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Landlords will be forced to allow tenants to have pets from today
The law change will also make it illegal for landlords to ban renting to families with children or on benefits
Tenants will soon have the legal right to keep pets in what is thought to be the biggest shake-up of the private rented sector in thirty years.
Government proposals being announced today will bring an end to buy-to-let investors placing blanket bans on pets in their properties as part of the Renters Reform Bill, The Telegraph reports.
As it stands, just 5% of UK landlords allow their tenants to keep pets in their properties, with many putting the issue down to the ‘higher maintenance costs’ animals bring with them.
A Government source told the Daily Mail: “Not only will our new deal for renters extend the decent homes standard to the private rented sector, we’ll also give tenants a legal right to have a pet if they wish.
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“Would-be pet owners are being unfairly deprived of the company and companionship of an animal by their landlords – so we’ll change the law to end this unfairness.”
However, Housing Secretary Michael Gove will reportedly give landlords the power to request tenants with pets to have insurance to cover any potential damage in response to the law change.
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The National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) says mandatory insurance would protect landlords, who are limited in how much deposit they can hold to protect against damage caused by pets.
Chris Norris, of the NRLA, said: “Our biggest concern has always been that the law, as it currently stands, prevents landlords requiring insurance to cover the significant risk of pets creating damage to a property.
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“We welcome reports that the Government has listened and responded positively to our concerns.”
The bill reform will also make it illegal for landlords to place blanket bans on renting to families with children or those on benefits, and will bring an end to ‘no-fault’ evictions that let tenancies be terminated without reason.
Fixed-term tenancies will be outlawed and replaced with open-ended agreements so renters will only have to move when there is a good reason.
Social housing standards will also be extended to private rentals to stop people living in damp, unsafe and cold homes.