PETS FOR TENANTS

 Long Eaton charity continues fight for tenants to have pets 

One of the most important pieces of legislation for the private rental sector in 30 years, the Renters Reform Bill, has been abandoned due to Parliament being dissolved for the General Election. “ We are bitterly disappointed that the proposed legislation, which would have given people living in rented accommodation the legal right to request pets and challenge a negative response will now not become law,” commented Jennifer Berezai, co-founder of Long Eaton-based pets charity AdvoCATS. Our sensible proposal, to amend the Tenant Fees Act’s List of Permitted Payments to give landlords the right to stipulate pet damage insurance be held would have seen a big increase in the number of pet friendly rentals, easing the pressure on already overstretched rescues. "The organisation has been tirelessly campaigning for four years for the Government to change the law to prevent landlords having a blanket ban on pets. Its campaign gained support from more than 40 businesses involved in the property sector and animal welfare organisations, including the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA), Propertymark, Property Redress Scheme, National Office for Animal Health (NOAH), International Cat Care, Society for Companion Animal Studies (SCAS) and Focus on Animal Law (FOAL). 

AdvoCATS also gained cross-party parliamentary supporters and provided compelling research to the Department for Levelling Up Housing & Communities (DLUHC) on the devastating impact of landlord’s “no pets” clauses. In addition, Jennifer Berezai gave oral evidence to the House of Commons Committee considering amendments to the Renters Reform Bill while it was going through the parliamentary process. The AdvoCATS representative addressed concerns about landlords letting to pet owners, the availability of pet damage insurance, and the risk of discrimination against pet owners. While the failure of the Bill to become law is a setback for the charity it is determined to continue fighting for tenants to have pets and not be forced to place them in animal shelters or have them put down. 

“The fight goes on! The Conservative party would presumably pick up where they left off, and the Labour party has in the past promised to introduce “similar” legislation. We believe we have enough existing supporters who should retain their seats and would therefore be  likely to help us put together a fresh cross-party political support base to lobby the new government,” said Jen Berezai. The current shadow housing minister Matthew Pennycook, was on the Bill committee that AdvoCATS gave evidence to, and so is very much aware of why renting with pets needs to be made easier, so we have good reason to be optimistic about there ultimately being a change in the law to give renters and their pets a better deal,” added the tenacious pets activist. 

AdvoCATS is a voluntary non-profit organisation based in Long Eaton, Derbyshire that offers free support and advice to landlords and tenants, assisting pet owners who have difficulty finding rental accommodation.