The new Labour Government has published its Renters' Rights Bill. What does it mean, for landlords and for tenants, and how does it differ from the previous Government's Renters (Reform) Bill?
In this series of articles, members of the 42BR Housing Team stop off at different landmarks, considering the implications of the new Bill – this time in a red coloured bus.
Paul Fuller discusses pets
Like the previous Bill, which never made its way through Parliament, the Renters' Rights Bill proposes to introduce legislation making it easier for tenants to keep pets in rented accommodation.
In my previous post, I considered the proposed legislation under the old Bill. So what, if anything, has changed under the new Bill?
The Renters (Reform) Bill made provision for a new Section 16A, in the Housing Act 1988:
- Implying a term into residential tenancies that tenants may keep pets, if their landlord consents;
- Preventing landlords from unreasonably refusing consent to tenants' requests to keep pets; and
- Mandating landlords to give or refuse consent within 42 days of tenants' requests.
The previous Bill also recognised landlords' right to require insurance cover, protecting against damage to property caused by pets. To that end, the old Bill proposed a new Section 16C, requiring tenants to comply with any condition requiring them to (a) maintain adequate insurance; or (b) pay their landlord's reasonable costs of arranging cover.
Happily for tenant groups, the Renters' Rights Bill preserves all of these reforms. The new Bill also reduces the deadline for landlords to give or refuse consent, from 42 days down to 28 days. At first blush this seems sensible; 6 weeks does appear to be a long time for tenants to be left wondering whether they are to be allowed to keep pets, and it is difficult to see why landlords would need that long to consider tenants' requests.
As ever though, the devil is in the detail. Landlords' obligations under Section 16A will only be triggered when their "tenant" issues a written request for consent to keep a pet. Landlords will have no obligation to consider or respond to requests from potential tenants when applying for tenancies. This means that landlords will retain the right to prefer applicants without pets over those with pets, or indeed refuse applications from potential tenants with pets, without giving reason.
Statutory guidance issued under Section 77 of the Serious Crime Act 2015 recognises that perpetrators of domestic abuse use threats to pets as a form of controlling and coercive behaviour. Victims of domestic abuse are less likely to seek out safe, alternative accommodation if they fear for the safety of pets left behind. Legislation preventing landlords from unreasonably refusing applicants' requests to keep pets would go some way to removing this obstacle to victim protection.
Some will see the failure to extend renters' rights to applicants who own pets, as well as existing tenants, as an opportunity missed. Advocates for victims of domestic abuse will no doubt press for changes to the new Bill as it makes its way through Parliament.
Time will tell whether those efforts will bear fruit.
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