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14/7/25 8:13 pm
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Landlords have been encouraged to put aside personal views and consider whether a particular pet is compatible with their rental property.
Under the Renters’ Rights Act, tenants will have the legal right to request a pet which a landlord cannot unreasonably refuse, but property solicitor David Smith says he’s increasingly being asked by landlords and agents about consent for pets and what they can say no to.
Smith, at Spector Constant & Williams, believes giving reasons for wanting to say no to pets that are entirely to do with personal viewpoints is the wrong approach. “People will say to me that they don’t want pets in their property or, more usefully, that they have an allergy to pet hair and might want to live in the property again themselves. However, to my mind, this is entirely the wrong approach,” he says.
He suggests that it’s better to consider whether a tenant’s particular pet is compatible with their property, which requires an intellectual shift beyond simply talking about pets as a generic concept. “When we discuss pets, it’s apparent that most landlords are thinking of cats and dogs, but there are a far wider range of animals the tenant might consider suitable as a pet.”
Smith believes landlords are on safer legal ground if they consider specific questions, which are relatively unconnected to personal opinions and relate to a question of compatibility between pet and property. “This is a more legally consistent approach and one that is far more likely to come up with an answer that can be justified in court or before a landlord redress scheme,” he adds.
During debate on the Bill, MPs voted not to go ahead with proposals for pet damage insurance or a refundable pet deposit.
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