Dogs are not just for home-owners: why we need more pet-friendly rental homes

Dogs and cats and different pets tin marque a immense quality to your life. In information it would beryllium much precise to accidental they instrumentality implicit your life, for amended and for worse. For america favored owners - I person a 3 twelvemonth aged Podengo canine - you couldn’t bash without them though and tin beryllium a invaluable assistance for Londoners’ health, mental health and wide wellbeing.

However, for London favored fans who are renting, things are not rather truthful simple. Finding pet-friendly rental homes tin beryllium highly challenging.

According to Dogs Trust, 15% of each handover enquiries are from owners relinquishing their pets due to the fact that they are experiencing issues with accommodation, portion Cats Protection’s CATS Report reveals that implicit fractional a cardinal households who would similar a feline don’t person 1 due to the fact that their rental statement forbids it.

Professionally managed rental homes supplier Leaf Living has present teamed up with some organisations up of World Pet Day connected 30th November, to item the ever-increasing request for pet-friendly rented homes successful the UK.

Leaf Living’s CEO Will Montague says, "People take to rent for galore reasons – it mightiness beryllium a fiscal decision, oregon they mightiness similar the flexibility that a rented location provides. Either way, pets are truthful often a portion of the household and the world is that the rental assemblage successful the UK simply doesn’t conscionable the needs of prospective tenants.

“As a nonrecreational landlord of rented homes for families, we’ve worked hard to recognize precisely what radical request from their properties – and we’re arrogant to connection pet-friendly homes to our residents. We’ve had the joyousness of welcoming families with pets and seeing others clasp caller ones, assured that they person a semipermanent location for their furry friends!"

Claire Wilson-Leary, Public Affairs Manager astatine Dogs Trust says, "The past 3 years person been the busiest connected grounds for Dogs Trust. Heartbreakingly, 1 of the astir communal reasons we spot dogs handed implicit to america is simply a deficiency of pet-friendly housing, leaving owners with nary prime but to portion with their beloved pets. Sadly, this aforesaid contented often prevents galore imaginable adopters from offering homes to the hundreds of dogs presently successful our care.

"At Dogs Trust, we person been campaigning for years to code this contented due to the fact that we firmly judge that the joyousness of favored ownership should not beryllium constricted to homeowners. Renters merit the accidental to acquisition the life-enhancing companionship of a favored too. For acold excessively long, those successful rented accommodation person faced unnecessary barriers to favored ownership simply due to the fact that of their lodging situation."

The situation extends to feline owners arsenic well. Cats Protection’s CATS Report reveals that rental restrictions person go a important barrier, with feline ownership among renters falling to conscionable 24% implicit the past year. This diminution highlights the interaction of wide no-pet policies that bounds renters’ options.

Cats Protection is actively advocating for much inclusive rental policies and urging landlords to rethink restrictive practices; galore landlords whitethorn person concerns that a feline volition harm fixtures and fittings, yet 73% of cat-friendly backstage landlords study nary problems astatine each from cats successful their properties. Cats Protection besides recovered that renters with pets besides thin to enactment longer successful properties.

Under accepted backstage rental arrangements, favored ownership is often restricted oregon near wholly to a landlord’s discretion, limiting renters’ choices and contributing to the surrender of animals to shelters. Earlier this year, Zoopla pointed retired that conscionable 7% of each rental properties successful the UK are listed arsenic favored friendly*. This world has created an situation successful which galore favored owners look hard decisions, often being forced to take betwixt unchangeable lodging and the animals they love.

Here, 1 dog-loving renter tells their story:

‘It feels wholly similar my place’

Having moved retired astatine 18 successful hunt of independence, 27-year-old Jessica, a store manager astatine a favored attraction retailer, is 1 of the radical trying to marque consciousness of a challenging rental market. And similar galore renters, Jessica faced challenges successful securing a pet-friendly spot for her 2 dogs, Loki and Mac, portion ensuring information and stability—a spot that suited her manner that she could genuinely telephone location for the agelong term.

Over the years, Jessica had experienced assorted rental situations, astir precocious sharing a three-bedroom flat successful Worthing with her partner, her brother, her brother's daughter, and Jessica’s dogs. While browsing Rightmove during a holiday, Jessica came crossed Fontwell Meadow, a build-to-rent improvement by Leaf Living adjacent Arundel successful West Sussex. A modern, two-bedroom location with a garden, that welcomed pets, instantly stood retired against the properties connected connection from accepted landlords; Jessica called and reserved her caller location earlier adjacent seeing it successful person.

She and her spouse secured their two-bedroom location for £1,425 per month, signing an archetypal 12-month contract.

“For me, trying to bargain close present is excessively hard and would mean sacrificing a batch of my independence. I moved retired astatine 18, and present astatine 27, it suits maine to proceed renting but I privation to unrecorded successful a location that feels similar a home, not a halt gap. Where I was surviving earlier moving here, it was decidedly a squeeze. I wanted much abstraction to physique my beingness with my spouse and supply country for my dogs and the future.”

Jessica recalls the archetypal clip they visited their caller home: “I was truthful happy; it had everything we were looking for. The full moving process was ace casual due to the fact that we didn’t request to woody with a abstracted property agent. Everything was handled straight done Leaf Living. They adjacent fto maine travel beforehand to measurement for furniture, truthful we felt truly prepared.”

“As a favored owner, it tin beryllium precise hard to find a high-quality rental location with modern amenities that besides allows animals. Options don’t travel up precise often! My dogs are a immense portion of my life—they travel with maine everywhere. So, it was important to maine that my caller location not lone allowed pets, but besides felt designed to accommodate them. The backstage plot is simply a bonus that Loki and Mac love. Opening the doorway to the plot for the archetypal clip was specified a large feeling—they instantly fell successful emotion with it.”

Jessica has particularly appreciated the information the plot provides, peculiarly since Loki was diagnosed with glaucoma and struggles with his vision.

"Having a harmless outdoor abstraction wherever helium tin bask the sunshine is invaluable."

Leaf Living’s homes are thoughtfully located crossed the UK, prioritizing greenish spaces with bully transport links, on with convenient entree to adjacent towns and villages.

Jessica says: “What truly sold america was the manner that came with it. The country is beautiful, with plentifulness of greenish space—perfect for canine walks! There’s thing antithetic astir renting a location similar this compared to thing I’ve rented before. I person much space, I’ve turned the 2nd chamber into a impermanent room, and I’ve been capable to big household barbecues. I adjacent hosted Christmas here, thing I would ne'er person dreamed of earlier moving into this home. It feels wholly similar my place, and I emotion it. I’ve added my ain idiosyncratic touches, similar pictures connected the wall, and I’m adjacent picking retired overgarment colours. Honestly, I can’t spot myself leaving for a precise agelong time.”

Dogs Trust has developed adjuvant resources for renters with pets, offering guidance and enactment to navigate favored owners facing lodging challenges. To research these resources and larn much astir the captious enactment Dogs Trust does, visit: www.dogstrust.org.uk

Leaf Living provides professionally managed rental homes each implicit the UK. With caller sites coming up successful much areas crossed England, they are delivering prime homes for radical - and pets. If you’re looking for a pet-friendly location to rent, visit: www.leafliving.com/findyourhome