Woman spent £4,500 living in Airbnbs and moved 15 times in two months as no landlord would accept her dog

A woman has spent £4,500 living in Airbnbs after struggling to find a landlord that would take in her and her dog. Kirsty Hunt, 36, has a bulldog named Harper who she adopted as a rescue dog, but has been unable to find a rental home for them to live in.

After facing redundancy in August 2020 and with her lease expiring on her rented flat, Kirsty, who is single, was in desperate need for a new home for her and her four-year-old dog. But as she insisted Harper was her lifeline and refused for them to be parted, her only option was to live in Airbnbs.

Over two months Kirsty moved 15 times to different Airbnbs and the costs continued to rack up. After still being refused by landlords, the devoted dog lover has since been forced to abandon her hunt and move back in with her mum.

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Following pet friendly proposals made in a recent government white paper that include a formal tenant’s right to request an animal in their property and requirement for landlords to justify refusing, Kirsty revealed how she had to take out a loan to finance a year’s rent upfront to secure a flat in the capital.

Now living with her mum in Somerset as the cost of living crisis bites, Kirsty said: “My dog means everything to me. I’m not in a relationship and I don’t have children, so she is like my baby.

“I tried to be smart and do everything right and wait until I had a stable job and good money, so I could care for a dog, but that was all taken out of my control.

She added: “I don’t want anyone to go through what I have had to go through. I have wanted a dog for as long as I can remember, but it was never the right time.

"I did doggy day care for a while