The Know Daily - Thursday 6 July 2023

_{Read in 5m 24s ∙ Listening to The Smiths}

Two owl chicks are being cared for by the Secret World Wildlife Rescue charity after being spotted under the Pyramid stage at this year’s Glastonbury Festival. The first chick was discovered during Guns N' Roses’ Saturday night set and named Axl after the band’s lead singer, while the second chick - Slash - was found the next day. A spokesperson said the chicks are doing well, despite being “a little camera shy”. Simply owdorable.

🏠 A ban on “no kids, no pets”

The Scottish and UK governments are working together on a law which would make it illegal for landlords to exclude parents and pet owners from renting homes.

How big a problem is this right now?
A recent BBC investigation found that thousands of rental listings across the UK were closed to children, with almost a quarter of around 8,000 ads examined on the OpenRent website saying that families were not welcome. Previous studies have also found that a large number of ads are closed to people receiving benefits, as well as those with pets.

According to the housing and homelessness charity Shelter, one in five parents have been unable to rent somewhere they wanted in the last five years because they have children.

What does the law say about this?
There are no laws explicitly stopping private landlords and letting agents from saying that families are not welcome, explained the BBC, but “blanket bans on children have been shown to indirectly discriminate against women”.

In March 2023, after an NHS nurse and mother challenged the practice, the Property Ombudsman ruled that “no children” bans breach equality rules laid out in its code of practice in England. This was because they disproportionately affect women.

What’s the government doing about it?
Ministers are now moving to make the law more explicit as part of a wider reform of the rental sector. The Renters (Reform) Bill, introduced at Westminster in May, also gives tenants the right to request a pet in the property.

Talks are now in place about the legislation extending to cover Scotland, and the Scottish government has said it welcomes the proposals.