At the moment it is your right as the property owner and Landlord to decide if you wish to let your tenant(s) have a pet in the property. However, the new rental reform white paper proposes to change this, stopping landlords from refusing a tenant’s request to have a pet in the property without a good reason, but allowing you to require the tenant to get insurance to cover any damage.
FACT- Pets are the single biggest reason tenants move home. They are a continued influence over tenants’ priorities.
3.2m households have acquired a pet since the start of the pandemic, so it’s common sense that we’ll see this translate more and more into the rental market and tenants’ needs.
Around 4.4million families currently live in private rented accommodation in England, but just 7% of landlords advertise their properties as being pet-friendly. So there is a huge demand for pet friendly rental homes, which can mean as a Landlord you may want to charge that bit more
The present high level of demand for rental properties means that tenants who secure homes that allow pets typically stay for longer, resulting in more certainty for both tenant and landlord. So YES tenants with pets can be of great value to you.
Maybe you are a landlord who is unsure about letting with pets?
You could consider not putting a blanket on ALL pets until you have more information on the pet, maybe even meet the pet to see if you get a feel for the type of animal it is and what risk it may pose to your property. During my favourite day of the week “Inspection Day” I have met some of the most well behaved pets you could hope for…here are 2 of them.
I’m not saying all pets are so well behaved, and yes we have experienced damage caused by pets, but I will say that many of the properties with pets are absolutely well looked after and some you wouldn’t even know a pet lived there.
Although higher deposits can no longer be taken as protection from pet damage here are steps you can take if you do wish to consider having pets in your property.
1: Confirm ‘pet rules’ in writing
You should be clear on any rules that allow pets in the property, for example the limit on the type or number of animals or whether the tenant can or cannot breed the animal at the site – and put those in writing. You also may want to include whether they can look after someone else’s pet even temporarily, and what actions they need to tackle should this arise. I’ve done a few inspections where the tenant has a pet ‘on holiday’ with them🤔. Ensure you share the document with the tenant, and both sides should sign it and keep a copy in case there are disputes or damage at a later stage.
2: Pet insurance
The new rental reform is looking at making this essential for tenants who wish to have pets.
3: Arrange regular inspections
Here at Belvoir we can not emphasise the importance of regular inspections and more so than ever if a property has a pet. You should always agree regular inspections to assess and discuss the condition of the property, which can reduce the chances of a dispute about any pet-related damage at the end of the tenancy. This is simply good practice for any rental property and we conduct them after the first 3 months then 6 monthly there after, unless it is agreed to happen more often.
4: Ask for a pet reference
You can also ask for a pet reference from a previous landlord or vet to understand whether the animal is aggressive or has received its vaccinations and correct treatments. You can also ask to meet the pet as part of their pre-tenancy checks, this may give you a good feel for character of animal.
Tenants will still have a legal duty to repair or cover the cost of any damage to properties.
So landlords you can allow pets and check them as best you can and ensure you check your rental property as is good practice anyway, and this would help highlight signs of pets as not all tenants tell you about their pet!
It is also worth considering as a Landlord if you can increase your rent slightly for those tenants who have pets. That conversation could be had with prospective tenants who may be happy to pay that little bit more for a home they can live happily in with their pet.
So for now it is still uncertain of the future of pets in lets but we do hope the government are going to make it clearer as to what would be deemed a ‘reasonable’ reason to refuse pets! 🤷♀️
