Growing support for campaign to make renting with a pet easier
April 2022
EAST Midlands-based voluntary organisation AdvoCATS is delighted to announce the addition of several organisations who are lending their support to the charity’s Heads for Tails! campaign for a simple change in the law to make renting with pets easier.
Newly committed to the campaign are International Cat Care, the pioneering cat welfare charity established in 1958, and the Pet Food Manufacturers Association (PFMA), the leading trade body for the UK pet food industry. Both are long-established organisations with a vested interest in human and animal welfare.
The campaign, originally borne out of MP Andrew Rosindell’s 2020 private members bill (dubbed Jasmine’s Law), has already secured endorsement from over 30 organisations including the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA), National Office for Animal Health (NOAH), the Property Redress Scheme and Propertymark, as well as 40+ MPs/Peers, when AdvoCATS and Andrew met with Eddie Hughes MP, the Parliamentary Under Secretary for Rough Sleeping and Housing, last December.
With another meeting anticipated late Spring, more industry heavyweights are joining the call to amend the Tenant Fees Act 2019, to allow a landlord to either request a financially capped pet deposit or stipulate pet damage insurance must be held by any tenant wanting to keep a pet or pets.
AdvoCATS co-founder Jen Berezai welcomed the support, and said: “To have two such well-respected industry names back our campaign is fantastic. We are in discussion with a number of other organisations which have expressed interest in the campaign and, in fact, have just recruited Proptech-PR and ProtectaPet, all of which strengthens our case for the government to adopt the Heads for Tails! Proposals, which will open up pet ownership for thousands – maybe even hundreds of thousands – of tenants.”
Dr Sarah Ellis (BSc Hons, PG Dip, PhD), Head of Cat Advocacy at International Cat Care remarked: “In a world where renting is commonplace and where there are so many pet cats relinquished and/or needing homes, making renting with pets easier is a critical contribution to sustaining positive wellbeing for people and pet cats.”
Commented Nicole Paley, Deputy Chief Executive of the PFMA: “We are delighted to add our support to the important work of AdvoCATS. Our pets have such a positive impact on our lives from reducing stress and anxiety to providing much valued companionship. It is vital we address how we can support owners renting with pets.”
Picture caption: AdvoCATS co-founder Jennifer Berezai and Senior Consultant Mia.
AdvoCATS is a voluntary non-profit organisation, set up in 2018 to offer a free support and advice service to both landlords and tenants, and assist pet owners who experience difficulty finding rental accommodation. Their mission statement: Campaign Action Teach Support covers their grass roots work and, more recently, the Heads for Tails! campaign to make renting with pets easier and fairer for all parties.
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