One of the most popular responses from the public to the lockdown has been the acquisition and keeping of new pets, particularly cute puppies, as people found they had a lot more time on their hands and they coveted company and excuses to undertake exercise.
But this trend has butted up against a long running feature of the private rented sector, which is that many landlords ban the keeping of pets in their rental properties. And this is at odds with the wishes of a lot of actual and potential tenants.
New research from the property technology company Home Made, has revealed how far out of step landlords and tenants are from each other. The research has revealed:
- Registrations of new puppies jumped by 26 per cent between April and June with one in ten renters now looking for pet friendly properties;
- Just 2.8 per cent of UK rental properties are pet friendly, with 39 per cent of pet owners unable to rent a property, just because they own a pet; and
- Plymouth is home to the most pet friendly rental properties, with eight per cent of landlords welcoming pets, but in Belfast and Leicester there were no pet friendly properties advertised as recently as October.
Some two thirds of landlords say they are worried about the possibility of damage being caused to their property by pets, while a quarter say that their letting agent actively advised them against advertising as ‘pet friendly’.
But it appears these landlords are missing out, because over half of renters would be happy to pay a five per cent premium to cover any damage a pet might cause, with seven per cent happy to pay a ten per cent premium.
Over half of pet owning renters would also be happy to set up a meeting so the landlord can get to know them and their pet and over a third would be happy to provide references from ex-landlords to demonstrate their pet is well behaved.
However, it is possible that some changes of opinion maybe in the offing as 56 per cent of landlords say they are currently considering changing their policies to allow pets in their rental properties following the rise in pet ownership during lockdown. Nearly half of all landlords (49 per cent) recognise that tenants would be inclined to stay longer in the property, and a third (34 per cent) believe it would lead to fewer periods with no renter in the property.
Commenting on the data, Home Made’s founder and CEO, Asaf Navot, said:
“We’re a nation of pet lovers – even more so following lockdown. But finding a rental property to suit you and your pet or pets can be tough. It is understandable many landlords are concerned about potential damage to their properties as we know that pets can be hard on a home. But there are real upsides to renting to pet owners – they’re often more conscientious tenants and they stay longer.”
The Top 10 UK cities for pet friendly rental properties Ranking City % of pet friendly rental properties:
1 Plymouth 8%
2 Edinburgh 6%
3 Stoke 4%
4 Northampton 4%
5 Glasgow 4%
6 Manchester 3%
7 Bristol 3%
8 London 3%
9 Nottingham 3%
10 Liverpool 2%
By Patrick Mooney, Editor