CAT CHARITY TO SPEAK AT CONFERENCE

AdvoCATS, a Long Eaton-based cat charity has been invited to participate in a Zoom conference, hosted by Romford MP Andrew Rosindell, on February 26th. The event will discuss legislation the MP is proposing that would place strict limits on the ability of landlords to include “no pets” policies in rented accommodation.  His Bill, called “Jasmine’s Law”, had its first reading in Parliament last October. Co-founder of AdvoCATS, Jennifer Berezai, will provide a presentation on pet damage insurance options for landlords and tenants, and, additionally, describe how the charity’s free practical support and advice service to tenants and landlords has, in many instances, resolved the problem of a ban on pets in rented properties.  Only around 7% of landlords currently advertise their properties as being suitable for pets, and many of them charge a monthly “pet rent” top up.  

 The deposit cap imposed by the Tenant Fees Act 2019 wiped out the scope for a landlord to request a pet deposit from animal owning tenants, and with that, most landlords opted for blanket “no pets” clauses in their rental contracts. Now real change is likely - with last month’s new Model Tenancy Agreement and the #JasminesLaw campaign – however, landlords have concerns about being able to recoup any damage costs caused by pets they were reluctant to allow in the first place. Pet damage insurance could be an acceptable solution, believes Jennifer Berezai. “For far less than the extra "pet rent" charged by some landlords, tenants could obtain more cover for damage to a landlord's property by a pet or pets than the pet deposit ever provided. While currently there are few such policies, and there is a significant lack of publicity around them, greater awareness and a change in the law would lead to more being developed.

 

“We see this as an absolute game changer for the landlord/tenant/pet relationship, and if a landlord's right to request that such insurance was held was enshrined in law, it would go a very long way to allowing tenants to keep pets they have or adopt for the first time. We'd therefore like to see the Tenant Fees Act's secondary legislation, the List of Permitted Payments, amended to include pet damage insurance. Many pets that had loving homes are being surrendered to shelters, abandoned - or worse, being put to sleep - because of ‘no pets’ clauses faced by people moving home. It's time to put an end to responsible pet owners being refused permission to keep their human and furry family together, and we will continue to support Andrew with his Bill as it progresses through Parliament. Change is long overdue, but change which is fair to all parties has a greater chance of success.”

 

* The title of the webinar is  #APetInEveryHome - Jasmine's Law and pets in an age of lockdown and the speakers are listed in the link:

https://parliament-uk.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_QB-ky2nxRbqE2BjscSbPDQ

 *Tenants or landlords seeking to resolve an issue with keeping a pet in a rental property can contact AdvoCATSeastmids at advocatsem@gmail.com or visit the website at www.advocatseastmids.org.uk for further information.