In the UK, it’s estimated that 12 million (44%) households have pets, with Brits owning around 51 million pets, according to PFMA. And whilst living with a pet as a house owner doesn’t present accommodation issues, those who rent often struggle to find homes welcoming both them and their furry friends.
With that in mind, End of Tenancy London sought to find out which are the best cities in the UK for pet-friendly accommodation.
Key findings:
- Belfast is the most pet-friendly city, with approximately 12.1% of landlords accepting tenants with pets
- 70% of pet-friendly cities in the UK are in England
- London ranks LAST for pet-friendly accommodation
Results
With approximately 12.1% of landlords accepting tenants with pets (20 properties out of the 164 advertised), Belfast is the most pet-friendly city! Perhaps this comes as no surprise as data from 2019 states that Northern Ireland takes the lead in UK dog ownership!
The Scottish city Glasgow comes in second place with 11.5% of properties being welcoming to tenants with pets.
Glasgow is followed by Manchester, which takes the third-place position with 9.2% of the advertised rental properties accepting furry companions.
In fourth place is Edinburgh, the Scottish capital, with 8.9% of accommodation being pet-friendly.
| Location | Number of pet-friendly rental properties | Number of total rental properties | % of properties allowing pets |
| 1. Belfast | 20 | 164 | 12.1 |
| 2. Glasgow | 31 | 269 | 11.5 |
| 3. Manchester | 82 | 835 | 9.2 |
| 4. Edinburgh | 28 | 314 | 8.9 |
| 5. Leeds | 50 | 579 | 8.6 |
| 6. Newcastle Upon Tyne | 29 | 342 | 8.4 |
| 7. Brighton | 41 | 528 | 7.7 |
| 8. Southampton | 29 | 378 | 7.6 |
| 9. Portsmouth | 29 | 386 | 7.5 |
| 10. London | 624 | 8531 | 7.3 |
7 out of the 10 most pet-friendly cities in the UK are in England
Whilst Ireland and Scotland take the lead by having the biggest and second biggest pet-friendly cities (Belfast – 12.1% of pet-friendly accommodation; Glasgow – 11.5% of pet-friendly accommodation), the majority of the cities in the top 10 are located in England.
In fact, the 5th position is taken by Leeds (8.6%), followed by Newcastle Upon Tyne (8.4%), Brighton (7.7%), Southampton (7.6%), and Portsmouth (7.5%).
Despite being the UK’s most populated city, London ranks LAST for pet-friendly accommodation
With approximately 8,531 properties to rent, and a population of around 9 million people, London has the highest proportion of renters in the UK. That being said, the vast majority of London landlords do not accept tenants with pets. In fact, only 624 properties out of the total 8,531 accept pet owners – which makes for only 7.3% of properties being pet-friendly. This puts London at the bottom of the top 10 best cities for pet-friendly accommodation.
Methodology:
- End of Tenancy London sought to find out which are the best cities in the UK for pet-friendly accommodation.
- To do so, End of Tenancy London compiled a list of the largest urban agglomerations in the United Kingdom in 2020, by using data from Statista.
- To find the number of properties per city, End of Tenancy London used SpareRoom.co.uk.
- To find the number of pet-friendly accommodations per city, End of Tenancy London used the filter on SpareRoom.co.uk which allows you to see properties where having pets is considered.
- End of Tenancy London used the number of pet-friendly properties and the number of properties to calculate the percentage of properties allowing pets for each city.
- Data was collated on 08.03.2022 and is subject to change.
