This text was initially posted in April 2016. In February 2018, the Labour occasion needed to strengthen the rights of tenants to maintain a pet of their properties as a part of a package deal of proposed animal welfare measures. In 2024, the proposed Renters (Reform) Invoice which aimed to make it simpler for tenants to maintain pets of their rental properties, was dropped earlier than it was handed. This was changed by the Renters’ Rights Invoice – which desires to provide tenants the correct to request permission from the owner to maintain a pet.
As you possibly can see, the historical past behind tenants being legally allowed to maintain a pet has been sophisticated. With laws frequently altering on whether or not landlords can embrace a ‘no pets’ clause in a lettings contract, we strongly advise you to hunt skilled recommendation.
So, placing laws to 1 aspect, right here we focus on …
Ought to I let my tenants have a pet?
It’s a great query – and like many good questions, the reply is prone to come within the frustratingly inconclusive remark that all of it relies upon. In different phrases, there are professionals and cons to letting any of your tenants having a pet.
Professionals
Since you’re in enterprise as a landlord, one of many compelling causes for permitting tenants to have a pet stay with them is solely financial.
UK Pet Meals reveals that 17.2 million households (60%) home one of many UK’s 36 million (non-aquatic) pets. Since there are round 4.6 million individuals dwelling in personal rented lodging in England alone, that could be a good variety of tenants which you may not wish to rule out from the get-go with a blanket ban on pets.
What’s necessary to say to is the truth that a lot of these pets could also be creatures as totally innocuous as goldfish and budgerigars – animals which are clearly unlikely to trigger a lot injury to your let property or trigger any nuisance for the neighbours. When speaking about landlords and their insurance policies with respect to pets, due to this fact, it’s mostly a query of permitting a pet canine or cat.
The connection between landlord is actually a enterprise relationship – there isn’t any onus or expectation on you to turn out to be pals together with your tenants. However it’s in your personal pursuits to be an inexpensive landlord.
In case your reasonableness could also be proven by permitting a tenant to maintain a pet, you could win useful good will that encourages the tenant to handle your property and show you how to to retain a accountable and thoughtful tenant.
Cons
Most likely the best objection a landlord is prone to have about pets within the let property is the quantity of harm they could trigger – whether or not that is rapid or longer-term issues reminiscent of infestation by fleas or by making the lodging unsuitable for subsequent letting to a tenant with an allergy to sure animals.
Many landlord insurance coverage insurance policies – even a lot of these organized by us right here at Cover4LetProperty – usually exclude injury attributable to pets (reflecting the exclusion generally included in common dwelling insurance coverage for proprietor occupiers too).
The tenancy settlement itself may supply some safety by requiring that any tenant first asks you whether or not she or he might preserve a pet, and you could then resolve whether or not or not it’s cheap to agree.
As well as, you may ask any such tenant for a further deposit to cowl the potential of injury attributable to the pet or the necessity for particular extermination of fleas or different infestation.
For those who require and settle for any such further deposit, nonetheless, you should make sure that you adjust to the rules on tenancy deposit safety schemes. If the tenancy is an assured shorthold tenancy (the most typical type) you should place the deposit for protected preserving with an accredited third occasion.
Though the requirement is in place primarily as a defence of tenants’ rights, if there may be any dispute on the finish of the tenancy between you and your tenant concerning the deduction of any sum from the deposit held, the third occasion might assist to resolve that dispute.
When might or not it’s acceptable for a landlord to say no a tenant’s request to maintain a pet?
There are particular circumstances the place it’s cheap for a landlord to say no to pets, reminiscent of:
- the property is simply too compact to accommodate a big pet comfortably;
- one other tenant within the constructing has a pet allergy, which may trigger well being considerations;
- for leasehold properties, a ‘no pets’ rule set by the freeholder might apply, prohibiting all residents—whether or not homeowners or renters—from having pets on the premises.
Lastly, you may be anxious {that a} pet saved by your tenant might create a nuisance on your neighbours and pressure your in any other case cordial relationships with them in consequence.
As soon as once more, the precise phrases of the tenancy settlement might as soon as once more assist. The settlement is prone to require, as an example, that your tenant acts in an inexpensive and accountable method. In the event that they preserve a pet – a canine which barks all night time lengthy, for instance – you (to not point out the neighbours) could also be fairly entitled to think about the failure to regulate the animal to be unreasonable behaviour.
