Landlord James discovered his tenant Kara was secretly living with a dog despite strict no-pet rule – but what happened next left him fuming

A landlord has sparked a heated feud after discovering his tenant was secretly living with her dog – despite a strict no-pet rule. 

Property owner James confronted his tenant Kara via email after noticing signs of a dog in her home – including fur on the sofa and ‘fresh claw marks’ on the door.

The subject line of the email read: ‘Dog?’

‘Hi Kara, popped by this morning to look at the boiler. Found dog fur on the sofa, a bowl in the kitchen and fresh claw marks on the back door,’ James said in the email. 

‘You signed a no-pet agreement. Can you confirm if there’s a dog living in the property? James.’

However, Kara denied that a dog was hiding in her home but suggested the fur may have come from a friend who brought her puppy over during a recent visit.

‘Hi. No dog here. Maybe it’s from my friend’s coat? She visited last week and brought her pup around for like five minutes,’ she claimed.

However, the landlord suspected she wasn’t telling the truth after a nearby neighbour informed him they had been hearing barking for the past fortnight. 

‘Neighbour says it’s been barking every morning for two weeks. My plumber nearly tripped over a dog gate. And you posted a video on Instagram of ‘our first walkies’. Don’t insult my intelligence,’ James replied. 

It didn’t take long before Kara came clean, confessing: ‘Alright, fine, yes, I’ve got a dog. But he’s small, doesn’t damage anything.

‘I was gonna tell you once he settled in. I even put rugs down to protect the floor. It’s not that deep. And for the record, my last landlord loved him,’ she added.

However, James was furious, taking particular issue with her for quietly moving in with a dog after signing a no pets agreement.

‘You don’t get to decide what’s ‘deep’. You broke the terms. I’ve already documented everything… I suggest you start treating this property and this agreement with more respect,’ the landlord fired back. 

‘I’ll be keeping a closer eye on things moving forward. If he’s not gone by Friday, expect formal notice. And if I hear barking this weekend, I’ll be letting myself in with my spare key to confirm.’

It’s unclear what happened next but the email exchange between the landlord and tenant was re-shared by British property strategist Jack Rooke on social media.

‘Okay a couple of things to digest there,’ Jack said as he weighed in on the situation.

‘James can’t just let himself in, even if he feels there’s a breach of contract, he has to give notice.

‘But she shouldn’t have got a dog if she signed the agreement. If there’s a specific clause stating that then I can’t say if she’s done anything right there.’

Jack added: ‘Landlord catches tenant hiding a dog, she breaks the rules, he threatens to break in… who’s actually in the wrong?’

Many were torn over the dilemma – but a majority of people sided with the landlord.

‘No pets is no pets,’ one said. 

‘Never thought I’d agree with a landlord,’ another suggested.

‘New dog, but the last landlord loved him… Me thinks Kara lies too much,’ one added, laughing.