Renting with animals....?

Hiya everyone!
I just wanted to seek some advice or opinions about a dilema I am having.....
I am looking to move out from where I live, into the private rental market. The 'problem' I have is that I own six cats and a small dog...I'm worried about how real estate agents/ owners would accept me into their properties????
I live in Melbourne, Australia, and I know that it is different everywhere, but I just really wanted to know if anyone has experienced any problems or hassles with having to rent a property and having a lot of animals...???
I am scared that if I do say how many animals I have, I will be rejected on my application, but if I dont say...then it would be too risky to jepordise my animals with homelessness if they do find out...! I definately dont want to be in a situation like that....!!!!
Any advice or opinions would be most welcome......
Thank you!

i know that when you are renting, you usually do have to let them know if you have animals, because some landlords do not allow it, i would just ask them what the situation on owning animals is and see what they say, i dont think it would be a good idea to not say anything because if they find out when you are living there you will be in a worse situation

Hello their! Im not sure how different the laws are between the US and Austaralia but i can imagine that people are the same as far as pets are concerned so heres my advice to you. My sister just recently got evicted from her apt for having pets so i helped her get into another place.The people that own the trailor she just moved into dont allow pets but i had talked to them and told them she was willing to pay for any damages her pets might cause and she would even sign a paper stating that she would be responsible and they agreed to that idea and she got the trailor so my advice is to talk to whoever you want to rent from and try that approach.Most landlords are pretty good about helping you as long as you are willing to take responsibility if any damage is to occur.I hope this advice is helpful and Goodluck! let me know how it turns out. Kittens

There are more and more pet-friendly apartment complexes out there, but you do have a lot of pets even for pet-friendly landlords! This may be a stretch, but see if you can find some rescue groups out there and see where they live (if they rent). I just found out that a leader for No More Homeless Pets in my area is a landlord (and would be tolerant).

Don't try to sneak your babies into a rental property. I see too many e-mails from folks trying to place their cats because their landlord found out about them and wants the cats or tenants gone immediately (in fact had one of these e-mails about 15 minutes ago). I did it once for 4 months and was terrified the entire time!

Have you tried submitting an advertisement in the paper? Like this;

Accommodations Wanted (05/14/04)
PROF. SINGLE w/pets looking for home to rent or purchase Saan. Pen. Brentwood area. Exc. ref's. lease. Pgr # 555-5555, H. Fowler

I've modified the above a bit. This was one I found in my local paper under Accomodations wanted. Why don't you try that and see what comes up?

I think posting an ad is a good idea, that way you may attract pet-friendly landolords to you. It seems like its best to be starightforward to avoid any problems. It may be hard to find a place, but when you do, at least you will have peace of mind. You may also want to find out if there are any regulations or requirements for the number of animals you may have on a given property, just so you are armed with the facts. My sister, here in the states, had to get a special 'dog fancy' license to legally have 7 dogs on her property.

Thanks everyone! Some good advice there! I will try putting an ad in the paper and see how that works out...
I have found a number of properties that say ' Pets Welcome' so I am very happy about that, (which means there ARE pet-friendly landlords out there...somewhere) And have deceided to be straight forward about how many animals I have....even signing an agreemnet that I am willing to pay for any damages incurred etc (that's a good idea)
Otherwise I'd be too scared that I could be found out the whole time, and definately don't want to be evicted because of this!
My animals are my babies and I could NEVER 'get rid of them' or 'place them anywhere'
Thanks once again!!!

Just show that you're responsible, and they should be happy--do a little extra if they're wary about that many animals. Offer an extra security deposit. Copy records of spay/neuter, vaccination, microchipping, and so on. If your dog is obedience trained, you might want to demonstrate, or just show a graduation certificate if he went to a school. Get letters from previous landowners or housemates, if any, your vet, and whoever else can vouch for you and your animals. Let them visit the animals (particularly if they're friendly and sociable types). Show them the supplies you've acquired to ensure happy and healthy animals--ie quality scratching posts, cat trees, etc.

Sounds like you're in a fairy good area, though ^^