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So ticked off by my landlords :(

MillyAlice

Warren Scout
We had our 3 monthy inspection the other day, and have just received a letter about it. The guy doing the inspection was a little rude about our set up, saying it 'looked like a farmyard' and 'I'm not being funny, but do they know you've got them?'. Now this letter says we need to go and speak to them because:
1. We only had persmission for one rabbit. This is a valid point, we only had Jaspie when we moved, but as we had permission and paid an extra £100 on our deposit to keep him, it didn't even occur to me it might be an issue!
2. Whilst the rabbits are in a "make shift run" (As opposed to...) it appears they have access to the living room carpet "with a run taking up three quarters of the living room". I have attached here the thread I posted when I first sorted it out, you can pretty darn clearly see that the whole thing is covered with blankets and a rug. The size (which is maybe just under half of the sitting room :lol:) is completely irrelevant- if they were running wild and eating the carpet, surely the amount wouldn't matter?

http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?357110-Jasper-s-new-house!

Ultimately they say they want to confirm the carpet is not being damaged. That's perfectly valid, I just thought it was a bit snotty (and they spelt the OH's name wrong :)). We plan to go to them with photos of both the run and the carpet underneath it, as well as some RWA literature on minimum space and companionship. I'm a bit mad about it all though :(
 
did you get the permission for pets in writing, if so did it specify 'one rabbit'?
I don't see what the fuss is about if the carpet does get damaged, that will be sorted out when you leave the property, and you've paid the extra deposit. :(
 
The extra deposit paid is noted on the conract, I believe it simply says 'house rabbit' which i guess implies singular. They had no idea what to do, they ended up just charging the same as they do for a cat, which to my mind more ability to do damage than my buns! I just don't see what the fuss is about, I'm such a worrier anyway and now I'm panicking about this :(
 
Looking at it from the landlord's point of view I can see that they've got a point, though. Rugs covering the carpet might stop him from chewing it but it won't stop any stray accidental wee from getting through and staining and/or smelling, especially if it soaks right through to the underlay, meaning that cleaning a stain off won't necessarily get rid of any smell. Housebunnies have the potential to do far more damage to a house than a cat, IMO.

While your set up is a great amount of space for a housebunny, I suspect that when they agreed to a houserabbit, they were thinking bunny in cage rather than bunny taking up most of the living room. If I'm honest, if I was a landlord, I think I'd be a bit miffed to be faced with that pen in the middle of a carpeted living room.

As you've paid an extra deposit for the carpet, hopefully there won't be a problem, but from the other side of the fence I do think they've got a point, I'm afraid. Maybe offer to pay an even bigger deposit for the carpet, or to commit to a full carpet clean at the end of the tenancy in any case, with the deposit being retained in the event that the carpet clean does not result in a clean, fresh smelling carpet? It would cost more than £100 extra to replace that carpet if it was damaged by bunny deposits.
 
Lots of landlords will not allow pets at all. With rabbits many people who are not rabbit savvy assume they are contained in a cage and thus have no contact with the carpets etc, they think they may get some wall paper dirty or minor type damage from them perhaps kicking their bedding out. He was probably quite shocked to see a rabbit living in a large pen something maybe they would believe is more suited to outdoors not on their carpets, hence the comment about farm yard.

I think you need to discuss it fully with your landlord and find a solution you are both happy with.
 
Best thing is to ask what they'd prefer you to do. We asked for permission for rabbits, they said we could have two - fair enough. We had one bun inside at the last inspection and they were OK with it cos I said he'd been poorly lol.

Can you not move them elsewhere, into the kitchen maybe?? That's where my buns are kept - easier to clean it up etc and no damage to the carpet.
 
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