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Moving with a pet to Brussels/ Leuven
Hi!!! My husband, husky and I are moving to Leuven for University. I keep reading that dogs are not liked in rentals and when I look on Immo there is no mention of whether or not pets are allowed. We have no clue what to do as we would love to rent a flat before we come but it feels so daunting and we don't know what to do. (I've read people commenting on leaving animal in an apartment all day, this would not be the case and he is a service animal in the states so very well trained). Would love any advice possible? Thank you in advance
Ask each landlord
You maybe better to look for a small house than an apartment as if your dog is making noise as dogs do from time to time your neighbours may well object. We had cats in s rental and mostly landlords don’t care because they will just charge you a high fee to have the whole house cleaned unless you can prove you had it done professionally when you leave,, maybe contact one agent and ask what property they have that are pet friendly. Personally I’d say if possible one of you should come and look because once you’ve signed a lease it’s hard to break here if your apartment or house has issues that you didn’t know about. Dogs tend to be very accepted here although more often smaller dogs are often tolerated in restaurants etc.
Whether you are moving for education or for work, the uni admin should be able to give you some guidance. Particularly if you husband is going to work here it is exactly the kind of resettlement problem that the uni should be ready to advise on.
It took us awhile to find a house to rent. I suspect because of our dog. No owner would admit it, but we were passed over for a few houses even though we have decent and very stable incomes. My guess is that if an owner has multiple interest, they will choose a tenants who don't have a large dog.
Ps Eleanor if you haven’t been Leuven is a lovely city with a student population so lots of bussle and good transport links.
Agencies tend to be OK - only a bit dodgy. But their involvement ends when you sign the contract.
Landlords, however, can go from very nice indeed to complete exploitative sharks.
Make sure you get a copy of the tenancy contract checked over properly by someone who understands Belgian rental BEFORE you sign it.
"Make sure you get a copy of the tenancy contract checked over properly by someone who understands Belgian rental BEFORE you sign it."
Before you sign ANYTHING - once you make an offer to rent and it is accepted by the landlord, it is binding on both parties even if you haven't yet signed the contract itself.
Hi eleonoraustin, if you're moving here for university, they do have an accommodation office of their own where you should be asking these questions.
https://www.kuleuven.be/english/studentservices/housing-leuven/looking-f...
They also provide model contracts, and a bunch of other services.
