Landlords cannot bar tenants with pets
Landlords are no longer allowed to refuse to rent their property to a tenant who has a pet, new government guidelines state.
The new model tenancy agreement, introduced by the Ministry of Housing, is a recommended contract that landlords should use.
This agreement now prohibits the automatic blanket ban on having pets.
However, barring a tenant from having a pet is still possible though it will be more difficult to do.
Pet-friendly tenancies
In response, the National Residential Landlords' Association (NRLA) says the government should be flexible when it insists that the private rental sector offers pet-friendly tenancies.
The NRLA says: "We are calling on the government to enable deposits to be more flexible to reflect the greater risk."
The NRLA says that tenants should either have insurance in place when taking up a tenancy or be able to pay the landlord extra rent - though they highlight that such payments to a landlord are banned under the Tenant Fees Act currently.
The landlords' association is also emphasising that the government's move last week to update its model tenancy agreement does not make this a compulsory document for landlords to use.
Under the agreement, a landlord will need to object in writing within 28 days of receiving a request from a tenant with a pet, and they must provide a good reason for refusing the tenancy.
Refuse a tenant with pets
The government says that landlords can only make an objection to refuse a tenant with pets for a good reason, such as having a small flat or property where having a pet will be impractical.
Also, the tenant will continue to have a legal duty to repair or meet the cost of any damage to the property.
The managing director of Accommodation for Students, Simon Thompson, said: "This is a contentious issue, and it is important that landlords are able to decide who can live in their property, whether they have pets or not.
"If landlords cannot refuse a tenant with a pet, then they must ensure that the deposit will cover any potential damage and repairs or ensure that their tenant has the relevant insurance to cover these costs."
Tenants patterns are shifting during lockdown
Meanwhile, it has been revealed that disrupted working patterns and travel restrictions as part of the coronavirus lockdown are leading to a shift in tenant demand.
The findings from Housing Hand, a rental guarantor service, highlights that the private rental sector saw a big shift in demand between November 2019 and November last year.
One impact has been the decline in the number of international students, though they say a surprising upturn has been seen with the number of international working professionals rising by 8%.
The firm’s operations director, Terry Mason, said: "Despite the wider economic, political and medical situation, the demand for rent guarantor services from overseas working professionals flies in the face of what we expected to see."
