Whether you market your property as “pet-friendly” or not, it’s almost inevitable that as a landlord you will at some point encounter a tenant that comes attached with a malting bag of fleas. Often tenants will be upfront about it because you are a pet-friendly landlord, and if you’re not, it’s not uncommon for tenants to move in their most prized possessions anyways.
I know of many landlords that unexpectedly discovered that their tenants have been harbouring pets without permission, but because the tenants have taken such good care of the property (as good as tenants without pets) and have been model tenants, the landlords accept the situation. So many landlords get converted to pet-friendly that way.
Whatever your scenario, if your tenant does come with furry baggage – whether you knew about it or not – you should ensure you have some sensible pet-related policies in place so your tenant understands what is expected.
I’m not going to discuss the pros and cons of allowing tenants with pets, because I’ve already covered that jazz over in the Guide On Landlords And Pets article, but I am going to discuss pet clauses in Tenancy Agreements.
When tenants/landlords discuss “pets”, they’re typically referring to dogs and cats. Dogs are the most common pets in the UK, and if there’s any type of household pet that is capable of destroying a house, my money is on a dog. Cats aren’t too far behind, though.
Smaller pets like fish, hamsters and rabbits aren’t usually a problem. On that basis, I’m going to focus this article with the assumption we’re all here because we want to protect our investments against dogs and cats.
Pet Clauses in Tenancy Agreements
Most good tenancy agreements will have a pet clause, but what it stipulates can vary from contract to contract. In general, they will say whether a tenant can or can’t keep pets. But even if the tenancy agreement does say NO PETS permitted, a landlord can change his/her mind with written permission.
In an event of any damage caused by pets, with or without any specific ‘pet related clauses’, the tenant will still be held liable and responsible. The landlord will still be protected if cute little Daisy decides to scratch the living crap out of your newly fitted carpets and/or misjudge the corner of the living room for a dumping ground.
Damage is damage, it doesn’t matter if it’s caused by a tenant, their friend or their dog. The security deposit can be used to cover damages caused by pets. However, just so tenants are clear about what is expected by their pet-keeping abilities, landlords can provide a supplement ‘Pet Clause Policy’ Form with the Tenancy Agreement.
If you’re a landlord that permits tenants to keep pets in your property, you may want to consider supplying a supplement pet schedule with your Tenancy Agreement.
I recently came across a website called Lets and pets that provides a neat little pet policy, which is a supplement to a Tenancy Agreement. But don’t worry, you don’t need to leave this website to get the information, because I’m going to break it down for you.
Adding a Pet Clause to a Tenancy Agreement
Here is an example of a pet policy clause which refers to the supplement pet policy:
The tenant agrees that they will abide by the pet policy as shown in Schedule 1 attached to this tenancy agreement. On signing this tenancy agreement, the tenant will pay a deposit to cover any damage caused by their pet to the property or furnishings during the tenancy.
Adding a ‘Professional cleaning’ Clause to a Tenancy Agreement
Some landlords get tenants with pets to cover the cost of professionally cleaning the property once they have moved out. This can be written into the tenancy agreement, and here is an example of a clause:
It is hereby agreed and understood between both parties that the tenants shall arrange and pay for the Property to be professionally cleaned at the end of the Tenancy and provide proof of the works that have been carried out. If the tenants do not have the Property professionally cleaned at the end of the Tenancy or they do not provide receipts for proof of the works, the cost for the professional clean will be deducted from the Tenants deposit.
Now, before you randomly go adding any clause into an existing Tenancy Agreement, ensure the above clause doesn’t conflict with any other pet clause that may already exist. Moreover, just to clarify, the information I’m providing is not legal advice. Whilst every effort has been taken to ensure that the information provided is accurate, you should seek legal advice from a qualified professional.
Pet policy schedule
Now, below is the pet policy which the clause refers to, which you can use as a supplement with your Tenancy Agreement. Some of the clauses seem odd, in the sense that they’re either O.T.T and/or unenforceable. But there’s nothing to say you can’t remove some of clauses to suit your needs.
So in theory, your Tenancy Agreement could refer to a Pet Policy, in which the pet related clauses are stipulated. Remember, the pet policy acts as a counterpart, it is NOT a replacement for a tenancy agreement.
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Buying a Tenancy Agreement
The above schedule can be easily used with the Tenancy Agreements available to buy from this website. All the documents available for purchase have been created by award winning Solicitors that specialise in landlord law.
As usual, if anyone has anything add, please use the comment box below. It’s good to talk.
Right, that’s all folks. Enjoy :)
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