The stupid robot agent on the phone says landlords are saying no pets etc, but you are not allowed to say that by law for a few years now, you should know this.
Landlords have to provide in writing within 30 days and give a reasonable reason why you are not allowed pets. They can not simply say ‘no pets’ anymore.
Incorrect. Landlords can point blank refuse all pets with no explanation. There is no law. There is a proposed law which hopes to bring in “cannot reasonably withhold consent”, which is not in effect, and may never be.
You have probably seen governments model AST, which is totally optional.
Law or not, many owners (LL) have lease terms forbidding pets. The LL has no flexibility and parliament can’t rewrite leases.
Still NOT law yet Never in my places
It is not illegal to state no pets in an advert or to refuse a tenant because they have a pet.
Renters Reform is still only a Bill and is unlikely to become law in the next 12 months.
As told multiple times by experienced landlords, this is not law, it’s a proposal!!
interesting the meaning of the word … paradox
If it did become law , how would a tenant find out if my lease said no to pets ? What if for example I lied will it be a requirement to prove it ?
I am not keen on pets after a tenant had a cat chew the carpet and newel post , so I will say no !
Problem is when T will say they have no pets but bring one anyway. We had a girl who brought a rabbit later on without even asking permission. When she moved in, she genuinely didn’t have a pet. What will you do? PhD student, too. But lives like a pig, never cleans. I genuinely don’t see that the pet made it worse. It’s more her own lifestyle. And she’s leaving by the end of the year (god help me to find TT around Xmas again!).
They could sue you in court if they thought you were lieing and then you’d have to produce a copy of the lease. This seems unlikely in the case of an applicant rather than an existing tenant, but some tenant or pet organisations might try to bring a few cases initially to scare landlords into complying
While the renters reform bill is still just a proposal, it can be argued that a blanket ban on pets is an unfair term of the contract under the consumer rights act of 2015, I would use that to argue your case. The government model tenancy agreement template now has a clause in it that tenants must ask the landlord for permission prior to getting a pet. This means that the landlord should have a reasonable excuse for not allowing a pet.
Entirely optional……
Plenty of reasonable excuses for no pets
“Unfair” now that’s a word open to interpretation if ever there was one.
Thats why almost all tenancy contracts include a caveat along the lines of “without our written consent which will not be unreasonably withheld” when talking about pets. It ensures that its not a blanket prohibition.
Yes they can…in my case …it is always in the advert !!!
I had a tenant who asked the agent twice in a viewing about pets…agent was very clear. Tenant moved a cat in …denied it was there, neighbours photographed cat sitting inside window…I did an inspection…he denied it …when he finally moved out, house flea infested,(house had been fully refurbed b4 he moved in, carpets woodwork destroyed…and the smell 
) This guy was quite high up in the Army too.
I did let to a friend …who had a little dog that went to doggy day care…and the house was immaculate…it isnt the pet…it is more the pet owner…and the dirtiest tenant award…was a nurse !
It surprises me, but I hear more and more stories about nurses making dirty careless TT. Was yours a male or female?
Female…and a mother of 4 of the most entitled lazy unruly children I have met…and I am a teacher 
Alison, I wonder if I can learn something from your experience. What was this nurse T like during the viewing? Any indications of the problems to come? And did you have to evict her or she moved on herself? I suppose that at least she paid her rent in time.