For many years now we have tried to persuade our landlords to accept pets – dependent on reasonable types and numbers of course. Very rarely is there an issue with them damaging property, and in the cases that there has been we have dealt with it appropriately.

Most of the rental properties we look after are in the countryside and the vast majority of interested parties have pets. The numbers of people owning pets has of course grown significantly over the past year. A recent article in The Negotiator states that ‘Demand for rental properties that accept pets has soared during the pandemic as some 3.2 million households have bought either a cat or dog during the various lockdowns over the past 18 months, says Rightmove.’ It says tenants looking for pet-friendly homes to rent have soared by 120% over the past year, along with homes with balconies, parking, gardens and ‘bills included’.

Having done my brief Google research 3.2m households equates to about 11.5% of all UK households – that is a significant proportion.

The government are trying to persuade landlords to accept pets in their properties and the new Model Tenancy Agreement announced by them on the 28^th January 2021 is meant to make it much harder for landlords to say no.

Text taken from the government website reads:

Responsible tenants with well-behaved pets will be able to secure leases more easily through the new Model Tenancy Agreement announced by the government today (28 January 2021).

Under the new Model Tenancy Agreement, announced by Housing Minister Rt Hon Christopher Pincher MP, landlords will no longer be able to issue blanket bans on pets.

Instead, consent for pets will be the default position, and landlords will have to object in writing within 28 days of a written pet request from a tenant and provide a good reason.

We will continue to do our bit to help secure the right tenants – with the right pets – for our landlords. Landlords should not be worried about pets with the right agreement in place and the right managing agent on board.

If you would like to discuss this matter, or anything else relating to the residential letting market, please contact either Andrea Jordan or Richard Banks on 01299 896 968.