Social Rented Housing: Pets
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what guidance his Department has issued on factors social landlords should consider when assessing the suitability of a property for a tenant’s pet, including property size, shared access arrangements and communal areas.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook
My Department does not hold information on the proportion of social housing landlords who do not allow tenants to keep pets.
On 12 February 2026, Baroness Taylor wrote to all social housing landlords setting out my Department’s position on fair consideration of requests to have a pet in social housing. Her letter can be found on gov.uk here.
We have not made a projection of how many social housing landlords may change their pet policies as a result of the letter or wider reforms.
The government has no current plans to issue new guidance.
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