Address landlord concerns to retain pet ownership – SCAS

Understanding and addressing the concerns of landlords is key to allowing pet owners to keep their animals when they go into rented accommodation.

This was one of the key points made at the Society of Companion Animal Studies (SCAS) annual conference last month (18 September), where speakers discussed a broad range of issues, including the effects of rules barring pets from social and private sector rental properties.

Less than 20% of large public organisations providing rental accommodation will permit pets on their property and similar policies are adopted by the great majority of private landlords who provide homes for 13 million tenants in the UK.

Overall, roughly 7% of advertised rentals are considered “pet-friendly”.

Traumatic decisions

The shortage of places where pets are welcome means pet owners must work harder at finding suitable accommodation and will usually have to pay more.

Veterinary practitioner and SCAS chairperson Elizabeth Ormerod noted that some will have to make the heartbreaking decision to choose between having a roof over their head and the continued companionship of their pet. Those who do have to relinquish their pet will find the experience deeply traumatic and there have even been cases of suicide after losing the pet.

She said: “They experience pet loss without the prospect of closure because they don’t know what has happened to the pet.”

Welcomed efforts

Dr Ormerod said the SCAS welcomed efforts by the Westminster and Edinburgh governments to create a rental market that will allow more tenants to keep their pets.

Proposals to encourage landlords to consider renting to people with pets are contained in government white papers on both sides of the border.

However, the SCAS recognises that legislation to encourage more pet-friendly properties is unlikely to succeed on its own. Rules enshrining a right to pet ownership are in force in many countries, but with varying degrees of success.

There is a chronic shortage of properties suitable for keeping pets in most countries and it is easy for landlords to turn down applications without explaining why. Landlords are also able to change their minds on who they want to occupy their properties.

Tenants are unlikely to complain when restrictions on pet ownership are introduced later because a landlord’s testimonial may be important in finding another tenancy.

Pet-friendly policies

Housing problems are the second biggest cause of people relinquishing their pets to Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, said the organisation’s head of policy Michael Webb.

The charity has joined the SCAS in supporting research into the factors that make landlords introduce policies denying tenants the right to keep pets – and what measures may be introduced to encourage pet-friendly policies.

Working with the National Residential Landlord Association, Mr Webb’s colleagues interviewed landlords about their concerns. Unsurprisingly, responses from more than 700 landlords showed that those who had pets themselves were more likely to agree to renting their properties to pet owners.

The biggest reason for refusing to rent to pet owners was concern over potential damage to property and soiling of floors and other surfaces. Many landlords also cited the risk of flea infestation and annoyance to neighbours caused by barking dogs.

Further studies

Researchers Luciana Santos de Assis from the University of Lincoln, Rachel Dunn from Leeds Beckett University and Debbie Legge from the Open University described further studies into landlords’ views.

Dr Santos found that incidents of damage and noise nuisance were actually quite rare. Only 3% of her sample reported personal experience of dealing with those two issues, yet 45% of landlords in her survey were unwilling to let their properties to pet owners.

One respondent acknowledged that an adult tenant with mental health problems had been the biggest cause of property damage during their career as a landlord, and children were considered by many to be a more likely cause of problems than animals.

Nevertheless, refusing tenancies to those with pets was an easy decision to make and eliminated one possible source of future problems.

Sympathetic

Dr Legge found that most landlords surveyed were sympathetic to the proposal in the UK government white paper on a fairer rental sector that they should not unreasonably withhold consent for tenants to have a pet.

They recognised that pets provide mental and physical health benefits for tenants, and that happy tenants would be more likely to stay for longer periods and take good care of their homes.

However, respondents said there must be safeguards in place to protect the financial interests of landlords, such as insurance policies paid for by the tenant to cover the costs of repairing any damage caused by the animals.

Until 2019, landlords were able to charge a deposit to cover any damage caused by the tenant or their animals. Many organisations including the SCAS have argued for the reintroduction of these arrangements, which were discontinued because of concerns about their fairness.

However, the survey revealed that many landlords claimed that those deposits didn’t always cover the cost of repairs to their property.

‘Realistic’

Landlords were anxious about proposals for reforming the rental system to encourage more pet-friendly accommodation.

Dr Legge said: “They felt that recommendations for reforming the system need to be realistic, otherwise landlords will find other ways to ensure their financial security or stop renting altogether.”