Landlords and letting agents are being asked to provide feedback on the true cost of damages on rental accommodation by pets.
The survey, entitled “What’s the damage?”, is a joint project between lettings industry trade bodies Propertymark and the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) alongside landlord website LandlordZone and East Midlands-based pet charity AdvoCATS.
The purpose of this research is to deliver accurate data on the type of damage caused in rental accommodation by adults, children and pets. It also seeks to discover the relative costs to landlords caused by this damage, as well as methods of recovery.
The findings from the survey will be presented to Eddie Hughes, the Minister for Rough Sleeping and Housing at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities (DLUHC) by AdvoCATs later this year. We hope that taking this step will go some way towards enhancing proposals to amend the Tenant Fees Act 2019, which seek to clarify the various issues attached to renting properties to tenants with pets.
The current campaign calls for landlords to be given the power to either request a financially capped pet deposit, or to stipulate that pet damage insurance must be held by any tenant wanting to keep a pet. This campaign has so far received the backing of 35+ organisations and 40+ MPs/Peers.
The NRLA's former Deputy Director of Policy & Research, the late and much respected John Stewart, was a significant early contributor to the report, the full version of which can be read here.
Chris Norris, Policy Director for the National Residential Landlords Association, said: “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.”
Access to the survey can be found online until the end of April here. Further information about AdvoCATS’ work can be found on their website.