Lockdown pet boom: Demand for pet friendly homes surpasses garden space
The demand for pet friendly homes has more than doubled during the pandemic, sailing well past garden demand as the lockdown pet boom took hold of freshly homebound Brits.
Tenants eyeing pet friendly properties has surged 120 per cent compared to last summer, according to the latest research from Rightmove. While the demand for gardens has jumped 39 per cent.
The demand for garden space rocketed when the pandemic first hit, amid a string of restrictions placed on the average Brit, which meant access to outside and social areas was drastically limited.
The data reinforces the UK’s explosion of pet ownership during the three periods of national lockdowns.
For many, a pet friendly property and garden space will go hand in hand. But for others, it has prompted a rise in balcony demand – which has soared 70 per cent in the past year.
“About half of the phone calls our offices are receiving now are from tenants who own a pet and are in need of a suitable property,” regional lettings director at London real estate agency Chestertons, Katinka Hill, said.
“It’s a sharp increase compared to the number we were getting pre-lockdown but this is not surprising as so many people have bought pets during the pandemic.”
Slightly more than half of the UK are now accompanied by a furry companion, according to the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA).
A recent survey by Chestertons also found that 51 per cent of tenants looking at a home in the capital said they would be more interested in a property if the landlord allowed pets, Hill added.