Can my landlord can stop us from having a kitten in our flat, even though the last tenant had a cat that he knew about?

Your landlord owns the property. If it does not say that you are allowed a pet in your rental contract than you will need to negotiate that with him.

Yes it is within his rights to say no pets allowed even if a former tenant had a pet.

This may be the reason why he says not pets because there was a problem with the former tenent's pet.

Shirley

My contract just says no pets without his consent and that he will not withhold unreasonably, and I do not believe there was any damage etc from the former tenants cat, but thank you for your response.
Zoe

my contract just says no pets without his consent and that he will not withold unreasonably, and i do not believe there was any damage etc from the former tenants cat, but thankyou for your response.
zoeHello zoe:

You can challenge the truth in his "reasonableness" statement, by getting the cat, letting him evict you over it, and explaining it to the judge. If the judge thinks he's unreasonable, you'll get to stay and keep your cat. If not, you move.

excon

"no pets without his consent and that he will not withold unreasonably" are these the exact words in your lease?

Offer to pay either a pet fee (non-refundable) or a pet deposit(refundable). Money talks. And for all you know the previous tenant may have paid to have a pet, too.

You might also offer to pay for any damage your cat might do... perhaps to have the rugs cleaned?

I do have two rental houses and I have a clause that says pets upon permission. If I give permission I adjust the lease to specifiy 1 dog under 12 pounds or 1 cat. I also stipulate in the contract that any damage caused by the pet is the responsibility of the tenent.

Make sure if he does consent that you either have it in writing or your contract is adjusted.

Landlords are not pet haters, however, after replacing carpet twice in the one rental house, losing a tree and buying sod for the back yard I did have to think long and hard about allowing another pet.


Shirley

The simple answer is yes, he can stop you, what previous tennants did or did not do have no bearing.