I am hoping to rent out a property I own. I will self-manage and have been working my way through compliance before advertising it (EICR, gas safety cert, CO2 and smoke alarms, EPC, draft pre-screening questionnaire, draft contract, how to rent guide, ICO registration and privacy notice, deposit scheme, right to rent, reference checking processes etc). I am concerned about the right to request a pet coming in under RRB. I like animals and understand that many people love their pets. But my husband who will assist with maintenance and also support own personal safety in case I wish another person present during eg inspections is allergic to various kinds of pet hair - to the point of requiring emergency paramedics on occasion. I don’t think any of this was documented on his medical records as a child but presumably NHS will have records of paramedics coming out. I am also allergic to some types of rabbits. We may wish to occupy the property I intend to rent at some point in the much longer-term as a retirement home so I would prefer to avoid having any allergy causing pets in the property. I would be interested to know if anyone has experience of whether these grounds are sufficient to reject a pet and if a tenant acquired one after moving in how difficult it would be evict on health and safety grounds.
Ordinarily, I dont think pet allergies would exempt you from the legislation, but if you have good written evidence of severe allergic reaction, you should consult a specialist housing lawyer and get a written opinion that you can use as a defence if you ever need to.
Justin Bates KC just gave a webinar in which he said it would.
Allergies kill and any respiratory physician would side with the person with allergies in this situation.
I think it would need to be pretty severe. Im allergic to cat fur but the worst that ever happens is itchy eyes any runny nose. I dont imagine a court siding with me prohibiting cats because I need to inspect for half an hour once a quarter.
Yes, as I said, I think that severe allergies will probably be enough to justify a pet ban, but expect to need a Doctors report in case youre challenged.
When do you do house inspections?
Do you do it from outside the house?
If you are managing your property do you expect me to do it from the doorstep every three months or more frequently in problematic HMO’s….
When there are issues or certificate renewals I use it as an opportunity to inspect the house and deal with problems before they fester
The last time I realised there was a dog ( without my knowledge was purely because I started to have difficult breathing ( and I had no medication to hand )
It’s funny those of you with no medical background being so dismissive.I have an in depth understanding of this issue.
I see it as rather unfair that I am to be discriminated against because of a legislation that hasn’t been thought through properly that as you advise I should have to outsource my job to a third party
If that’s not the epitome of discriminatory what is ?
We are all self managing , in my case because I feel I do a better job and give better service than an estate agent.
Why should I now have to outsource it to a third party , who is potentially less competent and will charge fees in perpetuity for what …?
This isn’t about disrespect, you haven’t thought your post through thoroughly .
It’s not just about my allergies it’s actually a bigger problem for all landlords and for the tenants themselves.
If a tenant , who owned a pet , departs and the incoming tenant has allergies who is liable for their illness?
They will be sleeping in a property with dander . How thorough is your post tenancy sanitisation. ?
Will you face a lawsuit for failure to sanitise your property appropriately ( which caused the new tenants problems) or will you have increased turnover because the tenants leave after two months because their allergies have flared up.
If they leave you have the financial costs of void and reletting or you face a legal case because you didn’t sanitise the house thoroughly .
Either way you will be out of pocket , one reason being a tad more expensive than the other
Interestingly, the housing lawyer, David Smith believes that there is no problem advertising properties as unsuitable for pets or refusing applicants with pets, its only when an existing tenant requests a pet that the landlord has to consider it.
This makes complete sense. At least a landlord will get to know an existing tenant and how they look after their property before considering to grant permission for a pet. A new applicant is an unknown risk.
I for one will not be allowing pets until I see clear evidence of suitably protective pet insurance policies or until legislation allows a premium rent charge for pet occupancy.
I have only ever had one pet owning tenant, who did in fact request permission before occupancy, that returned the property in the same condition. The others, too numerous to mention, who introduced pets without permission without exception left an awful mess and odours to rectify.
Those with pets wanting to rent need to adopt a less entitled attitude and put your money where your testimonies stand. In good old Yorkshire terms - “put up or shut up”.
