Pets in Properties
What does the Renters Reform Bill say about Pets?
The Bill will set in place the opportunity for tenants to request to have a pet within the property.
Landlords must give the request reasonable consideration; this will be on a case-by-case basis. If a landlord refuses, tenants can escalate the matter if they believe that their landlord has been unfair, and tenants will have access to the Landlord Ombudsman as well as the First Tier Tribunal (FTT).
The view of all the animal centric organisations is that this Bill will be revolutionary for tenants who own pets because large numbers of animals are given up to the RSPCA, Dog’s Trust, and Cat Protection every year due to landlords not allowing pets in their properties. For example, the Cat Protection League received 1,300 cats last year, from people who couldn’t keep them due to issues with private rented and social housing.
A Look into the Future of the Private Rented Sector - The Publication of theWhite Paper & Renters Reform
After a lot of back and forth, the Government finally published the fairer private rented sector white paper on the 16th of June 2022 which outlines what will ensure millions of families benefit from living in decent, well looked-after homes as part of the biggest shake up of the private rented sector in 30 years.
A new blueprint for renters reform will end the injustice of properties which are unfit for Human Habitation and help protect renters from rising cost of living. The changes are pivotal and significant, and include:-
The removal of the section 21 notice (Form 6A. So-called ‘no fault’ section 21 evictions (which for clarity, NOT EVICTIONS) that allow landlords to terminate tenancies without giving any reason – will no longer be possible.
Extending the Decent Homes Standard within the Private Rented Sector
The end to arbitrary rent review clauses, which will give tenants stronger powers to challenge poor practice, unjustified rent increases and enable tenants to be repaid rent for non-decent homes (RROs)
A blanket ban on refusing to rent to families with children or tenants in receipt of benefits
Making it easier for tenants to share their homes with much-loved pets
The white paper marks a generational shift that will redress the balance between landlords and 4.4 million private rented tenants.
Life without Pets
A country of animal lovers. Cats, dogs, furry rodents, birds and reptiles, they form part of a family unit, they are important additions to daily life, providing comfort and joy.
However, since the Government announced the publication of a new tenancy agreement to help tenants who have well-behaved pets. This has caused some confusion in the housing sector, with many tenants believing that they have a statutory right to rent a property accompanied by their furry friends.
Lockdown Pets - How are they being managed?
A recent study carried out by the University of York and the University of Lincoln found that having a pet was linked to maintaining better mental health and reducing loneliness.
However, 68 per cent of pet owners reported having been worried about their animals during lockdown, for example due to restrictions on access to veterinary care and exercise or because they wouldn't know who would look after their pet if they fell ill.
Lead author, Dr Elena Ratschen from the Department of Health Sciences University of York said: "Findings from this study also demonstrated potential links between people's mental health and the emotional bonds they form with their pets: measures of the strength of the human-animal bond were higher among people who reported lower scores for mental health-related outcomes at baseline.
"We also discovered that in this study, the strength of the emotional bond with pets did not statistically differ by animal species, meaning that people in our sample felt on average as emotionally close to, for example, their guinea pig as they felt to their dog.