A blanket ban on pets seems to be quite common amongst landlord and letting agents here in Mid-Somerset. One local ‘kitchen table’ agent proudly advertises a ‘No pets’ clause in all his Tenancy Agreements as one of his unique selling points!
Well I have some bad news. The Office of Fair Trading considers a blanket ban on keeping pets in a property to be unfair under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999. Therefore landlords should not include a “No Pets” clause in their standard tenancy agreement. The Office of Fair Trading believes that a fair clause would require the tenant to get the landlord’s consent before they bring pets into the property but the landlord should not unreasonably withhold their consent. Attempting to ban people having a pet in their home probably raises some human rights issues.
Aside from the legalities, it is estimated that 43% (1) of the population currently own a pet and almost 5 million people live in privately rented accommodation in the UK (2). Do we really want to alienate so many people?
Is it the guy with the stick insect in a terranium you want to ban or the guy with the pack of hunting dogs? or both?
OK let’s suppose you manage to grill the prospective tenant and they sign the unfair contract promising never to have a pet, how are you going to stop the tenant getting a pet in the future? And what will you do if you find out the tenant has got a pet?
What are the benefits to landlords of allowing tenants to have pets? By accepting tenants with pets you can:
- Increase demand for your property – with so few properties on the market that accept tenants with pets, your property will be in high demand. Pet-friendly properties are much sought after and won’t be vacant for long
- Encourage tenants to stay for longer – pet owners know how difficult it is to find rented accommodation that allows pets so they are more likely to stay longer than tenants with no pets
- Attract responsible tenants – responsible pet owners often make the most responsible tenants. The lack of rented accommodation for pet owners also means that tenants will be less likely to do anything to jeopardise their tenancy
I believe landlords and letting agents need to take a more pragmatic approach to pets rather than blanket bans. There are many things that can be done to mitigate any perceived risk.
What are your thoughts on allowing pets in tented property?
1 Pet Food Manufacturers Association Annual Report 2008 www.pfma.org.uk
2 Figure based on data taken from www.arla.co.uk and the Office for National Statistics
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