Almshouse Association Response to New Government Guidance on Pets
The Government recently announced a new template tenancy agreement which can be use by landlords in the private rented sector.
The new template states that private landlords cannot have a blanket āno petsā policy and that they must consider allowing well behaved pets. This guidance is not applicable to almshouses as they make use of licences, not tenancy agreements, however, following discussions with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, we have received confirmation that it is expected that almshouses would follow the spirit of the guidance and consider allowing pets on a case-by-case basis.
NOTE: It is not a requirement to allow pets in all circumstances, such as the property not being appropriate for pets, but this decision should be fair and justified.
As part of this process, members may wish to consider:
- Whether your almshouse dwellings could practically accommodate a pet
- The benefits which allowing a pet may bring to residents, this could be achieved by consulting with residents for their opinions
- If necessary, updating your Letter of Appointment and Resident Handbooks to include clear guidance on pets
- If your charity does choose to allow residents to keep pets, we would recommend having a policy in place which requires residents to have plans in place (e.g. a named contact person) should they no longer be able to look after their animals themselves.Ā
Posted 23 March 2021