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Great news for pet owners looking to move house some time soon. You could easily move in with your cat, dog, tortoise (or any other four legged furry friend you might have) after new changes to rights for tenants came in.
The measures published today will make it ‘easier for tenants to have much-loved pets in their homes by giving all tenants the right to request a pet in their house, which the landlord must consider and cannot unreasonably refuse,’ according to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities ahead of its white paper release.
Historically, landlords who allow renters to own a pet have been very hard to come by. But there’s a lot of demand for it, which intensified during the pandemic. Research by letting platform Goodlord found there was a 120 per cent increase in demand for pet-friendly rentals. There are a few reasons why landlords are so reluctant to allow pets. Some are worried about pets not being properly trained, pets letting off bad scents or pets damaging furniture (and who can blame them, dog poo is a real pain to get out of furniture).
But of the 4.4 million households currently living within the private rented sector in England, only seven percent of landlords advertise their properties as being pet-friendly.
So what are the new rules? Well, landlords can no longer place blanket bans on owning pets, or ban people with children, or anyone receiving benefits. They must have a valid enough reason for refusing pet ownership in their properties, and tenants will have to submit a form to request a pet in the Fairer Private Rented Sector White Paper. (This is also used to protect tenants against unfair rent hikes and having to live in unfit conditions).
You can thank Campaign group AdvoCATS for fighting to bring in these new rules. They’ve been campaigning to get more pets accepted by landlords, with the help of Conservative MP Andrew Rosindell.
Jen Berezai, co-founder of AdvoCATS said it was a ‘great day for animal welfare and tenants everywhere’
Berezai added: ‘We would like to thank all the organisations who have thrown their weight behind our campaign, over 40 in total and all our cross party political support who helped bump the issue up the government’s agenda, in particular the late Sir David Amess, an early supporter of the Heads for Tails! campaign, who would have been so very pleased to see this major step forward in appreciating the value of companion animals.’