Pets and renting: the most pet-friendly cities for renters

Pets and renting: it’s an ongoing battle, but more landlords than you might think provide pet-friendly rentals. Below find the best pet-friendly places to rent in the UK, and all that’s in between. 

Pet ownership in the UK: a quick breakdown

Below find a quick summary on the UK’s pet ownership statistics - some of which will be living in pet-friendly rented accommodation.

• 28% of UK adults are dog owners. 
• There are roughly 10.6 million pet dogs in the UK.
• 24% of UK adults are cat owners.
• There are roughly 10.8 million pet cats in the UK.

Source: PDSA

Background information on pets and renting

• Every year, 200 dogs are taken to rescue or rehoming centres as a direct result of landlord restrictions on pet ownership in rented properties.
• ‘No-pet clauses’ on tenancy agreements are the second most popular reason for giving up pets.
• There are over 4.5 million rental properties in the UK.
• Nearly half of all UK households own a pet.
• Only 7% of landlords in the UK advertise their property as a pet-friendly rental.
• Many buy-to-let properties are increasingly run by management companies on behalf of landlords, which Luther Yeates - Mortgage Broker and Head of Mortgages at UK Expat Mortgages - says typically have a “set tenant criteria”, which makes operations more efficient, but also can mean that no-pet clauses are in place.

Sources: The Kennel Club

Most pet-friendly place to rent in the UK

The most pet-friendly place to rent in the UK is Belfast - with only 3% of landlords not accepting pets.

Least pet-friendly city for renters in the UK

Renting with animals is the most difficult in Carlisle, with 68% of landlords saying they do not accept pets.

City & percentage of landlords that do not accept pets

Below are our most popular cities for house sitting with pet sitters, along with the percentage of landlords that say they do not accept pets.

• Oxford - 6%
• Manchester - 9%
• Brighton - 10%
• Bristol - 24% 
• Bath - 26%
• London - 29%
• Cambridge - 38%
• Edinburgh - 42%
• Glasgow - 42%

Top 10 most pet-friendly places to rent in the UK

The results are in - renting with animals is simplest in Belfast, Reading, Kingston-upon-Thames and Woking. Below find a breakdown of the best places to rent with animals and the percentage of landlords that do not accept pets in each location.

Top 10 least pet-friendly places to rent in the UK 

Unfortunately, renting with pets in the UK isn’t easy in every city - Carlisle landlords are the least accepting of renters with pets, followed by Newport and Gloucester. Below find a list of the least pet-friendly places to rent in the UK, and the percentage of landlords that do not accept pets.

So, what can be done for pet lovers who rent, and are looking to adopt a new furry family member? We spoke to Luther Yeates, Mortgage Broker and Head of Mortgages at UK Expat Mortgages - and he shared his advice based on years of experience in the UK rental industry:

“It's a seller's market - landlords can be picky about who they rent to currently, so until that changes, I don't think it'll get better for renters with pets. However, exploring private rental options would be my advice - generally these landlords are more flexible on criteria and are willing to accept applicants based on their character and broader situation, usually meeting in person first to 'get the feel'.”  - Luther Yeates, Mortgage Broker and Head of Mortgages at UK Expat Mortgages

Source: Lets 4 Pets courtesy of Hillary’s

Useful resources

• 12 reasons why your dog is extra affectionate in the morning
• Why is my dog sticking out his tongue?
• 10 reasons why cats are better than dogs