Since 1 May 2026, renters in England have had the right to formally ask their landlord to keep a pet, and landlords must not unreasonably refuse. So far that right has barely been used: 93% of landlords have received no request at all, while 6% have approved one and fewer than 0.3% have refused.
Search behaviour hints at hidden demand. Rightmove searches filtering for pet-friendly homes fell 54% year-on-year in May and 52% in June, yet pets stayed the most-searched rental keyword both months – renters may just be asking directly instead of filtering.
For many renters a pet-friendly home isn’t optional: 34% call it essential and would only rent somewhere that allows one, with a further 24% saying it’s very or somewhat important.
Landlords look more open than approval rates suggest: most report no pet-related damage, and where it occurs it costs less on average than damage from tenants without pets. A cleaning obligation or pet damage insurance would reassure many, though 28% say nothing would change their mind. Source: LRG, based on responses from 717 landlords and 860 tenants across England and Wales. Visualisation: Dataloft by PriceHubble