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Thousands of landlords are to be quizzed to establish the true cost of damages to rental accommodation by tenants.
The “What’s the damage?” online survey is a joint project between industry trade bodies Propertymark and the National Residential Landlords Association, along with East Midlands-based pets charity AdvoCATS.
The purpose of the research is to provide accurate data of the type of damage caused in rental accommodation by adults, children and pets, as well as the cost to landlords and method of recovery.
The results will be presented to Housing Minister Eddie Hughes by AdvoCATS later this Spring, to further enhance their ‘Heads for Tails' report and proposals to amend the Tenant Fees Act 2019 and making renting with pets easier for both parties, thus avoiding the impact of “no pets” clauses.
The ongoing campaign is calling for a landlord to be allowed to either request a financially capped pet deposit or stipulate that pet damage insurance must be held by any tenant wanting to keep a pet or pets.
Propertymark says thie is currently backed by over 35 organisations and more than MPs and Peers.
Timothy Douglas, head of policy and campaigns at Propertymark, comments: “Many renters are pet owners, but due to the Tenants Fees Act which caps security deposits, letting agents and their landlords are no longer able to fully mitigate the additional risks associated when letting their property to tenants with pets. We hope that the responses collected from this survey will strengthen our calls for changes to current rules and that the UK Government will explore options that incentivise landlords to rent to more people with pets.”
AdvoCATS co-founder Jennifer Berezai adds: “We know that fear and cost of pet damage is one of the main barriers to landlords accepting pets, and this survey will give a better understanding of the reality of those fears, and how they compare to other causes and costs of damage. These questions haven't been asked before, and the answers will give us a unique insight into landlords' experiences."
And Chris Norris, policy director for the National Residential Landlords Association, comments: “We understand the importance that pets have for many renters, especially those wanting companionship. However, the system at present does not allow the true heightened risk of pets to be reflected in deposits. We encourage landlords to complete this survey as we work to ensure there is sufficient confidence to rent to tenants with pets.”
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What a waste of time, another week another Survey. Why ask Landlords when you never take any notice of us and bring everything in over our heads anyway.
It seems quite reasonable to charge a higher deposit to cover the cost of new carpets/chewed woodwork. I've seen what dogs/cats can do to a property and yet again, the cost of replacing/repairing falls to the landlord.
We are not allowed to charge an increased deposit now so it has to be an increased rent, another example of where good tenants loose out thanks to the likes of shelter.
Where do I find this survey in order to complete it?
Hi Karen
Can't post the link in comments, but if you're on Twitter, you can find under @advocatsem - or LinedIn under Jennifer Berezai.
Thanks!
Insurance seems the lesser of two evils. The deposit is never enough if the place is trashed, maybe insurance would provide better protection? Eg, where the damage is such that there is a delay to getting the property let, this flows from the pet damage claim. Acceptance of pets is currently subject to consultation in Scotland, feel free to contribute to it, after all, Scotland is the “guinea pig” for England in rental matters....
The only person who wins with insurance is the insurance company! Imagine trying to make a claim on someone else's policy - impossible - and what happens if the policy lapses? The only answer is a pet deposit.
I think the only answer is NO PETS.
The next tenant, cleaner or even the landlord might be allergic to animals. Why should they be affected because someone wants to live with an animal in a property they don't own?
Shouldn't tenants pay for damage, weather it's caused by pets, children or adults? I guess it's hard to get the tenants to pay?
Whether ‘Pet Damage Insurance’ or ‘Higher Deposits’ we will still find ourselves relying on the ‘Tenant’ to make the claim on their Pet Insurance to recover our repair bill, or with regard to ‘Higher Deposits’ some Tenants will still try and convince the ‘Deposit company’ our claim is not justified. Resulting in more headaches and red tape for us Landlords in the PRS.
You can’t insure anything that belongs to some else.
It is a Health and Safety issue. Some tenants are medically allergic to dogs and cats. No amount of deep cleaning will get rid of the allergens. What happens if the tenants coming after the pet owners are allergic? I feel like a voice crying in the wilderness with this one.
We were obviously thinking the same thing at the same time.
Our business is providing somewhere to live for humans, not animals.
I have HMOs which rules ban both children and pets because they can't be properly cared for in an HMO. If one asks to have a pet another will and pretty soon i'll be running a zoo as well as an HMO! Not possible!
I think that the only way to go with single dwelling properties is to get estimates for refurbishing, refurnishing and recarpeting the whole property, should it require this, add 20% to cover inflation to these costs and divide this cost up over the length of the tenancy as an increased rent. If there is not such damage, the pet owner could get back double their deposit on moving out as an incentive to responsible pet ownership.
I had someone who brought a dog into his room and caused £900 worth of damage. He turned the under bed storage space into a cage for the dog, thus weakening the bed by stripping out some of the wood. The carpet of course had to be replaced and the whole room deep cleaned.
This was a tenant who ignored the terms of his TA which clearly said no pets.
Then on another occasion, a tenant requested permission to bring in a cat. I furnished a cat-flap to the back door. Then the tenants left, leaving the cat behind. The poor thing was so traumatised by this that she started attacking the other tenants and had to be removed to a cats' home.
No to pets!
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