Having a pet can be a wonderful thing, but for a growing number of tenants, having a lovable animal companion could now see them charged a hefty sum. Following the ban on letting fees in 2019, tenants have experienced additional rent charges of up to £600 annually to have pets in their homes.                                                                                               

Prior to the tenant fees ban, landlords would often take an additional week’s rent to serve as a safety deposit against having pets in homes, however, since the introduction of the ban, landlords have been unfairly trying to make up for the lost income by collecting costs elsewhere ... according to campaign group Generation Rent.

They say they have started to see significant rises in what landlords are charging tenants for pet rents, adding additional costs of between £25 and £50 per month (£600 per year) to rents.

Former Generation Rent campaigns manager Georgie Laming goes on to say that this is the wrong approach by private landlords and that tenants with pets are more likely to want a stable, long-term home, which benefits the landlord, claiming that tenants are already paying their deposits and are liable for damage at the end of the tenancy and this is where landlords can charge for damage from pets – not through hiking up rents.

 Summary -  In 2023 the reality of banning UK landlords and letting agents to take an extra deposit from tenants to cover the cost of a pet has resulted in landlords being forced to up their rent charges as it is now the only legal way for them to cover the potential additional cost of pets, sentiments echoed by David Cox, former chief executive of ARLA

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