Paws For Thought - dog-friendly rental locations revealed

An insurance firm has identified locations which, according to current portal listings, have the highest proportion of dog-friendly rental properties.

The league table is also based on the number of local services such as dog groomers, vets and kennels, plus appropriate parks and open spaces.

CIA Landlord Insurance says that, perhaps unsurprisingly, London ranks as the number one UK city for renters with dogs, with the highest number of pet-friendly rental properties available - 2,213 at the time of the survey, earlier this month. It also scores 80.4 out of 100 for the quality of its parks and green spaces. 

The UK capital also has the most pet-sitters (0.4) and kennels (0.4) available per 250,000 people, meaning owners who travel frequently are provided plenty of options to leave their pets in safe hands. 

Nottingham follows as the second-best city, offering the greatest number of vets at 17.9 per 250,000 people, compared to London’s low 1.3 per 250,000 people. 

Belfast, Edinburgh, Blackpool, Southampton, Cardiff, Derby, Bristol and Manchester make up the top 10.

Bradford is revealed as the worst city in the UK for renters with dogs, with only 5.8 vets and 0.8 groomers per 250,000 people. 

The number of kennels on offer is slightly higher at 5 per 250,000, but the number of pet-sitters remains low at just 2.5 per 250,000. On top of that, the city’s parks and green spaces receive a low-quality score of only 42.9. 

Newport is the second worst city with an even worse quality rating of 41.7 for its green spaces, but slightly more vets (6.5) and groomers (1.6) are available per 250,000 people. 

Rounding out the bottom five cities are Southend-on-Sea, Stoke-on-Trent and Sunderland. 

Richard Wayman, finance director at CIA Landlords, says: “Some landlords have been hesitant to rent their properties to tenants with pets due to the risk of property damage, which may not be covered by general landlord insurance. 

“However, the Renters Reform Bill will now give tenants the right to request a pet in the property, which the landlord is required to consider and cannot unreasonably refuse.

“While these changes may cause some landlords to worry about the potential risks associated with renting to pet owners, they may also offer opportunities to attract a wider pool of tenants and increase rental income. Allowing tenants to have pets may also lead to higher satisfaction rates and longer tenancy durations, giving landlords long-term security.

“It's important that both landlords and tenants evaluate whether the surrounding location is suitable for accommodating pets, particularly dogs and cats.”

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