With the government pledging to put an end to pet bans, UK-based insurance broker Towergate Insurance has revealed the top 10 pet-friendly cities for UK renters.

The study analysed 25 major UK cities against 10 various criteria points to determine the best locations for renters and their furry friends.

These factors included pets per capita, rentals with a private garden, rentals listed as ‘pets allowed’, affordable rent prices and lack of neighbour complaints regarding pets.

Southampton claimed the top spot in the UK overall, performing well across all 10 categories, especially for lack of rent price ‘penalties’ for pet owners (pet owners here can expect to pay just 71% of the average monthly Southampton rental price). The city also has a low estimated number of neighbour complaints regarding pets.

Nottingham and Manchester made up the rest of the top 3 pet-friendly UK cities for renters. Derby and Birmingham followed close behind, ranking fourth and fifth respectively.

Overall, the top 10 most pet-friendly major cities were revealed as:

When broken down into winners per category, Leeds performed best on various points, including for number of rentals on the market with gardens, for not having a rent price penalty for pet owners (pet owners in the city can expect to pay just 53% of the average monthly Leeds rental price), and for having the lowest estimated monthly search volumes for pet complaints.

Bradford is home to the highest number of affordable pet-friendly rentals, with an average monthly rent of just £417.50. On the other hand, Derby shows 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’ at 13% – 10% more than the average across all 25 cities analysed (3%).

Focusing on Scotland, Edinburgh narrowly missed out on the top 10, tying with Preston to rank at number 11. The city was found to have the second biggest lack of rent price penalties for pet owners of all cities analysed. Pet owners here can expect to pay just 68% of the average monthly Edinburgh rental price.

London performed poorly across all 10 criteria points, coming last in the list overall. Swansea, Glasgow, Cardiff and Leicester joined the capital as the worst performing cities.

Alison Wild, SME marketing business partner at Towergate Insurance, comments: “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.”

A full breakdown of the top 25 pet-friendly UK cities can be found here.