Will landlords have to accept pets soon?
Tenants will have the right to request a pet and landlords will not be able to refuse without giving a good reason
Following the third reading in the Commons, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), maintained that the original measure to ‘for the first time give tenants a legal right to ask to have their much-loved pets in their home’, will continue in the amended version.
The Tenant Fees Act 2019 brought in a cap on tenancy deposits of five weeks’ rent and a ban on charging tenant fees. This had the unintended consequence of putting many landlords in England off accepting tenants with pets, as they were worried about covering costs of any damage caused.
The existing proposal in the Bill that tenants would have the right to request a pet and should be able to challenge a landlord’s decision to withhold consent for having a pet, had therefore concerned some landlords. But following the second reading of the Bill in October 2023, the Government confirmed that the Act would be amended to allow landlords to charge tenants for the cost of obtaining pet insurance.
In addition, tenants will not have an automatic right to keep a pet in the property if the landlord initially refuses, as some had feared, unless the Ombudsman or court rules that the landlord acted unreasonably. A clear definition of “unreasonably withholding consent” is yet to be provided.
Read on for more background to the current proposals on renting to tenants with pets.
Note: this section was published following the introduction of the Bill to Parliament on 17 May 2023
The issue of pets in lets has been a bone of contention for many years between landlords and tenants, with campaigners arguing that having a pet is a human right and that many people gain huge benefits from improved mental health from having a cat or dog in their home.
The Government has moved cautiously on this, though. In 2021 the ‘model contract’ that landlords are encouraged to use when creating tenancies was re-issued with a clause requiring consent for pets to be the default position and for landlords to object in writing within 28 days of a written pet request from a tenant giving ‘a good reason’.
The contract now says:
A tenant must seek the prior written consent of the landlord should they wish to keep pets or other animals at the property. A landlord must not unreasonably withhold or delay a written request from a Tenant without considering the request on its own merits. The landlord should accept such a request where they are satisfied the tenant is a responsible pet owner and the pet is of a kind that is suitable in relation to the nature of the premises at which it will be kept.
But the Model Tenancy Agreement is not compulsory, so the Renters (Reform) Bill is to go further, turning this ‘model’ into law.
In 2022 the Government said:
We will legislate to ensure landlords do not unreasonably withhold consent when a tenant requests to have a pet in their home, with the tenant able to challenge a decision.
It’s important to note that this law doesn’t mean all landlords will be forced to accept pets.
Tenants must make their request in writing and the landlord can refuse if they have a reasonable objection – for instance, if the property’s lease prohibits pets or if they don’t feel the property is suitable for the proposed type of pet, e.g. if a tenant wants to have a large dog in a small, one-bedroom flat and they are out at work during the day.
Alongside this, the Government will make it easier for landlords to accept pets by amending the Tenant Fees Act 2019 to include pet insurance as a permitted payment. As noted above, the Government confirmed this at the second reading of the Bill in October 2023.
This means landlords will be able to require pet insurance, so that any damage to their property is covered. We will continue to work with landlords and other groups to encourage a common-sense approach. There is a need for clear debate on this difficult subject and we are looking to take a lead in developing such options for pet-friendly tenants and landlords. A choice between a pet deposit or insurance, or even a combination of the two, would aim to strike a fair balance between supporting tenants with pets and providing adequate security for the landlord.
For more advice on renting to tenants with pets, read mydeposits guide, Pet rent and pet deposits: A landlord’s guide to lets for pets.
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