00:00A new law has been passed to make it easier for tenants in private rental properties to keep pets
00:05by preventing landlords from denying responsible renters without a valid reason.
00:11Dee Bonnet, whose campaign led Maidstone Council to allow pets in temporary accommodation,
00:16knows firsthand the difference this kind of change can make.
00:20Some people don't want to be pet owners. They don't want that responsibility.
00:23But they love pets. So the guy, or Rocky's dad, obviously, owns Rocky, and the other two guys here,
00:33they may not want that responsibility, but they love having Rocky around.
00:39So, you know, if one of them's left in the house and they're with Rocky, that's the company, the love.
00:46And, you know, Rocky doesn't want anything apart from being fed, being warmed and being loved.
00:50You know, and he gives so much love back, as you've seen this afternoon.
00:55He's been really good for my recovery.
01:00Yeah, if I didn't have him, I'd feel worthless, you know, because I've lost everything.
01:08It's basically my family.
01:10But is this new law something that everyone agrees with?
01:13Yeah, I think renters should definitely have the right to have an animal or a pet.
01:16It's good for well-being. It's good for the children.
01:19And I think it's part of your rights as a tenant to be able to have a pet.
01:25Definitely.
01:26It's the case for a conversation, really.
01:28I know now things are so impersonal because you go through the agents and so on.
01:32And the agents do most of the vetting before you actually even have a chance to talk to the prospective tenant.
01:40I agree with that. I was going to say my mother lived in a warden-assisted place and they weren't allowed to have pets.
01:49And I thought that was a bit terrible as she owned the property as well.
01:55Although people say that this is a positive change, those at the Kenwood Trust say that while it is a step in the right direction, that there's still a long way to go.
02:03For us, we would be keen to explore other ways of increasing the amount of supported accommodation, social housing, where pets are able to access that sort of accommodation.
02:13I think that's really important that people can access the accommodation, all types of accommodation, whether that be private rented, social housing, supported accommodation, and have access to their animals still.
02:26It's really important for us all to consider ways that that can be improved moving forward.
02:31While the new law has been welcomed by campaigners and animal charities, questions remain over how it will work in practice.
02:38But for those like Wayne, having a pet is already making a world of a difference.
02:43Kristen Hawthorne for KMTV, Maidstone.
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