Renters' Rights Bill

Written evidence submitted by the RSPCA (RRB13)

Renters’ Rights Bill

Executive Summary

●  The RSPCA welcomes the Renters’ Rights Bill which will allow thousands of people who do not own their homes to have the chance to own pets responsibly and put an end to blanket bans on pets by landlords.

● However, the Renters’ Rights Bill only applies to private rented properties and not social housing which risks creating an unfair, two tier system. We believe this should be addressed at Committee stage.

● The RSPCA would like to seek clarity from the UK Government on the circumstances in which landlords are able to "reasonably" refuse tenants with pets.

1. The RSPCA welcomes the Renters’ Rights Bill which will allow thousands of people who do not own their own home to have the chance to own pets responsibly and put an end to blanket bans on pets by landlords.

2. At present, there is no standard approach to whether landlords will allow pets in rented accommodation. In private rented and social housing sectors, it is left for individual landlords to decide on whether or not pets are allowed in their property. This has often resulted in blanket bans on pets in rented accommodation from landlords. This often means pet owners either have to rehome their much loved pets, choose to make themselves homeless rather than be separated from their pets, or just ignore the ban and bring their pet hoping the landlord does not enforce the tenancy agreement.

3. In January 2022, the previous UK Government published its model tenancy agreement which encourages allowing pets to be the default position in England's rented sector - unless landlords have a justifiable reason for not allowing them to do so. This was welcomed by the RSPCA but was a voluntary rather than mandatory solution. It is not clear, as no data has been shared by the Government, on how many times the tenancy agreement has been downloaded or used.

4. As the UK’s biggest animal welfare charity, the RSPCA sadly sees the results of the issues faced by tenants every day. We see it in animals that are given up to our centres by heartbroken families who have no choice but to do so if they want to find somewhere to live. We also see it in the animals staying in our care for longer than needed because blanket bans on pet ownership in rented accommodation have reduced the pool of potential forever families to take them home. We believe this should not be the case.

5. Many social housing authorities already have positive pet policies that both allow pets and promote responsible ownership, 15 housing associations received the RSPCA’s PawPrints awards scheme in 2024. The RSPCA PawPrints scheme recognises local authorities and public bodies in England and Wales for their work on animal welfare.

6. Animal abandonment is a huge problem for the RSPCA - we received 20,999 reports last year alone, more than in 2020, 2021 and 2022. To date the RSPCA has seen a 5% increase in animal abandonments compared to the same period last year and a 12% rise on 2022. It is not possible to conclusively identify the reasons for why this rise is occurring but the RSPCA urges the Government to take action on this issue given the increase in abandonments due to the cost of living crisis and the anecdotally reported increase in landlords not accepting American Bully XLs.

7. The RSPCA welcomes the Bill but would like the Committee to consider that the Bill only applies to private renters and not social housing, we have concerns that this could create an unfair, two tier system when it comes to renters owning pets.

8. We would also like the Committee to consider and seek clarity from the Government on the circumstances in which landlords are able to ‘reasonably’ refuse tenants with pets.

9. Finally, the RSPCA is supportive of new section 16C to the 1988 Act and Clause 11 of the Bill which states that a landlord can require pet insurance to cover any damage to their property.

October 2024