Member

In her summing up in Committee, the noble Baroness the Minister mentioned the affordability of an additional deposit and that five weeks’ deposit would cover the additional cost of these pets being in a house as well as human wear and tear. For many tenants, that would be the case. Tenants who look after properties get their deposits returned, and that would be the case if an eight-week deposit was paid, as a tenant would ensure that their pet was well behaved and cleaned up after them, undertaking necessary additional cleaning, and they would get their deposit back. Unfortunately, not all tenants are the same; they do not all keep their homes clean and well maintained as good tenants do. If these tenants who had a pet had the same outlook on life, it would mean that further damage cleaning and repairs would need to be done at the end of the tenancy. Therefore, the five weeks’ deposit would be used to reinstate the property to a good standard, and the additional deposit would be used to cover any pet damage.