Landlords can no longer automatically prohibit tenants from having pets in their property under new government guidelines. 

The Ministry of Housing has introduced a new Model Tenancy Agreement – a template of a recommended contract for landlords to use – which prohibits an automatic blanket ban on pets. Barring tenants from having pets is still possible, but is far more cumbersome. 

Following the change, landlords have to object in writing within 28 days of a written pet request from a tenant and provide a good reason – for example the property could be too small for a large animal. 

Christopher Pincher, housing minister, said: “It can’t be right that only a tiny fraction of landlords advertises pet friendly properties and in some cases people have had to give up their beloved pets in order to find somewhere to live. We are bringing an end to the unfair blanket ban on pets introduced by some landlords.”

As it stands only 7% of landlords advertise properties as pet friendly.