At this year’s Labour Party Conference, Battersea was delighted to co-host a fringe event with long-standing partner Mars Petcare on growing access to pet ownership for the 35 per cent of British households who rent their home.
We’re on a joint mission to improve the supply of pet-friendly housing so that more people can experience the joy and benefits of pets while striving to end the issue of pet homelessness across the UK, something that remains a critical problem. According to data from the Association of Dogs and Cats Homes, around 50,000 dogs and over 60,000 cats need new homes. Similarly, challenges relating to housing are the second most common reason that animals are relinquished to Battersea, often in heartbreaking circumstances. We know that 76 per cent of tenants already own or aspire to own a pet, but just 8 per cent of private landlords list their properties as pet-friendly.
While thousands of animals need a loving home, many would-be responsible pet owners are blocked from pet ownership due to overly restrictive tenancy agreements or, in many cases, believe they won’t be allowed a pet so never discuss it with their landlord.
The government’s new Renters’ Rights Bill includes welcome measures to support more pets in rented homes – preventing landlords from unreasonably refusing a pet request from a tenant. Furthermore, important changes such as reducing the time limit within which landlords must respond to a pet request from 42 days to 28 have already been confirmed. It is a good Bill for pets and their owners, and Battersea encourages MPs to back it.
However, Battersea and Mars believe that three further tweaks could be made to ensure that the Bill delivers fully on its potential.
First, it will be critical to further define what constitutes unreasonable grounds for refusal of a pet request. Without providing example parameters, the legislation risks being left too open to the interpretation of individual landlords, and the consequences of any disputed requests could be costly for tenants in both time and money to resolve, thereby defeating the sensible purpose of the Bill.
Second, permission granted for a pet should last the lifetime of a tenancy, to ensure that it cannot be withdrawn on a whim later in the contract. Failure to do so would put animals and owners at risk, especially if the landlords sell or pass on a property to a new landlord, who may have different views.
Finally, we want to see the protections that currently exist within the Bill to help protect prospective renters with children and those in receipt of benefits extended to those who own pets. As it stands, only those in existing tenancies will be able to make a request, leaving others seeking a tenancy who already own a pet at risk of being pushed down the list in a highly competitive rental market.
During the fringe event, Battersea’s Chief Executive Peter Laurie and Mars Petcare’s Corporate Affairs Director Lorna Catling were joined on a panel by two Labour figures. The first was Burnley MP Oliver Ryan, a passionate housing advocate who expressed his support for both the issue and the potential improvements that could be made to the Bill. Councillor Sagal Abdi-Wali, Housing Lead from Camden London Borough Council, also highlighted several ways in which the social housing sector was already ahead of the curve on the issue, and private renters were missing out on some of the same protections.
There was an enthusiastic consensus in the room about both the importance of the measures and the need to get the legislation moved forward as a priority now that parliament has returned.
With the Renters’ Rights Bill due for its Second Reading on Wednesday, 9th October, both Battersea and Mars will be continuing to push for MPs to speak to the value of the proposals and how they can best be developed to ensure they deliver on the welcome intentions of the Bill. If delivered properly, the measures will allow millions more people to enjoy the physical and mental health benefits of owning a pet, and to help make their house feel truly like a home.
We’re encouraging supporters to ask their MPs to attend and speak in the Second Reading debate on 9th October. Find out more here.
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