The King’s Speech has promised to “fundamentally reform the private rented sector”, giving hope to campaigners that renters will have a greater opportunity to keep pets in future.
While full details of the Renters’ Rights Bill are yet to emerge, the legislation is promising to give greater rights and protections to tenants and to “level decisively the playing field between landlord and tenant”.
“The Renters’ Rights Bill delivers our manifesto commitment to transform the experience of private renting, including by ending Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions,” said the government. “The Bill will give renters much greater security and stability so they can stay in their homes for longer, build lives in their communities, and avoid the risk of homelessness.”
The previous government’s Renters Reform Bill passed its third reading in the House of Commons shortly before the General Election, but too late for it to become law. It was widely viewed as a heavily watered-down version of an earlier white paper which included a provision to protect tenants, including those with pets, from eviction “without good reason”.
The RSPCA welcomed the return of the “lost” Bill.
Head of public affairs David Bowles said: “We believe that the Renters Rights Bill will give tenants a legal right to have a pet, unless there is a justifiable reason not to do so – ending blanket bans that exist at present on the keeping of beloved companion animals in rental homes.
“The RSPCA has long campaigned for this change – as we believe this will stop many pet owners having to face the heartbreaking choice of choosing between finding accommodation and keeping their pet, and also offer countless new owners the chance to adopt rescue pets.”
Campaigner Jennifer Berezai, who runs the East Midlands-based AdvoCATS group, is seeking a meeting with the new Minister of State Matthew Pennycook to suggest that an insurance-based solution is the best way to encourage pet ownership in rented accommodation while protecting landlords at the same time.
She said: “Our campaign is not unknown to the minister, who sat on the Bill select committee that I gave evidence to last November, and so we hope that he will want to meet with us.
“Meanwhile we are encouraging as many tenants as possible, who either have or want pets, animal focused organisations, animal rescue volunteers, landlords, letting agents – and, in fact, anyone concerned with renting and animal welfare – to contact their MPs to raise awareness of our campaign to introduce pet damage insurance in law for both renters and landlords so that more people can rent with pets without landlords feeling their property is at risk.”
Other measures outlined in the King’s Speech included a Bill to set up Great British Energy, a publicly owned clean power company headquartered in Scotland, to help accelerate investment in renewable energy such as offshore wind, and a promise to “reset” the relationship with Europe and work to improve the United Kingdom’s trade and investment relationship with the European Union.
