Landlords will need to foot the bill for damage caused by pets under a last-minute amendment to the Renters’ Rights Bill.
The government amendment reverses an earlier pledge allowing landlords to require tenants to have insurance to cover pet damage, in a move labelled “shoddy and outrageous” by the NRLA.
Property lawyer at Spector Constant & Williams, David Smith, says the change of heart is “somewhat bizarre” and adds: “This will be seen as something of a betrayal by many landlords who were prepared to accept pets provided that they were able to get tenants to pay for an insurance policy to cover the cost.”
Smith suspects the government got cold feet less than a week before the bill returns to the Commons, having realised that these pet policies were going to cost rather more than they had expected – likely about £150 per year.
Landlords will still be expected to accept tenants with pets, unless there is a good reason not to. However, he believes it is almost inevitable that landlords will now look to find ways to avoid giving permission for pets.
“There are flaws in the legislation which make this possible,” says Smith. “This last-minute laying of amendments which negatively affect landlords while simultaneously refusing to consider anything put forward by landlord organisations is not going to do much to endear the bill to landlords and agents and is going to make them nervous that more will appear which will only fuel the risk of landlords walking away.”
NRLA chief executive Ben Beadle adds: “Ministers keep talking about how the bill works for responsible landlords and yet they seem incapable of speaking to those representing them. Yet again the government simply expects responsible landlords to shoulder even greater risks without any consultation about the likely impact.
“It is tenants who will lose out as landlords become more risk averse.”
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