Moving to Cupertino with our GSD (Vista: apartment complex, rental, insurance)

[achatter]

We are moving to Cupertino and are exploring options for a relocating family like ours that has a GSD. We will be eventually buying a house in that area, but need to rent a place temporarily in Cupertino - in the Monta Vista School district area. We have been researching every possible place - apartments, townhomes etc. but are unable to locate any potential options as it seems these places treat GSD's as aggressive breeds

Any ideas or suggestions on the best route for us?

Thanks!

[justinbro2002]

I assume gsd stands for German shepherd. It's hard to rent with larger breeds and landlords want to avoid liabilities by allowing tenants to have those breeds.and with how difficult it is to get rental nowadays it is best not to have something like having a ” dangerous” dog going against you. Home owners also run into troubles because it is harder to get property insurance with one if these breeds.

[nightlysparrow]

If you're willing to buy private liability insurance, it may help you with a rental. Example of same (no personal connection):

Liability Insurance for Pit Bulls & Dangerous Dogs | Einhorn Insurance

[Wintermomma]

It is really hard to find a good rental with a dog, especially a big dog in the area. Our first place was actually in Cupertino (with our big dog) but what you may find out is that the places available to you are overpriced and really dumpy. That was our rental experience. Expect 9 out of 10 listings to say "NO PETS!" but if you aren't particular about the upkeep of the house and just want to get yourself into the area things do come up. Your best bet probably is still a private single family home rental.

[achatter]

Thank you to everyone that has responded. We might have found a condo/apartment that will allow our GSD - but this has been a LONG search to find something and for a while we were getting very discouraged...I am still looking/searching to see if we can find a SFH to give some room for us as well as our GSD, but no luck yet.

Thanks again for the encouragement!

[Wintermomma]

You may find an increase in places coming up in June, too. A lot of people wait until school is out to make moves so there may be more options available.

ETA: Also look for listings that do not say anything about pets, b/c they may consider it. Do not limit yourself by checking the 'dogs' box on craigslist. Have a good paragraph written about pet ownership and your dog (google ideas for a pet resume) that explain how you are responsible. Perhaps even offer an additional pet deposit.

[NRaleigh Mom]

You might want to consider renting a duplex. Cupertino has several of them (lots around the Foothill area) and since it is a private owner versus a company/apartment complex they may be more lenient especially if you offer a large pet deposit.

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

If there's any way the dog can be claimed as a service dog, then they would have to take the dog, regardless of breed, but you could be kicked out if the dog is aggressive later, as I understand it. Not sure if this is even a remote possibility for you.

[achatter]

Unfortunately not. There is no way we can claim her as a service dog, but yes, I see the point about landlords having to take in service dogs. We just now got a lead for a duplex that might take our shepherd. Keeping our fingers crossed that we can lease this one quickly - the other problem is being so far off and having to quickly close on a lease before they get leased by locals...

But - thank to all the great suggestions and posts. I will post back if/when we find something, hopefully in the very near future!