2nd
Aug 2021
It is a somewhat contentious view that landlords who accept tenants with pets could ultimately enjoy greater rewards, this is according to a claim made by a renowned buy to let mortgage monitor.
The independent service does however hold its hands up to there could be some pitfalls for landlords by doing so.
These include landlords having to take out extra insurance however the service does suggest that this can be offset if homes are made ‘pet-proof’, such as removing from a property expensive items, furniture, rugs and ‘pet reachable’ breakables.
It states: “As well as this, landlords should keep in mind that tenants are normally obliged to return the property in the same state in which it was initially rented, as such tenants should pay for any damage their pet causes or the money can be removed from their deposit.”
But it does say that in real financial terms.by taking in pet owning tenants could offset the disadvantages and explains how this might be the case with three examples.
1) By advertising their property as ‘pet friendly’ the advert is exposed to a larger audience which could reduce void periods.
2) Tenants with pets would ensure that good renters will undoubtedly want to stay longer in the property, as many will have found it hard to find a landlord willing to house pets.
3) In suitably sized properties allowing ‘furry friends’ should encourage families to rent, and are far more likely to stay for a longer period of time rather than single tenants.
The service says that during the ongoing pandemic pet ownership has exploded to offset the lack of company for many people, however official statistics have estimated that only 7 per cent of PRS properties are advertised as being ‘pet friendly’.
On January 28th this year, the government revised its existing Model Tenancy Agreement in an attempt to help tenants with ‘well-behaved pets’ find rented homes, however as it is not compulsory the general view is landlords and agents will fail to use it.
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