More than 20% of Spain’s population lives in rented accommodation, according to recent data. Likewise, 25% of households have a dog, while 19% have a cat (to see The European Pet Food Industry report in detail, click here). However, only 3% of landlords accept tenants with pets, according to a well-known real estate portal.
Today’s topic is data, as you can see. And there’s more. Twenty percent expressly prohibit keeping animals. And 70% do not know or do not answer. “We’ll see.” As many of us know, in most cases the uncertainty becomes a “no” when they come face-to-face with the prospective tenant. And if they also have a large dog, it’s “forget it.”
The situation in Madrid is somewhat better than in the rest of Spain, since pets are allowed in 3.9% of rental properties. Some 14.5% of listings directly ban pets, and 81.6% prefer not to state their position. The districts where pets are most widely accepted are Fuencarral, Villaverde, Ciudad Lineal, and Hortaleza. By contrast, Moratalaz, Puente de Vallecas, Retiro, Moncloa, and Salamanca are less accepting. As you can see, the situation is hardly cause for celebration.
In addition to the difficulty of finding suitable rental accommodation, there is also the almost absolute impossibility of getting the property owner to accept you if they know you have an ARISTOPET. I’m sure many of you have had a similar experience. And it isn’t pleasant. Suddenly, you find yourself trying to convince a stranger how wonderful your ARISTODOG is: “He doesn’t bark, he isn’t a nuisance, he’s sociable.” Or explaining how well behaved your ARISTOCAT is: “She has never scratched a piece of furniture. Honestly. Her scratching post is more than enough.” You may even show them the wallpaper photo on your phone, where your pet looks so handsome… When, despite all that, they still say no, you feel utterly powerless.
That’s why many people have no choice but to lie. To lie so they can keep their dog or cat with them, in their home. Well, it isn’t their home, but it might as well be. With all the risk that entails: if they discover that you have a pet (which will very likely happen if you have a dog), even though the contract included a clause specifying that pets are not allowed in the property, you may automatically lose your security deposit. And you may even face other kinds of problems.
Landlords who oppose keeping pets do not stop to think about it, and probably cannot even imagine it, but when they reject you for having an ARISTOPET, it is as if they were rejecting you for having children or a partner. They do not know, or do not want to know, that your ARISTOCAT and your ARISTODOG are part of your family. You will not go anywhere without them. There is no townhouse, penthouse, studio, or palace you would want to live in if your pet is not welcome.
We wish all ARISTOPETERS looking for a home the best of luck. And we encourage everyone who already rents their home to behave exemplary so that landlords will stop fearing tenants with pets.
Changing the world our ARISTOPETS live in starts with each of us!