Southampton is the UK’s most pet friendly city for renters

Southampton is the pet-friendliest city in the UK for renters, according to research from broker Towergate Insurance.

This is based on the number of pet-friendly rentals, including rentals with a private garden; those listed as ‘pets allowed’; affordable rent prices; and a lack of neighbour complaints about pets.

Other friendly cities ranked in order are Nottingham, Manchester, Derby and Birmingham.

London came last, with Swansea, Glasgow, Cardiff and Leicester also performing badly.

Alison Wild, SME marketing business partner at Towergate Insurance, said: “Ticking an array of pet-friendly boxes, Southampton stands head and shoulders above other cities, and our research helped crown the coastal city as the most ‘pet-friendly’ city for renters in the UK.

“It’s a shame to see that pet owners living in Wolverhampton, London and Leicester have the biggest risk of rent ‘penalties’, with these cities typically paying between 26-42% more than the average rental price in each respective city.

“In better news, animal loving renters can find affordable pet-friendly accommodation in Bradford, Belfast and Kingston upon Hull.”

Southampton performed especially well for lack of rent price ‘penalties’ for pet owners (pet owners in the city can expect to pay just 71% of the average monthly Southampton rental price), as well as having a low estimated number of neighbour complaints regarding pets.

Leeds has the most rentals on the market with gardens, as well as the lowest estimated monthly search volumes for pet complaint terms of all cities analysed.

Bradford has the highest number of affordable pet friendly rentals, with an average monthly rent of just £417.50.

Derby has the highest percentage of rentals which included a garden (56% of live listings).

Manchester has the most available rentals that were listed as ‘pets allowed’ (119 live listings), whereas Newport in Wales has the highest percentage of rentals that were listed as ‘pets allowed’ (13%).

Looking at Scotland, Edinburgh has the second biggest lack of rent price ‘penalties’ for pet owners of all cities analysed – pet owners in the city can expect to pay 68% of the average monthly Edinburgh rental price.