Member

Amendment 53A in the name of the noble Lord de Clifford would ensure that tenants who want to rent with pets and landlords who want to rent to people with pets can both have a degree of security. The Government accept the principle that pets are likely to cause more damage to a rental property than would be caused if a tenant did not have pets. They accepted that principle when they put forward the idea of a special insurance product to cover such damage. If they did not believe that pets were likely to cause more damage, they would not have gone down the road of exploring an insurance product specifically for pet owners, but they did. They established the principle, then when it became clear that the insurance products were too difficult and the sector would not bring them forward, they basically said, “You know what, we’re just going to ignore that”—again, recognising a challenge but doing nothing about it.