Housing issues are a leading reason for dogs and cats being given to rescues. It’s a heartbreak that could so easily be avoided.
What’s the issue?
More people than ever before own pets. At the same time, an increasing number of people are living in rented homes.
But only 7% of rental properties are listed as pet friendly, and many landlords automatically refuse tenants with pets. Despite research showing that most pet owners make good tenants, and that 76% of tenants would like to own a pet one day.
This can leave people with a devastating choice between a place to live and their much-loved pet. Pets that they see as family, and make their house or flat a home. And for many, this means making the heartbreaking decision to give their pet to a rescue like Battersea.
In 2025, the Renters’ Rights Act became law. This will give tenants in England the right to ask their landlord if they can have a pet, and this can’t be unreasonably refused. For the first time, more renters will be able to open their doors to dogs and cats.
It's a great step forward. But as it stands, you have to already be in a tenancy agreement to ask your landlord for a pet.
How does this affect dogs, cats and their owners?
If a pet owner in a rented home needs to move, it can be near impossible to find another property that will accept their pet. So, people are often left with a heartbreaking choice between a place to live and their much-loved animal.
Because of this, housing issues are a leading reason for dogs and cats being given to rescues like Battersea. But it doesn’t have to be this way. We want more dogs and cats to be able to stay in homes where they’re loved and cared for.
What’s Battersea doing?
At Battersea, we speak up when we see that dogs, cats and their owners deserve better. We’ve been campaigning for pet friendly properties since 2018, and have made big strides forward in that time, but there’s still more work to do to make rental properties truly pet friendly:
- We helped drive the Renters’ Rights Bill through parliament. Now that it’s law, we’re working to strengthen it even more, so that more people can experience the joys of pet ownership.
- We’re working with renters to understand how they’re finding the new law, and whether it’s making a difference for them.
- We’re working with landlords and agencies to understand their concerns and find ways to tackle them.
- We’re supporting tenants and landlords with expert information on their rights and responsibilities, finding or providing a pet friendly home, and how to approach the conversation around pet ownership.
- We’ve worked with the social housing sector on revising pet policies, making more than 250,000 homes open to pet owners
- We commissioned research from top housing academics that gives strong evidence of the benefits that pet owning renters bring to landlords.
- We’re working with landlords to understand their concerns and find ways to tackle them.
- We’ll monitor the housing market to make sure things are getting better for pet-owning renters.
How can I help?
With your support, we’ll be able to make an even bigger impact. Here’s what you can do to help.
• Sign up to our campaigning newsletter to be the first to know about updates and ways to get involved
• Learn more about your rights as a tenant
• Learn about what the new law means for landlords, and the benefits to having a pet-friendly property.
