'I had to give up my dog to find somewhere to rent'

A dog owner had to sell his beloved pet to avoid being homeless after he failed 60 times to get a home to rent.

James Strauch, 42, said he eventually started offering landlords £1,000 deposit to let him rent with his four-year-old labrador mastiff cross, Bruno.

But after eight months of searching and weighing up whether to be "homeless with a dog", he made the tough decision to give Bruno up.

Dogs Trust said around 15% of the animals left at its shelters were there because the owners had changed accommodation, but the National Residential Landlords Association said bad tenants with pets cause additional risk for landlords.

James, a maintenance manager and RLNI volunteer from Rhyl, was living with his former partner when he homed Bruno as a puppy.

But when the couple broke up he wanted to find another rental property for just Bruno and himself.

James said: "I must have applied for 50, 60 properties.

"When I started missing [Bruno] off as a clerical error I was getting replies virtually straight away. But as soon as the dog was mentioned, it was a blanket 'no'."

He added: "I went through to the point of offering double, triple a deposit, an extra thousand pounds on top, just in case. I said I'd redecorate and re-carpet everything after - and there was just no interest."

James stayed in a friend's converted garage for six months while he continued searching for his own place, but had to move out when the friend and his partner had a baby.

It was then James said he faced the "most frustrating, upsetting" decision to give up Bruno.

"He's only ever known me from a puppy. As far as I'm concerned, I'm his entire world," James said.

"They're not just a pet, you know - you do treat them like one of the family."

James found someone else nearby willing to adopt Bruno, but said the moment he gave him away was "gut wrenching".

"It's only been two months, and still now I have sad moments," he said.

After he gave Bruno up, James said he saw an instant change in responses from landlords and agencies.

“As soon as I rehomed Bruno, I had a viewing within two days, I had the keys in my hand within a week," he said.

Cat owner George King said he spent a year looking for somewhere to live before eventually deciding to lie and hide his pet, Didi, from the landlord.

He said: "Landlords basically said they didn't want to have to deal with the damage of the animal.

"I was like, 'this is a cat w'’re talking about, not a pitbull'.

"I guess the pressures in the north Wales market mean they could afford to put anyone else in."

There is no statutory right for people to be allowed to keep a pet while renting in the UK, but guidance suggests landlords cannot unreasonably refuse requests.

Wales operations manager for the National Residential Landlords Association, Steve Bletsoe, said landlords should have a right to veto pets.

"Ultimately, when it comes to managing an asset, it's around risk and pets add an additional risk," he said.

"What we're very keen to avoid is a kind of blanket rule where it says all pets must be allowed."

Dogs Trust said Wales had seen a rise of almost a third in the amount of people giving up their dogs because of accommodation issues between March and July this year, compared with the same period in 2023.

"Giving up their dog has been the last resort," said rehoming manager, Kim Davis.

"We really feel that here, because we don't want it. The dogs themselves are heartbroken."

In Wales the law has guidance putting the onus on the landlord to consider each application to rent with a pet.

RSPCA head of public affairs David Bowles said: "The RSPCA believes landlords are just ignoring that guidance."

The Welsh government said it would be considering supportive measures to renters with pets, and will be setting out proposals later this month.

The UK government is looking at changing laws around renting with pets in England, with the second reading of the Renters' Rights Bill having taken place in Parliament on Wednesday, while Scotland is also looking at new legislation.

The UK bill has been welcomed by the RSPCA, who believe it will compel landlords to declare reasons for refusing requests to keep a pet.

The bill also proposes the services of an ombudsman, who would help resolve disputes between tenants and landlords without the need to go to court.