In early 2017 when most of the nation was foaming at the mouth about Brexit or rolling their eyes over Donald Trump, the Labour Party decided the big issue of the day was the social inequalities suffered by pet-owning renters.

While some newspaper columnists guffawed about the campaign’s timing, the Labour Party was making a valid point; that renters had a reasonable right to keep a pet in their home, rather than having to track down one of the few pet-friendly properties available or even worse, being forced to lie to their landlord.

Many renters struggle to find landlords who will accept pets, and recent research revealed that in some London boroughs, just 3% of advertised properties were ‘pet friendly'.

It’s ironic that although half of all households have a pet and we’re known as a nation of animal lovers, landlords remain virulently opposed to our four-legged friends frequenting their real estate.

Noisy neighbours

Landlords often say they ban pets to prevent neighbours from being upset by yapping Yorkshire Terriers, mewing moggies or squawking cockatoos. This is largely discriminatory; people who are preparing to get on the property ladder don’t face such hurdles before moving into a property, so why should renters?

The Labour Party, therefore, wants tenants to have the "ability to keep pets as default unless there is evidence that the animal is causing a nuisance".

If a landlord rents out a property to a pet owner, then the tenancy contract should include a clause that ensures the tenants keep their pets from disturbing neighbours on a regular basis or face being evicted. But landlords argue it would be difficult to enforce; for example, what’s the difference between occasional bouts of yapping, and nuisance behaviour?

Pet smells

If a property is rented out and, at the end of the tenancy, it is left smelling strongly of animals then like any other damage, the tenants should pay for the property to be deep cleaned.

For this reason, landlords often argue that tenants with pets should pay larger deposits, while tenants counter that having a pet should be part of the normal wear and tear assessment, rather than a reason to refuse a tenancy or charge larger deposits.

Allergic reactions

Some landlords claim that pets reduce the potential pool of future tenants because many people are allergic to dogs and cats. The is true, but only in a limited way.

According to the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology approximately 10% of adults are allergic to pets as are 14% of children. A property that has previously contained pets does appeal to a smaller pool of potential renters, but it still leaves a very large majority of people still available to move in.

The same US college also says it takes 20-30 weeks for a property to return to pre-pet levels of allergens, but this can be accelerated by mopping hard floors and cleaning carpets, soft furnishings and walls.

Renting claws

Some pets, particularly cats and dogs, can damage walls, furniture and doors. But if an accurate inventory both before and after the tenancy has been completed (including photographs) then the cost of repairing any damage beyond natural wear-and-tear after the tenant moves out can be legitimately taken from their tenants’ deposit.

Most landlords would concede that many of the points made in this article are reasonable, but are still reluctant to rent out their homes to tenants with pets. This is partly down to their need to maintain a property's appeal each time a tenant moves out, and partly because it causes hassle and additional expense for them. As both the Labour party and Conservatives have pointed out recently, this is part of the imbalance in the rental system; tenants of all kinds should be able to treat their property as a home, rather than a temporary leased space, surely?

Read our guide to the different types of landlord you should try to avoid.

CreditLadder can help you improve your credit score

If you want to improve your credit position by reporting your rent payments, CreditLadder is the only way to improve your credit score and position across all four of the main Credit Reference Agencies in the UK, namely Experian, Equifax, TransUnion and Crediva. Building up a high credit score has a lot of benefits, including helping you access finance at better rates - this can also help save you money.

CreditLadder also runs a free mortgage application service in partnership with Tembo which will tell you how much you could borrow.

Remember the information provided in this article is for information purposes only and should not be considered as advice.