Battersea continues fight for pet-friendly properties
Battersea is continuing its campaign to promote pet-friendly properties in both the private and social rental sectors.
In the UK, 4.6 million households – 23% of all households – rent their home from 2.6 million private landlords. However, in 2021 Zoopla reported that only 7% of those landlords listed their properties as suitable for pets.
New Battersea research reveals demand for pet-friendly accommodation is high, with 43% of tenants owning a pet and a further 33% aspiring to own a pet now or in the future, suggesting that 76% of tenants are impacted by landlord pet policies and these restrictions on pets could be problematic for 3.6 million households. In addition, three in four tenants are looking for somewhere they could potentially take on a pet, the research reveals.
Battersea is calling on the government to review its Model Tenancy Agreement to ensure that it’s being taken up and used by landlords to support more pet ownership in rented properties. The charity believes that more landlords would accept pets if they could insist tenants take out insurance against damage caused by pets, which is something that could be achieved through amending the Tenant Fees Act 2019.
In addition, Battersea is planning to put together a toolkit for tenants and landlords with practical tips to help more people to have constructive conversations about how responsible pet ownership can be supported in appropriate properties.
