Read about our Heads for Tails! campaign to make renting with pets easier and fairer for landlords AND tenants, first launched in September 2021, and relaunched in September 2025 and our proposal was voted off the Renters Rights Bill.
Our Heads for Tails! report and campaign of the same name, was launched in September 2021 with cross party and cross lettings industry/animal welfare support for our proposal: to amend the Tenant Fees Act 2019 and add the right for a landlord to ask for pet damage insurance to the list of Permitted Payments.
So what does all that MEAN?
The Tenant Fees Act (TFA) 2019 was the then government’s answer to unscrupulous landlords and lettings agents asking evermore ludicrous fees for this and deposits for that, making knowing upfront how much embarking on a rental was going to cost a bit of a minefield. The TFA set a maximum deposit a landlord could ask for at 5 weeks rent, instructed agents to be totally transparent about fees on their websites, and aside from a few bits and bobs largely to do with utilities listed as Permitted Payments, that was it.
Sadly, one widely acknowledged “unintended consequence” of the TFA was a significant number of landlords deciding to no longer accept pets as they couldn’t ask for a separate pet deposit. Currently, according to government and industry statistics, less than 7% of landlords actively advertise their properties as pet friendly, preferring to go for the safer “No Pets” option.
Heads for Tails! started as a research project for a pet friendly MP, but quickly grew legs and became an umbrella campaign calling for greater awareness of pet damage insurance products, and proposing a simple legislative change to make renting with pets fairer for tenants AND landlords: add the right for a landlord to request pet damage insurance to the TFA’s list of Permitted Payments. We secured cross party support from over 40 MPs and Peers, plus another 40+ endorsements from the private rental sector (PRS) and animal welfare world. Such was the broad appeal of our campaign, that the then Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities (DLUHC) included our proposal in the Renters Reform Bill (RRB), which had got as far as committee stage at the House of Lords, before the 2024 general election was called. It was subsequently reintroduced by the Labour Government as the Renters Rights Bill, and our proposal was carried over. A shock government sponsored amendment removing this provision for landlords was voted through in late June, and AdvoCATS has relaunched the Heads for Tails! campaign, to seek its reinstatement. At the time of writing, the government are adamant that their stance is the right one, despite our collecting together even more support. The RRB is expected to receive Royal Assent and become law in 2025. Rest assured AdvoCATS will continue to campaign for a landlord’s right to require pet damage insurance, as we – along with SO many others – believe it to be a simple, cost effective, budget friendly proposal which is acceptable by both landlords AND tenants.
This page has been updated Sep 2025
Heads for Tails! is our ongoing umbrella campaign calling for a simple change in the law to make renting with pets easier and fairer for both landlords AND tenants.
Despite unprecedented support from both the PRS and the animal welfare world, plus cross-party political support, the Labour government, although initially receptive, have decided against allowing landlords to ask for pet damage insurance.
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