Dogs and Domestic Animals (Accommodation and Protection) Bill

Campaigning and Policy

Dogs and Domestic Animals (Accommodation and Protection) Bill

What is the NRLA position with Romford MP Andrew Rosindell’s Private Member’s Bill, which aims to give tenants the right to live with their pets, calling for tenants to be allowed to have pets and to restrict the right of landlords or their agents to include ‘no pets’ policies.
Is the NRLA actively lobbying MP’s sympathetic to Landlords to scrutinise this Bill. The Bill – known as Jasmine’s law after a dog owned by the Adams family in Surrey was famously prevented from living in a privately rented house – is supported by 11 other cross-party MPs including Andrea Leadsom and Tim Farron. It is due to have its Second Reading on the 29th January.
The concern is that this bill is not compatible with the Tenants Fee Ban Bill, which restricts the landlord’s ability to take more than 5 weeks deposit. It also muddies the water, if having a pet is no longer consider a choice, but a basic human right to tenants. This could lead to Landlords being accused of discrimination when increasing rents for those with pets. This raises other issues. At what point could a tenant introduce a pet to a property. If a fixed tenancy is agreed at certain amount per month at commencement on the understanding there would be no pets and halfway through the tenancy the tenant decides they need a furry emotional support companion, how is the Landlord act to resolve maintenance issues associated with pet habitation – odours and so forth?