How landlords and block managers should respond to a request for consent to keep a pet

The Renters’ Rights Bill promises to give private sector residential tenants in England a “right to request a pet”. Any tenant can obviously ask their landlord to agree to a pet already, so that might not sound like much. But the Bill will make some modest changes to the law by introducing a term into tenancy agreements to the effect that:

1. A tenant may keep a pet at the dwelling-house if the tenant asks to do so and the landlord consents;
2. The landlord must not unreasonably refuse to give consent; and
3. The landlord must give or refuse consent in writing by a specified deadline (which is normally the 28th day after the date of the tenant’s request).

The Legal Context

If there is no restriction in the tenancy agreement preventing the tenant from keeping a pet in their property, or requiring them to obtain the landlord’s consent, they are free to do so. However, the vast majority of residential tenancy agreements either ban pets entirely, or state that the tenant may not have a pet without the landlord’s consent.

The Renters’ Rights Bill will get rid of absolute prohibitions on pets in tenancies, meaning landlords will have to consider requests for pets by their tenant. Landlords will not be able to override the ‘implied term’ introduced by the Bill.

Where a tenancy agreement states that something can only be done with the landlord’s the law already specifies that a landlord must not unreasonable refuse consent, or unreasonable delay giving an answer. The Renters’ Rights Bill builds on this by setting out specific timescales for the landlord to respond.

The Bill will introduce this term into private sector assured tenancies – it will not affect social tenancies or ‘long leases’.

How should landlords respond to pet requests?: a step-by-step guide for landlords

Actually consider the request

Many landlords know they prefer to let to tenants without pets, and I expect some landlords will simply refuse any request for a pet. This is not really legal advice, its more life advice, but I will include it here anyway. Pets can bring enormous joy and comfort into people’s lives. If you are a landlord and you have been asked to permit a pet, try to see the big picture –  saying yes might change someone else’s life for the better. Don’t just look for an excuse to say no, try to find a way to say yes!

Ask for details

Not all pets are the same, and your answer might depend on the specifics of the pet your tenant wants to have. My dog is a fully grown labrador – he’s lovely, be he might a bit too big for some flats.

Check with anyone else who needs to give permission

In a flat, a landlord has to consider the terms of their long lease, and the views of the freeholder. A landlord who is a leaseholder will often need the consent of the freeholder to keep a pet. It important for leaseholder landlords to ask the freeholder if they will consent to a pet being kept in the property – the provisions in the Renters’ Rights Bill will extend the deadline for the landlord to respond to the tenant until they have heard back from their superior landlord.

Block managers should consider the views of other residents.

Think about disabilities

A service animal is not the same as a pet, but it’s worth stressing that the Equality Act 2010 requires a landlord to make reasonable adjustments. In some circumstances permitting tenant to keep s service animal may be unlawful discrimination.

Respond promptly with reasons

Landlords should respond promptly. If they do not respond on time this might be treated as an unreasonable refusal to give consent. If the landlord is saying no, they should give reasons, and those reasons should be good ones, which are not unconnected to the landlord and tenant relationship.

Consider conditional consent

Sometimes the landlord might be willing to consent to a pet, but only on certain conditions. Any conditions must be reasonable. For assured tenancies there are restrictions on the conditions which can be imposed:

• The Tenant Fees Act 2019 caps tenancy deposits at 5 weeks rent (6 weeks rent where the annual rent exceeds £50,000 per year).
• The government originally planned to permit landlords to require tenants to take out special pet insurance. That plan was recently dropped and removed from the Bill. Conservative peers in the House of Lords then amended the Bill to give landlords a right to demand a 3-week ‘pet deposit’ instead, but this part of the Bill is expected to be rejected by the House of Commons in September and not form part of the legislation. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c62d3j7j8ndo

One difficult area is charges. The Tenant Fees Act prohibits landlords from charging most types of administration fee or requiring a tenant to pay for insurance. However, it may not prevent a landlord from specifying that a tenant must pay an increased rent to be allowed a pet. If the courts permit landlords to demand an increase in the rent equivalent to the cost of taking out specific insurance for pet damage, tenants will be in essentially the same position as the original version of the Bill did.

Final Thoughts

The growing popularity of pet ownership means landlords will increasingly face requests from tenants wishing to keep pets. While landlords are not obliged to allow pets in all cases, they must approach each request reasonably and fairly, with a clear process in place.

I expect the most significant change the new pet rules will make will be cultural rather than legal – tenants will expect landlords to take requests for pets seriously, and they will be more likely to challenge any refusal.

At the moment tenants can challenge a landlord’s refusal to consent to a pet by bring a claim in court. The Government plan to introduce a Private Rented Sector Landlord Ombudsman, and this will give tenants a new way to challenge landlord’s refusal to permit a pet.

It is going to very important to consider requests for pets promptly and reasonable, and for any conditions imposed by landlord to be lawful.

Our expert team can assist you if you have any questions, contact us on 020 7940 4060 or send us an email at mail@anthonygold.co.uk.