Renters’ Rights Bill

Lord Deben Excerpts

Monday 7th July 2025 Lords Chamber

A similar amendment to Amendment 52 was discussed in Committee. I explained that I do not believe that this is the right approach, as it may actively serve to discourage insurers from offering insurance products, rather than encourage them. However, as noble Lords are aware, the Government’s position on insurance has now changed. The Government are firm in the view that tenants are not second-class citizens and deserve to be able to keep pets when this is reasonable.

[Lord Deben (Con)]

My Lords, the Minister just said that the situation has changed. I have listened very carefully to the debate. The Government thought it was necessary to have insurance; they now say it is not necessary. Therefore, the Government have already admitted that there needs to be something additional to protect the landlord in the case of somebody having a pet. Frankly, the argument does not stand up to say that that is not so. I hope that the Minister will accept that she really has to go back and say that if there is no insurance, there has to be a greater degree of protection for the landlord.

[Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab)]

I hear what the noble Lord says, and I have listened to other noble Lords, but the evidence in the study that I cited is that three-quarters of landlords of those tenants who have pets do not report any damage. Where there is damage, the cost is around £300, which is perfectly within the scope of the normal deposit. We are content that landlords would be suitably protected against the cost of pet damage through existing tenancy deposits.

Finally, I turn to Amendment 53. As I stated in Committee, “premium” is already commonly understood to include any insurance premium tax, so this amendment is not strictly required, in our view. However, following the Government’s amendments, which remove the ability of landlords to require tenants to obtain insurance to cover the risk of property damage caused by a pet, the noble Lord will, I am sure, recognise that this amendment is no longer required. I therefore request that these amendments not be pressed.