Many renters live with pets and many owners accept pets.
Renters can successfully apply with pets, or request a pet when already occupying a property, by providing pet details as required, or other optional information such as pet references, photos and council registration/microchip details.
State renting laws about Pets are changing so check out the latest regulations online:
Victoria, NSW, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania
Here are important considerations for renters applying with Pets:
- Only house the pet approved on your lease
- Approving a pet is at the discretion of the property owners/rental provider (sometimes through the Body Corporate).
- Pets should be kept clean (free of parasites), quiet (not disturb the neighbours) and controlled at all times (domesticated, desexed, toilet trained)
- Pets in buildings with common property may be subject to by-law rules of the Owners Corporation eg. that pets must be supervised or on a leash while on common property
- Renters may be liable for damage or injury caused by the pet(s) to people or property
Refusal of pets
If the owner/rental provider applies to to have a pet request refused, a Consumer Tribunal can order that either:
- the owner/rental provider’s refusal is reasonable and/or the pet is excluded from the property
- the renter can keep the pet on the rental property.
When making its decision, the Tribunal may consider:
- the type of pet the renter wants to keep
- the type of property the renter is renting
- appliances, fixtures and fittings in the property
- other relevant laws (for example, if the pet is prohibited by a local council law)
- anything else the Tribunal considers relevant.
Read more about renting with pets Snug blog
https://snug.com/blog/how-to-negotiate-a-pet-friendly-lease/
https://snug.com/blog/renting-with-pets/
NSW Pet Application Form is here: