Parents and Pet Owners Pay More for Renting

Parents and pet owners are paying as much as £460 per month more for rent and bills, it’s claimed.

The claim comes from website Confused, which asked 2,000 UK renters about their current living situation.

Some 33 per cent currently have a pet at their rental property, while around three in 10 have children. Of these, 13 per cent have had to pay their landlord an additional bond or deposit, and 10 per cent had to pay an extra cleaning fee.

The site claims parents are more financially penalised. It says parents have paid as much as £286, on average, to their landlord for deposits or bonds, while those with pets paid around £236, on average. And when it came to cleaning fees, parents have had to pay £174, on average, compared to £151 from those with pets.

When looking at average costs for all renters, monthly rent is currently around £586 per month. But three in four of all renters said that this has increased, on average, by £77 in the past 12 months.

On top of rental costs, ‘essential’ bills such as electricity and council tax are costing renters around £352, on average, each month.

Some 82 per cent of renters said they have experienced issues - damp and mould (44 per cent); issues with their boiler or heating system (41 per cent); plumbing (40 per cent); wear and tear (26 per cent); broken or faulty appliances (23 per cent).

There was some positive news for landlords.

For renters whose landlord sorted issues out for them, 32 per cent say that these were fixed between two and five days. Around one in 10 waited for more than a month to get issues fixed.

The majority of people surveyed said they have a very good (37 per cent) or somewhat good (32 per cent) relationship with their landlord - although 42 per cent do also think that landlords or estate agents are taking advantage of renters in the current financial climate.

According to the research, the introduction of the Renters Reform Bill seems to be welcomed by the majority of renters. Some 54 per cent of the survey respondents said they think the Bill will protect tenants.

A spokesperson for Confused says: “Our latest data shows how renters with pets or children may be paying more than others - which could seem unfair. But potential new rules for landlords could mean that this changes in the near future.

“With the introduction of the Renters Reform Bill soon in England, both landlords and tenants should have greater clarity on their living arrangements and financial commitments. And although this doesn’t exist elsewhere in the UK just yet, it doesn’t mean similar rules won’t apply in future. These changes should mean that some tenants won’t be financially penalised, leaving them with some additional income during a difficult and expensive time.”