Landlords are more concerned about tenants’ right to request to keep a pet than the potential abolition of Section 21, a new poll reveals.
Leaders Romans Group’s (LRG) found that while 56% of landlords predict negative impacts from potentially more pet-owning tenants when the Renters Reform Bill becomes law, only 54% believe banning no-fault evictions will have a negative impact.
The poll of landlords and tenants across England found that tenants were less concerned about pet ownership; 68% said they didn’t ask to keep a pet when they last moved as they didn’t own one, 18% asked and were accepted, 9% had difficulty but found somewhere to rent, and only 2% had difficulty so didn’t get a pet.
Allowing tenants to request permission to keep pets would require a change in tenancy agreements and bring challenges for property maintenance, tenant relationships, and building management.
One landlord noted: “Ownership of dogs in flats [is] negative unless [there is] outside space - barking can be a problem.” Another voiced a broader concern: “Better for tenants but re: the pets, more constraints on landlords trying to maintain decent standards of property.”
Kim Lidbury, group director, property management at LRG (pictured), says not all property types are suitable for pets, such as flats within blocks and properties without gardens.
She adds: “The Third Reading of the Bill recently included a mandate that tenants either maintain insurance to cover potential pet damage or compensate the landlord for the reasonable cost of obtaining such insurance.
This is a positive step forward which does seem to address landlords’ concerns while also enhancing the lives of tenants and their pets. However, more detail is still required to ensure that pets can only be requested in an appropriate property.”
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