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TODAY'S OTHER NEWS

RLA cautious over Labour's proposal for pets in rented homes

The Residential Landlords Association (RLA) is seeking greater clarification from the Labour party after it put forward new proposals this week to allow tenants to keep pets as the default position in rented homes unless there is evidence that the animal is causing a nuisance.

A number of private landlords are reluctant to accept tenants with pets, which may explain why recent research by analysts Mintel found that fewer households now own a pet as more people rent rather than own their homes.

Opening the door to pet owners offers many potential benefits but can be a serious gamble, especially as pets are renowned for causing damage to properties.

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David Smith, policy director for the RLA, said: “The proposal raises a number of questions which we will work constructively with the Labour Party to address.

“Will landlords be able to charge higher deposits to reflect the increased risks of damage to a property where pets are allowed? Will insurance premiums increase for landlords to reflect the greater risk of allowing pets to be kept as a default position? What happens in shared homes and blocks of flats where one or more of the tenants do not want, or are allergic to, a pet?

“Labour will need to respond positively to all these points if landlords are to have confidence in this suggested policy.” 

Want to comment on this story? If so...if any post is considered to victimise, harass, degrade or intimidate an individual or group of individuals on any basis, then the post may be deleted and the individual immediately banned from posting in future.

  • James B

    Labour going after the tenant votes who have pets now, getting desperate! ..
    no thought to the various consequences just landlord bashing gone mad !

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    Header leases on purpose built blocks of apartments specifically prohibit pets in the blocks. Beyond the landlords control

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    As a landlord who tries very hard to look after our clients who after all are our customers,it is very odd.
    We could be at risk of having properties with some sort of contamination/disease etc which might be to the detriment of our customers despite all good intentions and efforts.
    It would be lovely in principle but could it be a potential minefield?
    Pet owner.

    G romit

    Compulsory deep clean at the end of a Tenancy paid for by the Tenant.
    Plus a surcharge on the rent as most holidays lets do.

     
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    I will not allow pets having spent a fortune to get rid of fleas in 3 properties
    stuff Labour !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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    i'm one of very few landlords in my area that will consider pets, a single cat or small dog with an extra deposit, i have found over the yrs that tenants tend to ignore the term no pets, that's if they even bother to read the tenancy docs, so what's the point, alright you could evict them, but that's going to be very expensive and take months, so once again the tenant has got the landlord by the short and curlies, if labour get in in 2022 they are going to be after us landlords but we will just have to wait and see how it all pans out, labour could well end up shooting themselves in the foot.

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    This lot (Labour) continue yet again to be anti Landlord. Remember your just a rich landlord...

    Just how unelectable do they really want to be?

  • Michael Lee

    Pure desperation from Labour. Why shouldn’t a property owner be able to choose the terms under who rents their property!!? Pet owning is a personal preference and the reality is that they do cause damage to a fairly proportional amount of properties. With plans to cap deposits too this is yet again another shot at landlords and trying to have them pull out of the market to free up properties for sale IMO.

    Letting agent and pet owner btw!

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    > This lot (Labour) continue yet again to be anti Landlord

    Possibly, but the current lot haven't exactly been pro-landlord.
    Until the housing crisis is addressed (and in reality that will only happen by a huge program of building), whichever party is in power will be anti-landlord as it's easier to blame the PRS for the housing crisis than accept that it's due to their and past government's failure.

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    I will not allow pets in block of flats full stop. My tenants have chosen to live there because of a no pets policy. Government now gaining votes through the back door now! So will they lift my ban on smoking in the property because they want more people to buy cigarettes to gain more taxes? These medeling idiots are driving me mad.

  • Gary
    • Gary
    • 14 February 2018 15:28 PM


    Let’s just pray that Labour never get back into number 10.

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    • 14 February 2018 21:04 PM

    I have not heard such a load of swivel eyed insanity since the introduction of section 24. And I'm still trying to figure out what has caused all this monstrous and endless outpouring of landlord hatred from all governments. What exactly have we done to produce this vitriol?

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