A pet referencing service is being launched next month - but it expects agents and landlords to pay to see the references.
PetsScore says its service will be the first in the world for dogs and cats; it aims to attract agents and landlords operating in the short lets and longer term rental sectors.
“When it launches it will allow Pet Owners to register their pets for free, list all the information a landlord needs and then gather online references about that pet” says the firm.
“Once a pet owner has references saved, PetsScore uses that data to create a ‘risk score’ for the pet which,like human tenant referencing, it will supply to the Lettings industry” it continues.
However PetScore says agents and landlords will have to pay “as little as £1.50” to buy access to the reference.
Letting Agent Today asked PetScore if there were higher charges; in response we were shown a website page that said a single one-off access to one reference would be £10.
If agents bought a subscription they could then obtain ‘bundle’ charges for multiple reference checks. For example, a bundle of 10 would cost £15 while a bundle of 300 checks would cost £300.
Founder Natasha Homer-Earley says: “I founded PetScore after spending almost six months trying to find somewhere to rent with my dog Daisy. I’d been a landlord previously, seen my family manage their Property portfolio but I was really unaware of how tough it is for Pet Renters.
“I have a 20 year background in Tech Startups and Fintech. So, I knew in order to create something letting agents and landlords would trust, it would need to deliver a level of verification typically found in Financial Services.
“I designed the PetsScore service with the help of UK Letting Agents. PetsScore’s mission is to significantly move the dial on the percentage of rentals accepting Pets worldwide,. This is why from launch a PetsScore can be shared with Letting Agents, Landlords or sharing economy hosts wordlwide.”
The company says it soon wants to sell insurance to pet-owning tenants too.
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Now why would I pay for that when I will NEVER allow cats dogs or any animals in my properties.
Easy huh?
No Natasha Homer-Earley you got this the wrong way round. The TENANT should be paying his £1.50 to you for a cert and presenting to a LL or agent who can then cross reference against your database. Or you will be guilty of enabling the sector to raise rents again. Make the tenant responsible for his choices in keeping a pet whilst renting
Of course the tenant should pay the £1.50 or the £10,000 extra a year to have a cat or a dog as extra rent, plus tenant paid insurance on top.
AND THEN YOU WILL SEE HOW MUCH THEY REALLY LOVE THEIR PRECIOUS PETS..............
Isn't it now illegal to charge tenants referencing fees?
Being an animal lover I am very in favour of pets. That said if I have a choice between equal applicants where one has pets and the other doesn't, why would I spend £1.50 to reference them? OK it i only £1.50 but it takes time to set up BACS or however Natasha wants paying. Yes, I will take the easy option.
Nice idea, Natasha, but it's an "I'm out" from me.
This is a great idea- but makes so much more sense that the Tenant pays upfront for this. They then have a report to share with any prospective agents or Landlords. Petscore could even sell insurance protection policies, paid for by the pet owner, to give extra protection to landlords outside of the 5 week cap. Great concept but I think they are missing the boat in terms of who should pay for it (and therefore their main revenue opportunity).
Noone is prepared to grasp the nettle still, this is only about cash, nothing more. Yes nice idea to try persuade landlords there is actually a solution available, but pet referencing, just like the idea of vets certifying good behaviour is simply unworkable and unreliable, underwriters wouldnt touch it with a large bargepole unless some eye watering premiums were paid. It is impossible to underwrite a pets cleanliness, its likelihood to scratch, soil or damage, its owners dedication or attitude over the course of a tenancy or even how many muddy walks it has every week. There is no amount of data that can collected that gives any landlord any reassurance that there property will be returned without any adiditional cleaning or work required. Since its impossible, who will be underwriting the inevitable mistakes of high scoring pet references landlords will rely on combined with high levels of dilaps? Natashas' PI Policy?
It is simple.....
Do not ever take animals of any sort.
Tenants will still come and be OK with it.
And your 6th monthly review will show if they have animals.
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