Avoiding unnecessary animal relinquishment and pet suffering, is at the heart of the community work at Oak Tree Animals’ Charity. Animals often have to be reluctantly given up for adoption when families move into new rented accommodation and when the Oak Tree team read that Carlisle has the highest percentage of “no pets allowed” rental properties in the UK (68%), they felt that they simply had to help.
The team liaised with various letting agents in Carlisle and researched possibilities to support landlords and tenants to develop the Pets in Rentals (PiR) programme. Often landlords are concerned that properties may become damaged or that the pet will cause problems within the neighbourhood. Oak Tree’s PiR programme provides landlords with tools and resources to become more confident in accepting pets in their properties.
Becky Lowis, Community Supervisor at Oak Tree explains, “Pets are hugely popular and are a central part of people’s lives. In total, 45 percent of the UK population own a pet. In our region, 27% of households have dogs and 16% have cats. Animals regularly get relinquished for rehoming when their owners are unable to take their new pets into rented accommodation.”
“With such high ownership of pets, it follows that tapping into this growing and dynamic market has the potential to be extremely beneficial for landlords. Research shows that tenants who keep pets do tend to stay for longer periods of time, and there are a few simple steps that landlords can take in order to mitigate the perceived increased risks, and we have created our Pets in Rentals programme to support them.”
“Over 90% of pet owners say that owning a pet makes them feel happy and 88% feel that pet ownership improves their overall quality of life. People are therefore prepared to go that extra mile if it means they can have their pet with them. By making a rental property pet friendly, landlords are opening up to a potential additional 45% of prospective tenants. As a county of animal lovers we hope that we can encourage landlords in Carlisle to help us make our city more welcoming for animal owners and their much loved pets.”
For more information about Oak Tree’s Pet’s in Rentals programme please visit: www.oaktreeanimals.org.uk/community/pets-in-rentals or contact community@oaktreeanimals.org.uk
