Pooch loving Londoners are scrambling to find desirable and affordable rental properties that welcome their best friends. Wealthy tenants looking for upscale rentals adjacent to Hyde Park, Regent’s Park and Holland Park are experiencing the most drastic price hikes.
According to a leasing specialist who spoke to the Independent, these issues have been sparked by London’s increase in dog ownership over the past decade. As of 2003, virtually no one looking to rent in the city had dogs. By 2013, 10% of the city’s tenants were dog owners. Just two years later, the stats have soared again. Pup pawrents now account for 30% of London’s housing market.
This new demand for pet friendly rentals has caused living costs to skyrocket. In fact, deposits for upscale apartments that welcome dogs can be as high as 25,000 pounds ($38,353.50 in US dollars)! The same one bedroom London flat requiring a 500 pound deposit from a non pet owner, would cost a dog owner 5,000 pounds. That’s nearly $7,000 more!
Similarly, a 3 bedroom apartment rental requires an additional 10,000 pound deposit for pet owners. That translates to a whopping $15,351.00!
The leasing specialist chocked the massive price hike up to landlords fearing potential catastrophic damage to their units. Many also include a cleaning clause on top of the exorbitant deposits.
Let’s hope that as dog ownership becomes more mainstream in the city, London property owners and leasing agents will come to see that not all pups are destructive. In fact, some dogs are far neater cohabitants than most college roommates!
H/t to The UK Independent
Featured image via The Evening Standard
