Item 7, a debate on a Member's legislative proposal: a ban on 'no pet' clauses in rented accommodation. I call on Luke Fletcher to move the motion.

Motion NDM8038 Luke Fletcher

Supported by Carolyn Thomas, Peredur Owen Griffiths

To propose that the Senedd:

1. Notes a proposal for a Bill to ban ‘no pet’ clauses in rented accommodation.

2. Notes that the purpose of this Bill would be to:

a) introduce a standard tenancy agreement similar to the UK Government’s model tenancy agreement announced in January 2021;

b) propose a series of measures which would ensure that responsible pet owners are not treated unfairly as a consequence of the type of accommodation they live in;

c) allow consent for pets as the legal default in social housing and the private rented sector, unless there is a justifiable reason not to do so;

d) extend the allowing of pets in homeless shelters and accommodation.

Motion moved.

Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. Firstly, I'd like to thank the Business Committee for allocating time to this proposal and I thank Members who've already expressed support. I'd also like to thank the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Dogs Trust, Blue Cross and Cats Protection for their support in the run-up to this debate.

It's estimated that roughly half of households in Wales own pets, but in the private rented sector tenants often talk of blanket bans on owning pets. When I and my missus were looking to rent a place, the estate agents told us that having a dog would be a massive problem. In social housing, there's an underdeveloped pets policy, whilst homeless people face the decision of accessing safe accommodation or keeping their pets.

For those of us who own a pet—and, again, most of you know that I own a whippet—they are very much part of the family. That's why the decisions people are being forced to make are so heartbreaking.

In opening this debate, there are a few points I want to touch on. To begin with, there are very few reasons or issues that can't be resolved when it comes to why someone can't own a pet in rented accommodation. When you're looking for a house, owning a pet presents an additional barrier that, for some, is insurmountable. Dogs Trust run the Lets with Pets project, which looks to encourage landlords and letting agencies to accept tenants with pets and to make the house-hunting process easier for tenants, and it has been an uphill battle for them.

It's starker still when you look at it from a homelessness perspective. The Hope project, again run by Dogs Trust, attempts to help people experiencing homelessness with access to services and support, but, again, owning a pet is a significant barrier. Most homelessness accommodations are unwilling to give a space to someone with a pet because of the concern that they may be needing a room for a long time, given the difficulty in finding pet-friendly accommodation in the housing sector—a vicious cycle. 

That struggle, in turn, links to the welfare crisis we are facing with animal shelters. Dogs Trust and other rescuers often cite trouble finding accommodation as a reason as to why people hand over their animals. 

So, what can we do? Currently, the Welsh Government has no plans to legislate regarding the keeping of pets in rental properties. This position has to change. Wales does need a pets in housing Act. Current legislative provision is not enough. Even if we added to the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016, the RSPCA, amongst others, have raised concerns that landlords would still refuse pets. They do so en masse already, so unless we make it clear that they can't refuse without good reason, they'll continue to do so. I think many people would agree that you can't give landlords an inch.

It's not often that I say this, but the UK Government is doing one thing right through legislating to strengthen the rights of pet owners. That's the exact sort of thing we should be doing here. I am short on time, and I know that a number of Members want to contribute, but I would simply encourage Members to support this motion. Support this motion to allow everyone the right to a companion and support this motion to make it easier for tenants and those experiencing homelessness to keep their family members. Diolch.

Thank you so much to Luke for bringing forward this debate. Diolch yn fawr iawn. You all know that I have a greyhound called Arthur. I've never been homeless, but if I had been in that situation, I don't know what choice I would make—either to sleep somewhere where I couldn't be with Arthur or to carry on being with him and, potentially, be out on the streets. That's the issue I want to focus on, those people who are homeless, which my colleague Luke has touched on.

It is estimated that 10 per cent of the people who are homeless have pets, yet most homeless shelters and social housing operate a blanket 'no pets' policy. This clearly acts as a huge barrier to those who are attempting to enter homeless shelters, meaning that many are rejected from accommodation and left still without a home. For instance, the RSPCA could only identify eight hostels throughout the whole of Wales that operate a dog-friendly policy. This leaves homeless people in an impossible situation and also means that the welfare of animals is at risk too.

We know how important dogs specifically are to homeless people. They provide them with support, with company, with warmth when it's cold and with the opportunity to have somebody with them who has been through so much as well. It is really essential that we consider abandoning this 'no pet' policy. 

