Nine in 10 landlords say they have not received a single formal pet request since the new right came into force on 1 May, even though half of tenants say pet policy influences where they choose to live, according to LRG’s Summer 2026 Lettings Report. For landlords, the early message is that the Renters’ Rights Act has changed tenant behaviour faster than it has changed the volume of formal requests.
The report found 93 percent of landlords had not received a request, 6 percent had approved one, 0.8 percent had one under consideration and fewer than 0.3 percent had refused. At the same time, 34 percent of tenants said a pet-friendly property was essential, while another 24 percent said it was very or somewhat important.
That matters now because landlords may be assuming the pet rules have had little practical impact when the evidence points to something more subtle. Tenants appear less likely to screen homes out at search stage and more likely to treat pet permission as a conversation to have later in the process.
Formal pet requests remain rare, but demand has not gone away
LRG linked the low request volume to a shift in how tenants search rather than to weaker demand for pets in rented homes. Rightmove data cited in the report showed searches filtering for pet-friendly properties fell 54 percent year on year in May and 52 percent in June, even though pets remained the most searched-for rental keyword across both months.
That fits with the new legal framework. As Landlord Knowledge reported in NRLA and Dogs Trust say landlords have 28 days on pet requests, landlords now have defined time limits and clearer expectations when tenants ask to keep a pet. In practice, that means applicants no longer need to restrict themselves to listings that advertise pet-friendly terms up front.
The bigger landlord takeaway is that low request numbers do not remove the need for a policy. If tenants believe they can raise the issue later, landlords and agents may need clearer wording, cleaner processes and better evidence trails when requests do arrive.
Landlords still want reassurance on damage and cleaning
The report suggests caution remains strongest around condition risk rather than around pets as a principle. When asked what would most increase confidence in approving a request, 31 percent of landlords pointed to a professional cleaning obligation at the end of the tenancy and 28 percent wanted tenant-funded pet damage insurance. Another 28 percent said nothing would change their view.
That lines up with the legal tension already building around refusals. In Pet refusals can reach court before ombudsman launch, Landlord Knowledge highlighted that disputes over pet permissions could become a live risk before the landlord ombudsman system is fully in place. For landlords, the issue is becoming less about whether pets are popular and more about whether refusal grounds and property protections are properly documented.
LRG also pointed to wider research suggesting some fears may be overstated. Battersea found 76 percent of landlords reported no pet-related damage at the end of a tenancy, while average pet-related damage costs were lower than average damage caused by tenants without pets. The full LRG Summer 2026 Lettings Report argues that pet-owning renters can also stay longer, which may matter more as the sector adjusts to a more relationship-led post-RRA lettings market.
What this means for landlords
- If you have not had a pet request yet: do not assume the issue has gone away – applicants may simply be raising it later in the process.
- Watch for: whether your tenancy terms, inventory process and evidence trail are strong enough to justify any refusal or conditions you impose.
- Bottom line: demand for pets in rented homes looks strong, but the first impact of the new rules is showing up in tenant behaviour rather than in a flood of formal requests.
Editor’s view
The interesting part of this story is not that tenants want pets. It is that landlords may be misreading silence as low demand when the search behaviour suggests something else. The next pressure point is likely to be process: who has a clear pet policy, who has defensible refusal reasons and who is still making it up case by case.
Author: Editorial Team – UK landlord & buy-to-let news, policy, and finance
Published: 5 August 2026
Sources: LRG Summer 2026 Lettings Report, Rightmove, Battersea
Related reading: NRLA and Dogs Trust say landlords have 28 days on pet requests
📘 Renters’ Rights Act: Complete Landlord Guide
Everything you need to know about the new rules – 1 May 2026
