Case Studies

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Read details below of just some of the cases AdvoCATS has successfully worked on.


 

Don't judge a tenant by their cover

At face value, Ruth appeared to be a landlord’s nightmare – newly single, with two children, three cats, a dog and a lack of landlord reference as the tenancy hadn’t been in her name – who would rent to her?

We needed to think outside the box for this case. How could we convey what a lovely person Ruth was, how well behaved her children and pets were? We asked Ruth to get a couple of character references, and also to see if the children’s schools would produce something similar. We also instructed Ruth to take pictures of every aspect of the accommodation she was leaving to show how spick and span everything was. With this extra attention to detail, and Ruth demonstrating she would go the extra mile, she was soon shortlisted for three properties, and subsequently successful with her first choice.

“The landlady was very impressed with the extra paperwork I was able to show her, there’s no doubt in my mind that AdvoCATS played a vital role in my getting this house. Without you, I would have had to say goodbye to my babies, I don’t know how to thank you enough.” Ruth G

Helping Miss Daisy

Ian had lived in his rented flat for 17 years, nearly 13 of which he had shared with his cat Daisy. When he contacted AdvoCATS, she was in the latter stages of thyroid & kidney failure, and having problems using her tray properly. The resulting smell had been reported to his landlord by a tradesman, and upon inspection, they started talking eviction.

Having given Ian some advice on the type of cleaner to use, and recommending puppy pads rather than newspaper under the tray, AdvoCATS contacted the landlord and explained the situation in more detail. A deep clean proposal was made by us and accepted by the landlord, and on their subsequent inspection they agreed that the situation was much improved and would grant a 6 month review. AdvoCATS offered to do an interim inspection on their behalf at 2 and 4 months, which was welcomed, but sadly Daisy did not live long enough for us to carry that out.

“Daisy wasn’t a dirty cat, she was old and sick, and I didn’t expect her to live for much longer. Moving to a new property at that stage of her life would have caused us both a lot of distress – AdvoCATS bought me time and peace of mind in Daisy’s last weeks.” Ian P

No pets doesn't always mean no pets

Joshua had lived in his rental property with his girlfriend for about 6 months, and they’d decided they wanted to adopt a rescue cat – only one problem, their contract stated No Pets. They reached out to AdvoCATS for any advice we could offer on changing this.

Having discussed Joshua’s situation in a bit more detail, and learned that they had done some work to the property which was approved by the lettings agency, we suggested they just asked the question first. Many landlords we’ve spoken to have said they’d probably allow a pet if asked, but the all-too-often default No Pets clause in many lettings agents’ contracts is a powerful deterrent to most tenants not to challenge the status quo. We had a Plan B, and were ready to swing into action with our documentation gathering service, but guess what? The landlord said yes! Jet joined the family soon after, and has since been joined by Millie.

“Thank you AdvoCATS for your good advice, and for the copy of the Happy Homes for Happy Cats leaflet – really helpful!” Joshua R

A moving tail!

Adam and Michelle C were a young professional couple, relocating to Nottinghamshire from Kent to be nearer family. Adam had already made the move, Michelle was working her notice period, but time was running out for them to find somewhere that would accept their cat Tilly.

The distance was a major issue in this case – AdvoCATS would normally visit the client to undertake a Tenant Check, which was clearly not viable in this instance. We contacted the local branch of a well known animal charity and one of their people volunteered to be an honourary AdvoCAT for us. We sent them the Tenant Check form, and some completed examples, and the check was done and emailed to us the very same week. Michelle sent pictures of the Kent property and was able to provide a reference from the landlord there, and we were able to complete Tilly’s CV from a couple of telephone conversations, and a meeting with Adam where he was staying in Notts. Within a week they had an application accepted, and the move completed just in time for Michelle to begin her new job.

“AdvoCATS did such an amazing job advoCATing for us, thank you so much!” Adam & Michelle C

Er Indoors

Steve lived on his own in a flat, and was keen to get a cat for company, but uncertain if his flat was a suitable home for a cat. On having the concept of indoor cats explained, he asked his housing association for permission, but was told no, and thought that was an end to the matter. When we spoke to the housing association, we were told that pets weren’t allowed at properties with a communal entrance and/or garden – they hadn’t heard of indoor cats either! We wrote to them on Steve’s behalf, and Steve was subsequently allowed to have his cat – and is now happily enslaved by Dusty.

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Moving home? Landlord wont allow pets? Let us help!