Good news for pet owning renters!

There was good news from the Housing Secretary last week, as it was announced that there had been an overhaul to the model tenancy contract.

The aim of the alterations is to make it easier for tenants with well behaved pets to find properties to rent, by removing restrictions from the contract regarding well behaved pets.

At the moment around 7% of properties for rent are advertised as accepting pets, and with more families than ever renting, many people are struggling to find suitable accommodation for themselves and their animals.

Housing Secretary Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP said:

“Pets bring a huge amount of joy and comfort to people’s lives, helping their owner’s through difficult times and improving their mental and physical well being. So, it’s a shame that thousands of animal-loving tenants and their children can’t experience this because they rent their homes instead of owning property.”

“I’m overhauling our model tenancy contract to encourage more landlords to consider opening their doors to responsible pet owners. And we will be listening to tenants and landlords to see what more we can do to tackle this issue in a way that is fair to both.”

“This is part of this new government’s mission to improve life for tenants, recognising that more are renting and for longer in life. We’ve already taken action, banning unfair letting fees and capping tenancy deposits, saving tenants across England at least £240 million a year, and I will continue to take more steps to secure a better deal for renters up and down the country.”

Although the national model tenancy agreement can be altered to cater for specific circumstances, it is the goverments recommended contract for landlords when signing up new tenants.

The government has said that there should be a balance between landlords being more flexible and responsible pet owners not being penalised – although they agree that landlords should be protected from damage caused by badly behaved pets.

It has been suggested that total bans on pets in properties should only be put in place where there is good reason, such as in small properties or flats without gardens.

Source – Gov.uk