We are often asked if Landlords can refuse a tenancy on the basis that the Tenant has a pet. At the moment, they can, but a paper is going through Parliament known as 'The Dogs and Domestic Animals (accommodation and Protection) Bill' which (if passed) will make it discriminatory to refuse a tenancy just because the Tenant has a pet. The Equality Act 2010 service providers (which includes Landlords), must not directly or indirectly discriminate against people with a disability. Section 20(3) says that they must make reasonable adjustments where a provision, criterion or practice, puts a disabled person at a substantive disadvantage to a non-disabled person. Under the Equality and Human Rights Commissions guidance for social housing providers, it says that a Landlord would have to change a tenancy if it prohibits pets if the pet is an assistance, or guide dog and failure to do so may risk breaching article 14 of the human rights (prohibition of discrimination); therefore if one can reasonably argue that the pet helps their disability (including a hidden disability), then one can consider relying upon this. The most important thing we can do is lobby our MPs on this issue; it is (in our view) discriminatory because pets are like a family member and it is abhorrent to ask a tenant to rehome a pet just so they can move into a property. Useful guides can be found at the Tenancy Deposit Scheme, 'a guide to pets in rental properties' and The Dogs Trust 'Lets with Pets'. Hopefully the bill will be past in the very near future, it simply make sense that it is. All our blogs are generic and cannot be relied upon for legal proceedings, for specific advice on your matter, please speak to one of our team; also, the law changes, and blogs may be overridden by new law.