Thanks George. I will anxiously now just wait for the decision, but I must be honest, I am slightly confused by our LL's actions & responses: - I e-mailed the letting agents to query the possibility of a kitten on Sunday morning & CC'd in our LL. - Monday afternoon I had no response from either of them (& normally they are both very quick to respond. As I said, we get on really well and myself and my partner are good tenants). - I called the Letting Agents and our contact said (without mentioning the kitten), that the LL wants to inspect the property. Fair enough! It was confirmed that the LL will contact me to arrange her inspection. - I mentioned the kitten question to the letting agent and she said although there is the no pets clause in the tenancy agreement, (which I quoted in my original post), I should ask the LL when she comes to inspect as she can 'override this'. - Yesterday afternoon, LL e-mails me to book in the inspection. - I reply stating all is great, timing is fine etc. and again query the kitten. - She initially says no (BUT due to the fact the tenancy clause says no pets, not because of her choice). - I point out clause xxx, if she would provide us with written confirmation of agreement, the tenancy agreements states we could house a kitten. - She then responds saying she will check with the Management company this week & will come back to me. Eeeek! But I can't help but think isn't the inspection too much of a coincidence... Thoughs please?

Thanks for the replies. I completely get what everyone is saying and understand your points. I'm annoyed that what I've signed in my tenancy agreement as a possibility(the clause that states we could have a pet with the landlord's written consent) is apparently void, as it is not the LL's decision, it is the Management companies (hence her asking them). That is my issue, as this would have affected our decision to move into the flat.

Hi there, thank you for your reply. Likewise as with the response from citizenB, I am aware of this, she has the right to say no, of course! What my issue is that by her checking with another company means she does not have the final say, which we were led to believe she does!

I understand that, but she didn't say yes or no. There is now the issue that if the Management company categorically say NO, we never would have had this option in the first place, yet we didn't know about it.

Hi there, My partner and I moved into a privately rented flat 2 months ago. We really get on with our landlady and are good tenants. The property is always spotless, bills are always paid on time and we really do look after our home. When we moved, we were asked by the letting agent if we had a pet. (At the time) the answer was a no. They confirmed that their 'standard' clause was 'no pets', however there is a clause that states we could have a pet with the landlord's written consent (and this can be broken at any time). I called the letting agent as my partner and I have decided that we would really like a kitten. We have both had experience in owning a pet and my other half is at home everyday (he works a couple mins away from our flat). I e-mailed our landlady to ask if it would be possible to have a kitten. Initially, she said no due to the above standard clause. I then pointed out that in black and white on the tenancy agreement, (directly underneath the 'no pets' clause, ironically), it states that if the landlord gave written consent, we could keep an animal. She then responded by saying she will speak to the Management company as this is a separate contract and will come back to me So I'm a bit annoyed, and very upset. This is HER contract and we signed the agreement which stated that we could have an animal with written consent. Landlords/Tenants, I would really appreciate your advice as to where we stand! Extra bit of info - She is coming over early next week to do an inspection, which we are not worried about in the slightest and we have agreed that we will advise her if the answer is a 'no', we will be moving as this would have affected our initial decision.