One of the UK’s leading letting agents has told landlords that they should permit pets because “it’s the right and proper thing to do”.

David Alexander runs DJ Alexander Ltd, which is the largest lettings agency in Scotland and part of the Lomond Group. In his column in The Scotsman he firmly comes down on the side of pets being allowed in the private rental sector.

He writes: “All of us involved in the sector need to remember that we are renting someone a home not simply a property and for many people a major component of having their own home means having a pet. For landlords who may be wary of letting tenants keep pets I would urge them to reconsider. 

“While everyone in the private rented sector has heard horror stories of properties damaged by pets with furniture and carpets suffering at the claws and teeth of a variety of pets for the majority of people this is simply not the case.

“The truth is that most tenants are sensible and understand the need to look after their pets properly and ensure that they don’t let them damage the property they live in. The positive aspect is that the more that tenants feel a property is their home the more likely they are to treat it as their own and behave responsibly and sensibly.”

He says that allowing pet ownership is a small price to pay to have a happy tenant, and he adds that contented tenants are also more likely to stay longer. 

“I believe that most landlords should agree to their tenants having pets because it is the right and proper thing to do” he says, suggesting that landlords make it their New Year’s resolution to have a change of policy on this.