Trying to find a flat that will allow dog. HELP!

Hi,

It seems IMPOSSIBLE to find a flat that will take a dog in London.  We're trying to live around a half hour to 45 min away from this location but almost EVERYONE will not allow dogs:

Keppel St  London WC1E 7HT, United Kingdom

We were thinking of going through an agency but people have said they're not very trust worthy.  How about "London Relocation Services?"  Has anyone used this company?

We're planning on moving there for a year starting Sept.

Thank you so much for the help!

Do a search for that company on here, as there have been other threads. I think the only experience that members of the board have had with them is their spamming on Craigslist and self-promotion on this board.

By agency - did you mean estate agents which are the #1 way to find a flat in London? Or did you mean relocation agency, which I have no first hand experience with.

Pure speculation here, but I wonder if there's any point in asking estate agents if they have any landlords that allow dogs - maybe if you wait until you make an offer on a flat and then include the dog plus offer an increase in the rent (like "pet rent") with a promise in writing to do a deep steam clean of the carpets upon move out or something, perhaps the ££ might sway them? It might be that it just doesn't occur to some landlords that they could get more money if they allowed a pet. I mean, that's what the security deposit is for - am I wrong?

Alternatively looking for a private landlord on gumtree and doing the same (offering added pet rent) might give them pause to consider you. It just means more leg work - which you already seem like you are doing with quite a large search area.

Best of luck! I bet someone with practical experience will come along and put paid to my speculations.

Last month, when we were looking for a house to rent within 45 mins of London, we contacted several estate agents who we found to ve very helpful.  They were able to tell us which of their landlords were willing to accept pets, even in situations where the listing said they didn't want pets.  In the end, we viewed 9 houses, all of which would take our pets.  We have a dog and a cat and managed to get exactly what we were looking for, and only 35 minutes into London. We were not asked for an extra deposit, but will have to pay to clean the house and carpets at the end of our tenancy. 

So, it is doable, but you just have to work with an estate agent who will have inside information about their lansdlords (in my experience).

Good luck!

I've been looking at www.openrent.co.uk for places in Manchester, but most of their listings are in London.

It is landlords renting and managing the places themselves, so of course normal due diligence is needed as with Gumtree (but it isn't free for landlords to post), and you can filter by price, accepts pets, size of flat, distance from tube stations, etc.

Good luck!

Dongle5, hope
The flat hunting is going well. I'm on the same boat. I'm moving to London for 1.5 years in 2 weeks. I'm looking for a pet friendly flat. My company picked an agent whom I will work with soon. I'm curios to what your experience so far.

Good luck on your move!  We moved to London several months ago. 

Regarding London Relocation ("LR"), we had a very mixed experience with the company.  Our home requirements were not difficult to meet - a high budget, reasonable space expectations and a fairly wide geographic target within London.  Our initial calls were positive.  The agent asked us specific questions about what we wanted, where, etc. LR agreed we would have no trouble finding the right place.  Our viewing day was great - we were met by the agent and a driver.  We had a very busy day viewing 21 properties.  We found the place that felt 'right' and proceeded with deposit, background checks, etc.  The agent was great. 

At that point, we were turned over to a contracts person within LR and the whole experience fell apart.  The negotiation between the leasing company and the landlord hit a snag (not related to London Relocation or us).  We were understandably nervous - our belongings were on a ship heading to London, we were 'on hold' with 2 small children waiting for everything to be finalized - and repeated calls to LR would go unanswered or returned days later.  We were paying a large fee out of pocket to be guided through the process (~$6000) so thought we would be given a bit more attention.  The lease was completed much later than planned.  On the day we were to receive the keys from the landlord, London Relocation made a big deal about being there to help us.  Then, the LR agent no-showed ... my husband made quite a few calls but never heard from the agent or the contracts person.  The landlord and my husband waited awhile but finally proceeded without him.   Several days later, the contracts person sent an email saying he had forgotten to notify my husband that the agent would not be there.  (I think a phone call was in order)  The email was not apologetic.  Since then, we have not heard a 'peep' from LR.  Nothing ...  Their promotional materials claim they will provide help with accounts, moving, etc.  We did not receive any additional help.

So, I cant say our experience was terrible because we did end up in a home we are happy with -- but if you want someone that will make you feel warm and fuzzy, LR is not the company.  When I read reviews of other relocation services on this board, I realize other families have had much better experiences with their relocation services.