SHOCK RESEARCH: 27% of landlords have no idea their tenants have cats or dogs

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Nearly one-third of pet-owning renters have been hiding their animals from landlords for more than three years, according to new research by build to rent giant Quintain Living.

Its survey of 1,000 renters also found that 38% don’t feel comfortable asking for permission to keep a pet and 29% had difficulty finding a property to rent as a pet owner. Almost one in five pet owners (17%) have considered giving up their furry or feathered friend in order to find somewhere to live.

Birds were named as the most secretly kept pets in the UK – a staggering 50% of respondents who keep birds admitted hiding them from their landlord – with rabbits in second place (43%) and rather bizarrely, horses, with 33% of respondents.

Walkies

Tenants find various ways of hiding their pets during landlord inspections, according to the buy-to-rent management firm: 35% take their pet for a walk, 32% ask a friend to pet-sit, 19% get neighbours to watch it, 15% hide it in a wardrobe or cupboard and 9% disguise it. As a result, 27% of landlords don’t know that their tenants keep pets.

Its research also found that Brighton is the most pet-friendly city in the UK – and Belfast is the least pet-friendly – with the most pet-friendly living in Norwich, Leeds and Sheffield. Plymouth, Cardiff and Edinburgh were at the other end of the scale.

Danielle Bayless (pictured), COO of Quintain Living, says: “For too long, renters have been excluded from keeping pets in their family homes, but, as we have proved, there is no reason why we cannot live in harmony together.

“We are proud to have been one of the first to offer pet-friendly homes to rent, as well as a host of pet-friendly amenities on site.”

Take our recent poll on attitudes to pets among landlords.

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Free Financial Management Software for Landlords from Lendlord

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Lendlord is an online platform that helps landlords (with and without letting agents) to optimise their property investments with the following features:

Document Management

Securely store all your property details and documents in the cloud

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NEWSFLASH: Housing minister Christopher Pincher replaced during reshuffle

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Christopher Pincher, one of the more longer-serving housing ministers in recent times, has been a victim of Boris Johnson’s brutal cabinet reshuffle today.

Until now the MP for Tamworth had been a housing ministry survivor, retaining his role as a minister in Johnson’s reshuffle in September 2021 when Gove replaced Jenrick.

Despite losing his red box privileges, Pincher’s stint at the Ministry of Housing and latterly the Department of Levelling Up make him the longest-serving holder of the role since Brandon Lewis left the post in July 2016.

But Pincher is not moving because he’s disloyal – rather the opposite; he is expected to get the job of Chief Whip from Mark Spencer, whose authority had been undermined in recent week as ‘loyalists’ like Pincher whipped fellow MPs into backing the beleaguered PM.

His replacement is Stuart Andrew (pictured) MP for Pudsey, Horsforth and Aireborough and, as is traditional now, has almost no experience of the housing sector.

Reactions from the industry to Pincher’s departure have been tepid, largely because progress on so many pieces of key industry legislation has failed to proceed recently including the long-promised renting reform proposals, and the regulation of estate agency regulations, both of which have been languishing in ministerial inboxes for several years now.

Sean Hooker, Head of Redress at the PRS, says he hopes that Pincher’s departure doesn’t delay progress on reform of the private rented sector and that Andrew can ‘get up to speed as quick as possible’.

Andrew’s previous Whitehall experience includes being a Deputy Chief Whip, a Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Defence and before that a similar role at the Wales Office.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – NEWSFLASH: Housing minister Christopher Pincher replaced during reshuffle | LandlordZONE.

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Meet Mark Smith (Barrister-At-Law) Landlord tax planning strategies – PIN Nottingham

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Our Hon. Legal Counsel, Mark Smith, Head of Chambers at Cotswold Barristers, will be presenting an overview of several landlords tax strategies at the pin Nottingham meeting Tuesday 15th February.

The Nottingham pin Meeting is now returning to its physical venue De Vere Orchard Hotel

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Pets most commonly concealed from landlords

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It is now the anniversary of the UK government changing the law to give pet owners more freedom to rent, and Quintain Living has released a new study focusing on renting with pets in the UK.

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LATEST: Landlord’s pet referencing system snapped up by digital lettings giant

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A leading digital lettings platform used by agents has acquired PetsScore, the pet referencing company that lets owners build up a profile for their pet to show landlords and letting agents.

The Lettings Hub plans to launch a range of pet-let products to tenants, landlords and letting agents this year, all integrated within BOX, its tenancy progression platform.

The supplier of digital products and services says that as 3.2 million households have bought a pet since the start of the pandemic – with 59% of new owners aged 16-34 years old – it’s inevitable that this will impact the rental market.

PetsScore, which only officially launched last September, lets tenants register their pets including information about microchip, breed/size/weight, vaccinations, pet insurance, medical treatment, training, and landlord references.

The Lettings Hub CEO Heidi Shackell (pictured) explains that if, as expected, the Renters Reform Bill scraps section 21 notices, landlords have little protection against a tenant moving in a pet without permission during their tenancy.

She says: “We believe a significant section of the market are looking towards newer solutions, focused on better due diligence and increased protection for landlords, whilst providing tenants with a valuable tool to overcome objections and encourage more long-term lets.”

Natasha Homer-Earley, a landlord and tech professional who set up PetsScore last year, adds that there is a chasm between the availability of pet-friendly rental properties and the overwhelming demand for them. “Over the coming months and years, there will be more opportunities to bring together fintech, proptech and data to improve the matching process between landlords, tenants, and pets,” she says.

Tenants with pets are still a hot topic in the PRS, after the government altered its voluntary model AST contract to require tenants to take pets unless they have good reason not to, while campaigning group AdvoCATS continues to receive cross-party support in its bid to alter the Tenant Fees Act to enable pet deposits to be legal.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – LATEST: Landlord’s pet referencing system snapped up by digital lettings giant | LandlordZONE.

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Are Gove’s ‘levelling up’ plans a step too far for landlords?

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Taxes. Regulations. Rental changes. Reforms. High standards. Section 21 being scrapped. Is this all too much for some landlords? The government’s dramatic Levelling Up White Paper feels like another knife in the back to the private rental sector.

A national landlord register

View Full Article: Are Gove’s ‘levelling up’ plans a step too far for landlords?