On Saturday 4th January 2020, Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick MP called on landlords to make it easier to allow responsible tenants to live in properties with their well behaved pets, as part of an overhaul of model tenancy contracts.
The rental sector is booming, with more young people and families than ever before choosing to rent rather than purchase their own home. However, many are restricted with regards to having pets in their homes, as currently only 7% of landlords advertise homes as suitable for tenants with pets.
This small pool makes it extremely hard for those already with pets to get rental properties with some renters forced to give up their pets in-order to move into a home. The current tenancy contracts restrict those already in a property who may want to expand their family with a pet.
However, the Housing Secretary wants to put a stop to this, and as such is going to revise the Government’s model tenancy contracts for renters, which can be used as the basis of lease agreements made with tenants. This revision will remove the restrictions on well behaved pets, ensuring more landlords are catering for responsible pet owners wherever possible.
Housing Secretary Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP said:
“Pets bring a huge amount of joy and comfort to people’s lives, helping their owner’s through difficult times and improving their mental and physical wellbeing. So, it’s a shame that thousands of animal-loving tenants and their children can’t experience this because they rent their homes instead of owning property.
“So, I’m overhauling our model tenancy contract to encourage more landlords to consider opening their doors to responsible pet owners. And we will be listening to tenants and landlords to see what more we can do to tackle this issue in a way that is fair to both.
“This is part of this new government’s mission to improve life for tenants, recognising that more are renting and for longer in life. We’ve already taken action, banning unfair letting fees and capping tenancy deposits, saving tenants across England at least £240 million a year, and I will continue to take more steps to secure a better deal for renters up and down the country.”
The Government is clear there should be a balance with responsible pet owners not being penalised and landlords being more flexible in their approach when it comes to their rental agreements. However, it is right that landlords’ properties should be protected from damage by badly behaved pets.
But total bans on renters with pets should only be implemented where there is good reason, such as in smaller properties or flats where owning a pet could be impractical.