Some other research is that not a single local authority in Wales has addressed the issue of pets in their homelessness strategy, so, without the intervention of national government here in Wales, it doesn't appear as though the issue will be properly grappled with, and people who are homeless will continue to have to deal with challenges in accessing accommodation and that terrible choice.

I will be supporting this motion and I'm glad to see that Wales, hopefully, will take an important step by scrapping this blanket ban, which is fundamentally unfair and impacts some of the most vulnerable people in our society. I hope I will never be homeless in Wales, but, if I am, I hope I will not be separated from Arthur. Diolch yn fawr iawn.

Thank you to Luke for bringing this proposal forward. It's one I've long supported, indeed the Senedd petition for 'no pet' clauses to be banned, which was signed by more than 850 people, originated in my constituency of North Wales by Sam Swash.

On a principle level, it's completely unfair that being able to own a pet is currently reliant on whether you own a house or not. The lack of legislation banning 'no pet' clauses further entrenches punishment on the growing number of people, particularly the young, who are unable to get on the housing ladder. Most of these people would prefer to have their own home, but are unable to do so because of wealth inequality, rocketing house prices and a lack of affordable housing. They're often forced to rent out of necessity, paying more in rental payments than they would in mortgage payments, such is the extent to which our housing system is broken. And to further restrict the freedom of this group of people to own a pet, which would bring them great comfort, is adding insult to injury. 

Any society that places restrictions on the rights of people based on whether they are affluent enough to own a property is not one that has the right to call itself progressive. Tenants and pets suffer every day across Wales because of these punitive blanket bans on pets. The single biggest reason given for dogs being handed into rehoming centres is because of a change of circumstances, which is being unable to live in a rented property with a pet. It's abundantly clear that the current legislation is failing. Encouraging landlords to be more accommodating by sharing best practice with them was never going to address this problem, as is evidenced by the fact that less than 7 per cent of private rentals are advertised as pet friendly—that's less than 7 per cent.

I often hear excuses made about the potential damage that pets could cause to rental properties, yet very few private tenants who own pets cause damage to the properties they rent—it doesn't happen. To compound that, according to Shelter Cymru, 34 per cent of private rented accommodations in Wales fail to meet standards on decent living conditions anyway. When more than a third of private rented housing in Wales does not even meet acceptable living standards, it's clear that these landlords are not held to the same standards as tenants, when tenants are punished wholesale on the basis of hypothetical, potential events. 

The position in Wales is no longer tenable and this is only exacerbated by the fact that the UK Government, hardly known for its progressive sympathies, has already legislated to end this practice. And I would encourage the Welsh Government to implement Luke's proposal as soon as possible to ensure that we no longer discriminate against tenants with pets here in Wales.

One of the first pieces of casework that I had after being elected was an appeal for help from a woman who had been relocated and rehomed as a result of escaping from domestic abuse. She was in an extremely vulnerable condition, having had to move from her home and community to a new town, having had to move her daughter to a new school, having to try to make new friends and cope with the trauma that she suffered as a result of domestic violence.

She had some ducks, and she told me how watching the ducks and looking after them helped her cope with the mental stress that she was under; however, the housing association was not happy for her to keep the ducks because they were considered not as pets but as livestock.

I went to see her. These were a small number of ducklings, kept cleanly and tidily in a small, purpose-built hut in her back garden— pets that brought pleasure and comfort to a vulnerable person who desperately needed that pleasure and comfort. I remember her telling me, 'I'm treated differently because I can't afford to buy my own home.'

The housing association eventually gave in, after I intervened, but how many more people receive orders and accept them, without the ability, or the energy or the knowledge to challenge them? Why should someone who cannot afford to buy their home, or who has had to move to a new home for whatever reason, be deprived of companionship, of the mental health support, of the pleasure and love that pets can provide? I encourage you to support this proposal, which would ensure that everyone can benefit from keeping a pet, whatever their circumstances.

I stand today and speak in support of these proposals and I will be voting in favour of them today. The Minister will know that this is the subject of a petition, as Carolyn Thomas has said, and my committee is still considering that, so it just makes it clear that there is not only political interest in this; there is clear Welsh public interest in this matter. The Minister will also be aware that in the previous Senedd I worked with a number of organisations like the Dogs Trust, like the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, like the Wallich and like the National Residential Landlords Association, and many others, to bring forward a pet-friendly 'pawlicy', as I called it then. The main focus of that document was to ensure that there are no additional barriers to homeless pet owners finding suitable accommodation.

