Pet friendly renting
- 25th Oct 22
It’s official, we are a nation of pet lovers. We have an estimated 35 million pets shared between 67 million residents, with dogs and cats the most popular. Like many countries, the UK saw an increased number of people that bought and owned pets during the Covid lockdowns with owners looking to increase exercise and enjoy the mental health benefits and companionship that a pet offers.
Love to Rent, the first and only digital marketing platform for the Build to Rent sector, offers a filter to search for rental homes that allow pets. In fact, so many Build to Rent properties are pet friendly with 74% of the developments on the site welcoming pets.
Of the 4.4million households currently living within the rented sector in England, just 7% of private landlords advertise their properties as being pet friendly. Although the Government have stated in the Fairer Private Rented Sector White Paper that they will: ‘legislate to ensure landlords do not unreasonable withhold consent when a tenant requests to have a pet in their home, with the tenant able to challenge a decision’, the reality is not always so straight forward.
According to research from the English Private Landlord Survey taken in 2021, 45% of landlords in the private rented sector are unwilling to let to tenants with pets. The Build to Rent sector not only allows pets, but actively make them part of the community with different events such as pet socials where customers and their pets can meet up, the inclusion of pet stations stocked with essentials and goodies and staff will bring their pets in on designated days to spread the love.
Rental homes that are pet friendly are just one of the benefits of living in a Build to Rent home, a term that is used to describe rental properties that are professionally managed and maintained and offer exceptionally high levels of customer service as well as flexible tenancies.
During the last few years, Build to Rent has grown massively throughout the UK and people are now starting to understand the benefits. To help spread the word, the second Love to Rent Week on 24th to 28th October further promotes news, case studies of renters and details on the types of rental homes available, including plenty of pet friendly developments.
“Pets are an integral part of people’s lives, and they should not have to compromise on a beloved dog or cat just because they are not a homeowner,” says Anne-Marie Brown, Founder and CEO of Love to Rent. “Build to Rent is a forward-thinking concept and is creating communities where people love to live within professionally maintained surroundings offering flexible tenancies and high levels of design.”
Finding the perfect pet friendly Build to Rent home in London has been transformative for Gabriella and her partner. The relief at finding Porter’s Edge in Canada Water was instant as Gabriella explains: “We actually decided to rent the place before we saw it because most new developments don’t accept pets. The fact that Folio London accepts pets too made the decision to say yes very easy.” There are lots of amenities in the local area; a shopping centre and leisure park at nearby Surrey Quays plus plenty of places to grab a bit to eat and have a drink with friends.
In Manchester, Sophie and her partner Victoria paid a visit to Duet in Salford Quays. “Vic had always wanted a dog and moving to a pet friendly development was high on her check list,” says Sophie. “As soon as we moved in, we saw several people with their pets and knew it would be a great place to own a dog, so decided to get Chihuahua Lulu. There are lots of other residents with dogs, so with us both having to return to work and study, we have been able to arrange doggy play dates and walks with neighbours whilst we are out.”
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