The online tool, Lets for Pets, created by home interiors specialist www.hillarys.co.uk, allows renting Britons who may be thinking of getting a pet to see where in the UK would be their best bet.
The most lenient landlords have been revealed
The team created the site after finding that more than half of renting Britons want to get a pet but are currently unable to due to their landlord or letting agents’ stipulations.
41% of these tenants said that they wanted a cat, 32% said they wanted a dog and the remaining 27% wanted a small pet e.g. a hamster or rabbit.
When asked if they had approached their landlord about wanting a pet, 49% said they had, with 98% of these respondents revealing their request had been rejected.
Following these findings, the team collected data on 100 towns and cities across the UK to find where Britons should move to if they want to own a pet in a rented property. The places where landlords were least likely to allow pets were found to be:
- Carlisle – 68% (of properties would not allow pets)
- Newport – 63%
- Gloucester – 62%
- Nuneaton – 57%
- Falkirk – 55%
- Peterborough- 50%
- Wakefield- 50%
- Lincoln- 47%
- Chesterfield- 46%
- Hastings- 45%
The locations where landlords were most likely to allow pets emerged as follows:
- Belfast –3% (of properties would not allow pets)
- Reading – 4%
- Kingston-Upon-Thames – 4%
- Woking – 4%
- Oxford – 6%
- Southampton- 6%
- Preston- 8%
- Leicester- 8%
- Newcastle- 8%
- Manchester- 9%
The full list can be viewed here: https://www.hillarys.co.uk/static/lets-for-pets/
Tara Hall, spokesperson for www.hillarys.co.uk, commented:
“Britain is certainly a nation of pet lovers, and most of us couldn’t possibly be without our favourite furry companion. However, having an animal in your home comes with a lot of responsibility – they can make a lot of mess and sometimes cause damages – so it’s understandable that many landlords and letting agents won’t allow them in their properties.
“Although, this handy tool shows that there is some good news out there for pet owners who are looking for a rented property, as there are plenty of locations where they can have their companions live with them.”