My interest in that begun when I slept rough in Chester one night, and that choice between having a pet, which is often your only companion, as Jane Dodds has said, or having a roof over your head, isn't one that anyone should face in Wales; it isn't one that anyone should face in the United Kingdom. I met an individual that night who'd made that choice, and he slept with his pets on the streets of Chester on a harsh winter's night. I can guarantee you I doubt very much that I'll see that person again, nor his beloved pet.

So, Minister, I would be grateful if you could respond. I know time is precious, but if you could address some of those issues that particularly those who are sleeping rough at the moment will face. Also, will you consider the proposals put forward by Luke Fletcher, but also will you commit to revisiting that pet-friendly 'pawlicy' document, which I'd be happy to share with the Government again, to see if we can improve these proposals for the people who do love their pets and who deserve a hot, warm roof over their head during the years and years to come? Diolch.

I call on the Minister for Climate Change, Julie James.

Diolch, Deputy Llywydd. I also want to thank Luke Fletcher for bringing this really important subject to the Senedd for debate today, and of course I fully support the overall intent of the motion, which is to allow more people to enjoy the companionship that a real pet can bring. My own dog recently died, and I have to say that I'm extremely bereft without him, so I very much appreciate the companionship that a pet of that sort can bring. 

Of course, it's vital that everyone has access to safe, affordable housing that meets their needs now and in the future, and I absolutely agree that people should never be forced to limit their living choices simply because particular landlords seek to refuse to have pets. But I just want to set out the current position accurately, Deputy Llywydd. I'm not really clear about point 2(a) in the motion, which calls for

'a standard tenancy agreement similar to the UK Government’s model tenancy agreement'.

So, just to be clear about what's actually happened, the UK Government has published a model tenancy agreement that includes a clause on the keeping of pets, but a landlord using a model agreement is entirely free to delete the clause, as there is no statutory right to keep a pet anywhere in the UK, and that will still be the case after this model contract has been put in place. So, I'm afraid they're not suddenly seeing the light in terms of being much more enlightened.

In Wales, the implementation of the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 will introduce a requirement for all rental agreements, or occupation contracts, as they will be called under the Act, to be set out in writing, and model contracts are available to assist with this. Again, whilst at the moment there is no statutory right to keep a pet created by the renting homes Act, additional terms can be including in the occupation contracts to cover this. If a term is included that allows a contract holder to ask permission to keep a pet, the landlord cannot unreasonably refuse consent or cannot make consent subject to unreasonable conditions. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 already prevents landlords from unreasonably refusing any reasonable request to allow tenants to insert additional clauses in their contract, and that includes the keeping of pets. And it’s very important to remember that this already applies to all types of tenancy agreement or contract, so applies equally to social housing as it does to the private rented sector. However, consumer protection law is a reserved power, so we will wait to see what the UK Government’s recently announced proposal for the model contract does, and whether they actually strengthen rights under the Consumer Rights Act, but they haven’t said that that’s what’s happening so far, and we are actively watching that space.

Here in Wales, Rent Smart Wales already actively promote the RSPCA’s 'Homes for All' good practice guide, as well as the free draft pet agreement that landlords and tenants can use and which Jack Sargeant and I have discussed previously in the Senedd. The Rent Smart Wales code of practice also encourages landlords and agents to be accommodating towards tenants with pets. I’m not currently aware of any problems at all when tenants wish to keep pets in social housing, and that includes a range of pets that aren’t just cats and dogs, so, if you do come across that again, I would be very grateful to know, because that should not be happening. We have been very clear with providers that pets are to be welcomed unless there is a very specific reason why that particular pet or that particular accommodation can’t accommodate it. Because there are certain types of accommodation that are completely unsuitable for some pets, but we do expect providers to work with tenants to come to some sort of mutually beneficial resolution where that issue arises, including actually looking for alternative accommodation, obviously.

Social housing providers also have a duty of care to all who live in their community, so there will be cases where they will not allow some dogs, for example, any that would qualify under the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976.

I also wholeheartedly agree that for many people forced to sleep rough on the streets of our towns and cities—which, might I say, in Wales is not the case now, because, of course, we provide services to all people who present as homeless, so this is very different scenario from the briefing that Members will have had, which pertains mostly to the English situation, so just to be clear about that—. But, nevertheless, a dog or animal is often a crucial companion to help them cope with the situation they find themselves in, and very beneficial for mental health, as Sioned pointed out actually for the ducks point there. So, I agree that a pet should not be a barrier to them coming into services, and it’s unacceptable where that’s the case.

