Date Published 01 August 2011
Despite a strong lettings market benefiting thousands of people who cannot get a mortgage, it has seen one victim, however: household pets.
With many landlords simply denying pets or asking for a much greater deposit, many tenants are now having to give up their pets in order to secure the rental house they want.
During 2010 alone, Battersea Dogs and Cats home reported a total of 236 admissions borne from owners seeking non-pet friendly rented accommodation. The figure for this year to the end of July already stands at 141.
As the re-homing centre has a policy of never turning away a pet which needs its help, the staff at Battersea have urged landlords and letting agents all over the country to be a little more lenient with what they allow and what they prohibit.
Speaking to guardian.co.uk of the issue, head of intake at Battersea Liz McWalter explained: "We're seeing a lot of owners coming to us when they are left with no option but to give up their pet because of housing.
"Seeking our help is the responsible thing to do and we will always aim to do all we can. Owners should never resort to abandoning or dumping their pet."
According to Lesters Property Manager, Holly Weston, "Whether or not a tenant has a pet should not affect the landlord whatsoever. As with any uncleanliness or damage caused during the tenancy, whether by the tenant themselves or by a tenant's pet, it is the responsibility of the tenant to rectify it."
Holly aded "Whilst some of our Landlord's properties just aren't suitable as pet-friendly homes, we deal with many where the Landlord is quite willing to consider tenants with pets. The most important criteria for prospective tenants with pets is to show a willingness to accept responsibility for anything that is reasonably requested as part of the tenancy, such as professionally cleaning the carpets at the end of the agreement."
