Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 21 December 2021
It goes without saying that the housing system in Scotland is notoriously complex, and I welcome the opportunity to make positive changes to our rental sector to address the fundamental underlying problems that tenants and landlords face. It gives us the chance to address a number of issues, such as amending the Scottish model tenancy agreement for private residential tenancies so that consent for a pet is the default position for responsible pet owners.
Landlords should be allowed to refuse pets only with a good reason, thereby putting an end to blanket no-pets policies, in line with the recent amendments to the English model tenancy agreement. We also need more social housing providers to introduce reasonable pet policies to allow responsible tenants in social housing to keep pets in suitable properties.
For people who are not a cat or dog lover, it might not seem a major problem, but cats and dogs bring their renting owners joy, love and companionship. A survey by animal charity Cats Protection found that 92 per cent of social housing tenants and 73 per cent of private tenants in Scotland who are able to keep their own cats report that the cats have a positive effect on their life by making them happy, providing company and affection or improving mental health. If that is the case, the chances of those tenants leaving are far less.
Recently, I had the pleasure of meeting Cats Protection. In its most recent report, which is cleverly named “CATS”—“Cats and Their Stats”—it found that renting with a cat in Scotland can be quite difficult. Pet-friendly rental houses are in short supply, with just 10 per cent of private landlords explicitly allowing cats, and only a further 25 per cent permitting a pet but not specifying the actual pet. It is estimated that people in 1 million UK households who would like to own a cat cannot because they live in rented accommodation that does not allow pets; a staggering 1.6 million more cats in the UK could be rehomed if all landlords allowed pets.
Although I absolutely understand that landlords might be reluctant to rent to cat or dog owners for fear that the pet might damage the property, that is not the case. For example, the charity found that 83 per cent of cat-friendly private landlords reported having no problems at all.
However, it must also be recognised that, in some cases, landlords are left with a far bigger cost than they would otherwise have—for example, if they need to replace carpets when reletting their properties. Often, the deposit does not cover such a cost, so that point needs to be considered.
There are obligations and responsibilities on both sides, as is always the case with landlord-tenant relationships. In that regard, the Dogs Trust and Cats Protection have created a pet CV to help potential tenants with dogs and cats to highlight that they are responsible pet owners and to enable landlords and letting agents to be better informed. The pet CV sets out details about the animal, including whether they are neutered, microchipped or vaccinated, as well as information about their general behaviour and temperament. Such a CV can be a vital tool in helping landlords to assess whether a tenant is a responsible pet owner.
However, it is not just animal lovers who are facing issues when it comes to private and social housing. More needs to be done to improve accountability, affordability and quality in relation to existing housing. As the SFHA rightly points out, one of the main rights in relation to housing is to a
“safe, warm and affordable home, in a thriving community”,
and Shelter Scotland insists that enough social houses should be built to reduce affordable housing needs.
Additional rights for tenants are welcome, but the SNP strategy fails to address the fundamental issue of shortages in the Scottish housing and rental markets. I am sure that members from all parties will agree that spiralling rents are often caused by housing shortages, and that is the real issue facing today’s renters.
Tenants are still facing rising costs that are caused by a national housing shortage, particularly in rural areas, and the situation will not be helped by a reduction in the Scottish housing budget in the financial year 2022-23. We must see an increase in investment in rural areas such as Dumfries and Galloway where many young people are forced to leave communities because of a shortage of suitable housing.