Pet owners who rent welcome sweeping changes to renters reform bill

Animal lovers are “delighted” by proposed changes to the law making it easier for people renting their homes to have pets.

Under current laws, landlords can ban tenants from keeping pets such as cats and dogs in privately rented properties.

Part of the government’s Renters (Reform) Bill, which passed its second reading on Monday night, aims to ensure landlords can not “unreasonably” block tenants’ requests to have pets.

Cats Protection, the UK’s largest feline Welfare Charity, said it was “delighted” by the news, which brings “pet-friendly renting a step closer for millions of Britons.”

“We’re delighted to see this important piece of legislation move a step forward,”  Madison Rogers, the charity’s head of advocacy, campaigns & government relations, said.

“This bill has the potential to finally give tenants the right to request to own a pet, safe in the knowledge that their request cannot be unreasonably refused.”

If passed, the new law would enable tenants to challenge unfair decisions while allowing landlords to require insurance covering pet damage.

The National Residential Landlords Association is calling for “comprehensive guidance” on when landlords can refuse animals, and fears “tenants and landlords will be in a state of limbo, with the prospect of inconsistent judgments by the courts”.

In a report published last week the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities committee said that a landlord could refuse a pet if it was “clearly too large for a small property” or if another tenant in a shared house had a pet allergy.

Dogs Trust, the UK’s largest canine welfare charity, previously welcomed the bill, saying it was “great news for pet owners who rent.”

MPs said they expected tenants and landlords to “simply have a discussion about what is reasonable”.

But the Renters Reform Coalition, which represents tenant groups, said people should be allowed to keep whatever pets they want - regardless of what the landlord thinks.

“Once a tenant signs an agreement, it is their home,” it said.

“If they want to have a pack of Great Danes live there, that should be their right, but they will also be liable for costs if the dogs tear the place up,” Tom Darling, the coalition’s campaign manager, previously told The Guardian.

“Our research shows there are one million households in the UK who would like to own a cat but can’t due to restrictive policies, so we will be pushing for this bill to progress swiftly so it can start to help owners, cats and welfare charities.”

According to Pet Food, about 57 percent of UK households (16.2 million) house 38 million pets.

Although the number of pets is up from 35 million last year (a rise of 9 per cent), there has been a fall in the proportion of households owning a pet, from 17.4 million (62 percent) in 2022.

Alongside a decrease of 6 percent in the dog and cat populations, which now stand at 12 million and 11 million, 13 percent (3.7 million households) admit to having relinquished a pet in 2022, with this figure rising to 28 percent among young owners (16 to 24 years old).