TV personality and landlord Jasmine Harman is appealing for more rental properties to accept dogs.
She has joined forces with welfare charity Dogs Trust to launch an ‘Ask, Advertise, Add’ campaign directed at letting agents.
With one in five homes predicted to be privately rented by 2016, and almost half the population owning a pet, it is clear that the demand for pet-friendly homes is high, says the charity.
Yet still Dogs Trust has found that one in three pet owners do not manage to find rental homes with their pets, despite the fact that over 70% of landlords say they would consider accepting pets.
The Lets with Pets Scheme was set up in 2009 to help tenants who struggle to find pet-friendly rented homes. The scheme helps pet owners find privately rented homes by working with letting agencies and private landlords.
The ‘Ask, Advertise, Add’ drive is aimed specifically at lettings agencies to encourage them to always ask if their landlords are happy to take a ‘pets considered’ approach.
It suggests they ask all their landlords if they would consider pets; advertise properties where pets will be considered; and add a pet clause to tenancy agreements where a pet has been agreed.
Jasmine Harman, pictured here with Shadow, said: “As a pet-friendly landlord myself, I am delighted that Dogs Trust is looking after the interests of renters with pets.
“In my experience, many landlords would be happy to consider pets but lettings agencies have sometimes been slow to pick up on this and some could do more to find out if pets would be considered.”
Susie Jones at Dogs Trust said: “We know from experience that some people will go to extraordinary lengths not to be parted from their pets. People have moved areas or rented larger homes than they need simply to keep their pets with them.
“We hope that the Lets with Pets 3A’s campaign will encourage and support more landlords and letting agencies to take up a ‘pets considered’ approach to letting their properties.”
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Comments
Anyone know anything about smells, dirt & the fleas that can lie dormant until the next tenant moves in?
It is a risk and should only be taken if the tenant pays a substantial enhanced deposit and agrees to have the property professionally fumigated at the end of the tenancy.
Perhaps if all pet owners who wanted to rent were regulated........ that seems to be the current answer to everything else let related.
Or how about the Dogs Trust offering a warranty scheme to help protect the landlords from irresponsible dog owners who let their dogs foul carpets, dig up gardens and lawns, chew the fittings etc. No, i don't think they will either
it is not the lettings agents that always turn away pet owners, it is the landlords themselves.
The Dogs Trust have an ongoing Champaign called 'Lets with Pets' where letting agents can sign up and get help with letting a property to a tenant with a pet.....
Only property is they only allow agencies who have an affiliation to one of the vast number of pointless regulating bodies out.
So unless you are an ARLA member in The Dogs Trust eyes you have no right to let a property to a Pet owner.
As an agency we encourage LLs to let to pet owners as most people these days have a pet and a No Pet policy will greatly limit the number of potential tenants.
Dogs Trust try working with ALL letting agents rather than a select few
How come Shelter haven't come up with a statistic to fuel this story.
Was it beyond their wit to suggest that 2/3rds of pet home owners are being deliberatly made homeless by uncaring letting agents.
I ran the stats using the Shelter method and it seems that over 20 million people are unable to finf a place to live because of this, its a disgrace!
We've had loads of tenants with dogs, most of which didn't moult, bark, smell, scratch, chew or defecate according to the owners yet oddly a) we still had issues with most of them at the end, and b) it appears lots of dog owners don't know their pets as well as the thought.
Yes, I am a dog lover before i get pelted with stones, and no, i wouldn't put a dog into a clients property unless they 100% knew the risks.
The TDS Arbiters would have a field day......"you let a property with dogs and did not expect any damage" Case dismissed...pay up Landlord!!!!
I will accept pets when Jasmine gets down on all fours and growls like a mongrel.
Remember how HIPS were only ever opposed by estate agents and vendors?
In reverse who is it that is always extolling Landlords to accept pets - animal lovers. I have cats and dogs but that doesn't mean I expect everyone else to welcome them into their properties.
The problem that can be generated by cats and dogs are legion and only the most experienced and sympathetic landlords will usually take them unless the property and its location is ideally suited to them, especially where large dogs are dconcerned and there is more than one.
Ever spent a night in a small block of 6 or 9 flats witrha howling dog in one of them?