gave me a load of poo bags .  There are certain no go areas, and this includes within 10 metres of a playground or picnic table, and certain beaches in our area (Rabbit Island, Abel Tasman NP beaches , ,etc ) which are very well mapped out on their site. 

As our dog seems to love to go jolling next door up the hill (and Thank goodness we are good friends with these neighbours ) and he does it with his eyes closed, we have now bought a dog fence shocker.  It is a wire that you run around your property, the dog wears a collar, and if he goes too close to the fence he gets a shock.  Apparently they only do it about twice and never again.  The fast they run at the fence, the bigger the shock .... we know how smart dogs can  be !!    

We are doing this because if something does happen, we are responsible, and the next door  neighbours are having lambs and he is an ex pig dog.   Beautiful, gentle nature and so good with my young girls, but one never knows if there is a pig around and he goes bossies !!!! 

So the bottom line is go and see your council, and get all the pamphlets and read up as they don't go in for "I didn't know , I am new here " . 

[Chan in Wellington]

Sorry if I sound ignorant, but are most properties unfenced in NZ?

[moonbeam]

Yup.   

[SA3001]

Sorry if I sound ignorant, but are most properties unfenced in NZ?

In our area most properties are fenced, but many don't have front fences.  Note the term fence and not ugly concrete walls.  Our front fence and side fence is high, but the back fence is only waist high so as not to obstruct the view of the lake and park.  Even though this is a public area and all the bedrooms face the back we feel very safe and even leave the very large, unsecured windows open when not at home 

[Chan in Wellington]

Was just a bit concerned that if all houses are not fenced, how do you keep the dogs from roaming around the neighbourhood...I get the picture now.

[Savayla]

In most of the rural / semi-rural places, properties are not fenced at all.   NONE !!  So I don't know how they control their dogs, unless they are also using the shocker system, as you don't need a fence, you just bury it under the ground .

I forgot to mention that Vet fees are very high here .  So much so, that we have taken out vet insurance which is not pricey but I think definately worth it.  We are paying $37 a month for a dog, which covers everything up to $13000 a year, including if the dog dies they pay you $1000, third pary insurance in case they cause an accident, bite someone, etc etc, and if you had booked a holiday but you got sick and the dog had to be kenneled they pay for that too.  Worth the piece of mind .  Just the removal of an obstruction in the throat costs $1200 !!