40% of UK households are pet owners

There is a moderately untapped market of pet owners looking to rent properties. Forty percent of the households in the UK are pet owners, while only 7% of landlords advertise their property as pet friendly.

Earlier this year, the government has tried to encourage more landlords to be pet friendly, though its plans to remove restrictions on well-behaved pets. This will give tenants more options and a greater chance to keep pets when moving home.

Another opportunity has arisen from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. As a large proportion of people are now working from home, more people are opting to get a pet. This has pushed figures to an increase of 109%, for people looking for properties, which allowed pets.

Owing to the shortage of pet friendly rentals, this market has the potential for attracting higher yields.

There are many benefits from being a pet-friendly landlord and these include:

• Widens your market
• Tenants are more likely to stay for longer
• Shorter void periods
• Less likely to have party-time tenants
• Properties with outside space becomes premium rentals

Reassurance check list

• Assess the pet’s suitability depending on the property in question.
• Will the tenant be home during the day?
• Will the pet make noise while the tenant is out? To check this, request a reference from the previous landlord.
• Insert a clause into the contract, which prohibits nuisance pets, including damage to property, nuisance to neighbours and dangerous behaviour
• Allergies – if the property is shared, this is an important factor to check with other householders.
• Is there proof that the pet has been trained?
• Any veterinary records proving the pet has flea prevention treatment?
• Does the tenant have tenants’ contents and liability cover, should the worst happen and the pet causes damage to the property?

DeMachin