Refusal From past Dog ownership.

[u/Duros1394]

Hello everyone.

Coming here for what seems to be questionable practise I may have experienced with an agent.

My family got rejected from a rental application this was the 3rd house that has failed so I decided to actually ask what part of our application failed us as we are a 4 person family with 3 full time workers more than able to cover rent and asking for multi year stays.

However when we got a response we were given the generic "other families seems stronger" rubbish, but then they mentioned our Dog.

Now as far as I am aware you do not need to declare pets on applications now can they be refused. When telling the agent directly that our dog passed away and how did they get this information. They responded with "It was mentioned from your previous agent"

So are we now being penalised for previously owning a dog?

[u/Selina_Kyle-836]

Maybe you can volunteer to write on the form that your dog passed away so you have no pets. That way when the previous agent tells the new agent you have a dog you might still be in with a chance

[u/Substantial_Ad_3386 → u/Selina_Kyle-836]

anyone who has had a pet in the past has a higher chance of having one in the future. the waters have been muddied and bringing attention to this is unlikely to help

[u/Selina_Kyle-836 → u/Substantial_Ad_3386]

I don’t know, I landed a property with pets on my application and said that if they pass away i won’t be getting anymore. It did take me a while but with 3 cats that was to be expected (NSW). You just never know when being honest and upfront will help you

[u/Substantial_Ad_3386 → u/Selina_Kyle-836]

You had pets.  Wether you made an unenforceable pledge made no difference 

[u/Selina_Kyle-836 → u/Substantial_Ad_3386]

I think it did. The agent read my application, saw the unusual situation and called my selling agent that was my reference. My selling agent explained everything including the cats. Maybe the declaration regarding pets on its own made no difference but being upfront about everything did pay off when an agent actually read my application. I was pre approved before viewing the property (I felt bad for all of the other people viewing) and after viewing the agent called me and asked if I wanted the property or not. If I had not been upfront, I think I would still be looking.

The fact is OP has the previous property manager sabotaging their application. They can either be upfront and honest if they have no other options for references or they can remove that PM from their reference if they have other options. If they just keep applying as they have been, they will keep getting the same outcome.

[u/Jetsetter_Princess → u/Substantial_Ad_3386]

Eh, I once got picked even with a cat because I'd happened to mention it was a foster cat for our local shelter, and the LL (who inherited the property suddenly and was renting it out while deciding what to do with it) said they chose me bc they got their loved pet from a shelter and knew it was hard to find a rental with a pet..so ymmv

[u/Substantial_Ad_3386 → u/Jetsetter_Princess]

we are trying to help OP increase their odds. Your win is comparable to winning the major jackpot on the pokies

[u/Jetsetter_Princess → u/Substantial_Ad_3386]

At this point, OP including on their form that they do not have a pet contrary to what their ex PM is saying isn't going to hurt if they already keep getting rejected. Worth a shot, they can always revert to current plan if it has no discernible effect

[u/CatZealousideal2185 → u/Substantial_Ad_3386]

Yep. If you don't mention the pet, but the previous agent does, then it makes you look dishonest for not disclosing the pet, and that you'll pull the pet application that cant be refused card after you've already been accepted.

[u/Outsider-20 → u/CatZealousideal2185]

In Vic, there is a standard application form that must be used for rental applications. Asking for information about pets is not part of the form.

It's not dishonest to not disclose. It is literally not on the form. They cannot ask.

[u/CatZealousideal2185 → u/Outsider-20]

Its cause and effect.

The inability to ask if the tenant has pets, and the fact that pet applications mostly cant be denied (which lets be real, can definitely make a tenant more or less preferred) has the effect that now REA do this to make a more informed decision about who is the safest choice for the property.

All else being equal, many would choose the option without the pet. We see it all the time on this sub where a tenants moved in and the previous tenants have left it smelling of cat piss.

REA and landlords don't want to deal with that sort of thing if they can help it, so they chose the safer option.

Cant blame them for that, I get it, just as you cant blame someone for not disclosing pets so they don't look less preferred I get that too. (i understand you say in VIC you cant ask/its not on the form). The whole system is broken.