Renting with a pet in Australia

A lot of renters still believe that a listing saying no pets settles the matter. In most of Australia, that has not been the position for several years.

The general shape now is: the tenant applies for consent, and the landlord may refuse only on specified grounds. A blanket no-pets clause written into a lease is not enforceable in the way it once was.

That said, tenancy is state law, the grounds differ, the timeframes differ, and some jurisdictions have moved further than others. What follows describes the shape and uses New South Wales as the worked example. Your own state or territory authority is the one that governs your tenancy, and it is the thing to check before you rely on any of this.

How consent works, using NSW as the example

In New South Wales the process is defined and the timeframes are short.

• You apply, using a pet application form, signed by all tenants named on the agreement
• The landlord has 21 days to respond. If they do not respond within that period, the pet is automatically approved without conditions
• Refusal is only available on specific grounds, which include: there is an unreasonable number of animals, being more than four in total; the fencing is inappropriate for the animal; there is insufficient open space for the pet’s needs; the animal cannot be kept humanely at the property; the animal will cause damage exceeding the value of the bond; keeping the pet would breach other laws; the landlord lives in the same home; or the tenant has refused to agree to reasonable conditions

Two points are worth pulling out of that list, because they are the ones renters get wrong.

“The property is not suitable” is not a free-form reason. It has to attach to something specific such as fencing or space.

Not responding is not a refusal. In NSW, silence for 21 days is approval. If you have applied and heard nothing, that is worth knowing rather than assuming the answer was no.

Money: what cannot be charged

This is the part most often misunderstood, in both directions.

In New South Wales, a landlord cannot require an increase in bond or rent as a condition of allowing a pet. No additional security deposit, and no requirement to take out particular insurance as the price of consent.

There is no separate national pet bond. Some jurisdictions have historically allowed an additional amount in specific circumstances, and Western Australia has been the notable exception in this area, so this is genuinely one to check locally rather than assume.

What a landlord can usually do is attach reasonable conditions to consent, most commonly professional carpet cleaning or flea treatment at the end of the tenancy. Whether a given condition is reasonable is exactly the sort of thing a tenancy authority or tribunal decides.

Assistance animals are different

An assistance animal is not a pet for these purposes.

In New South Wales, tenants do not have to seek consent to keep an assistance animal, although they should tell the landlord, and the landlord may ask for documentation showing the animal is accredited or registered.

If this applies to you, it is worth knowing the distinction before you fill in a pet application form you do not need to fill in.

Other states and territories, in outline

Enough to tell you what to search for:

• Victoria moved earliest and furthest. A rental provider who wants to refuse must apply to VCAT for an order, within a set period, rather than simply declining
• Queensland requires the tenant to seek consent, and the lessor may approve subject to reasonable conditions or refuse only for prescribed reasons
• The other states and territories each run their own version, and several have changed in the last few years

Search your state or territory’s tenancy authority plus “pets”, and read the page rather than a summary. The rules in this area have changed more than almost any other part of Australian tenancy law and secondhand summaries go stale quickly.

Making the application succeed

The law sets the floor. Whether you get a yes in practice is usually decided by how the application looks.

• Apply properly and in writing, using the form if your state has one. It starts the clock
• Include the specifics: breed, age, desexing, registration and microchip details, and whether the animal is indoor or outdoor
• A pet resume is not silly. A page with a photo, the details above, a note on training, and a reference from a previous agent or landlord is unusually persuasive and costs nothing
• Offer the conditions before they are asked for, such as professional carpet cleaning at the end of the tenancy
• Be honest about the number. Applying for consent for one dog and moving in two is the fastest way to lose the property
• Get the consent in writing and keep it with the lease. Verbal approval from an agent who later leaves the agency is worth very little

Protecting the bond

A pet makes the exit inspection harder, and this is where the money is.

• Record the entry condition properly, including flooring, insect screens, garden and any existing damage. This matters more with a pet than without one
• Screens are the classic. Cats and dogs damage flyscreens, and it is noticed at the end
• Lawn and garden, particularly a dog that digs or wears a track along a fence line
• Carpet, which is why professional cleaning is such a common condition. Keep the receipt
• Fix small damage as it happens, rather than presenting a list of it at the end

Getting your bond back covers how a claim is actually decided, and the entry condition report is the document all of it turns on.

If you get a no

• Ask for the reason in writing, and check it against the grounds your state allows
• If the reason is not on the list, your tenancy authority is the next call. Most run a free information line and many run a conciliation service before any tribunal step
• If the reason is on the list, it may be fixable. Fencing can be discussed. An unreasonable number is negotiable if you are applying for fewer animals
• Do not simply move the pet in. Keeping an animal without consent, where consent is required, puts the tenancy itself at risk

A note on choosing the property

Practically, some things make a yes much more likely: a fenced yard for a dog, a ground floor or a house rather than an apartment, and a property not under strata by-laws that restrict animals. Strata is its own layer and it can override the tenancy conversation entirely.

If the yard is the thing being assessed, a pet-friendly garden is also the version least likely to generate damage claims, and where the bed goes is the small decision that keeps a dog off the carpet in the first place.