Now, we have been working really hard over the pandemic and immediately afterwards, and including with the Ukrainian refugee crisis—Ukrainians are particularly fond of pets as well—to make sure that as much of our hostel and emergency provision across Wales caters for companion pets. It’s just not possible in some places, but, where it is possible, we have been really clear that companion pets must be catered for. We do however include a risk assessment, and that has to be done at the discretion of the on-site project manager. So, I don’t want to be negative at all, because I’m completely on board with what we’re trying to achieve here. But, quite clearly, if you have traumatised people and one of them is terrified of dogs, there’s going to be a big problem if there’s a dog included in the accommodation. So, we have to have a balanced way of making sure that we have mutually beneficial ways of risk assessing that. And of course, that can be a deterrent to somebody who wants access to that particular shelter or service, so it is all about trying to get the right balance and the right flexibility to ensure we’re meeting the needs of individuals. And then, obviously, the thing to say is that emergency accommodation, a hostel, is a last resort place; we’re not at all keen for people to be there at all, so, obviously, what we’re trying to do is get the best move-on accommodation and long-term suitable housing for them, and that of course would then allow them to keep their pets permanently.

So, in summary, I agree pets should be welcome in all types of accommodation, as long as it’s appropriate for both the tenant and the animal. We don’t think it’s necessary to legislate, because we think a lot of the protections are already in place, and we have a good balance of risk assessment, but, if any Member has an example of a social landlord in particular refusing pets unnecessarily, please do get in touch with me about those specifics and we’ll be working with the social landlord to make sure that we understand what’s happening and to make sure that companion pets are welcome in our housing in Wales. Diolch.

I call on Luke Fletcher to reply to the debate.

Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd, and I’d like to thank the Minister for her response and Members from across the Chamber for their contributions. I think there’s, hopefully, cross-party agreement that there is a need to act here. I always hear a lot about Arthur. I haven’t actually met Arthur yet, but I think the point Jane made, and Jack as well, around homelessness and homeless people with pets is a very important point. We know that for many of these homeless people who own pets, the pet is their world. They would put the pet before themselves. I know of many who feed their pets before they feed themselves. And that's why this specific issue is quite heartbreaking, when we think about the fact that these people are put in positions where they have to give up their pet in order to access safe accommodation. So, there is a need to address that as a priority. And the figure of only eight hostels across Wales is a shocking figure indeed.

Again, referring to Jack as the Chair of the Petitions Committee—I hope I haven't jumped the gun a bit here—as a fellow member of the Petitions Committee, and, of course, Carolyn as well, pointing out that petition that was before the committee, submitted by Sam Swash. I think that demonstrated the desire for this outside of the Senedd. So, again, not just a political call, but something I think that the people outside of the Senedd want to see as well. And Sioned as well, I think, with the important point she made around her constituent and her ducks, because I think it's important for us to remember, when we're talking about pets, we're not just talking about cats and dogs, we're talking about a whole array of different animals. And it was an important point on why people should—. It was an important that Sioned made, in the sense that why should people who don't their own home be restricted in having their own companion, like many other people—over half of households in Wales—are able to have. 

On the Minister's response, I'm incredibly grateful for the Minister's support in principle for the idea that people should be allowed to have pets no matter whether they're in their own home or in rented accommodation. I do think there is a need for legislation. I outlined some of those reasons in my opening speech. It's not just me saying that; it's the RSPCA as well. The UK Government seem to think that there is a need as well. They're beginning to legislate on this particular point. Because I do agree with the Minister on the model tenancy agreement. It is slightly unclear, but there's further legislation coming down the line, so I've been told. I think this might be, actually, the first time since I've been elected that I've actually said that I agree with something that the UK Government is doing, so I hope the Welsh Tories are savouring the moment. But, again, the RSCPA are also saying this as well. There seems to be a bit of disconnect on what the Government says is in place to prevent the refusal of pets in rented accommodation and what is actually happening on the ground. Although we disagree, I think there is scope for continued dialogue on this, and I very much look forward to working with the Government, with the Minister, on this particular point. And I hope actually, as a cross-party contingent of Members in this Senedd, that we can all work on this going forward, because there is a clear demand for this.

So, in closing, I would repeat what I said initially in my first speech, or to end my first speech, which was that I hope other Members will support this motion in order to ensure the rights of everyone in Wales to have a companion, no matter whether they're in rented accommodation or in their own home. Diolch.

The proposal is to note the proposal. Does any Member object? [Objection.] Yes. I will, therefore, defer voting on the motion until voting time.

Voting deferred until voting time.