On 19 May 2025, new pet laws came into effect for residential tenancies. Tenants now have the right to request permission to keep pets in their tenancy premises. Our Tenancy team have put together a basic rundown of these new laws.
Can the landlord advertise that a pet will not be permitted in a tenancy?
No, a landlord must not do this.
Does a tenant have to ask for consent to keep a pet?
Yes, unless you have an ‘assistance animal’. Consent is not required for an assistance animal.
Assistance animals are specially trained to assist a person with a disability. It is important to seek legal advice to see if your animal is an ‘assistance animal’ in accordance with the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth).
How does a tenant ask for consent to keep a pet?
A tenant needs to use the approved form and give it to the landlord or their agent in order to ask for consent to keep a pet. If you have co-tenants, the consent form must be made jointly by all co-tenants. The landlord has 21 days to reply.
What if the landlord does not reply in 21 days?
The landlord is taken to have given consent without conditions if they fail to reply to a request for consent to keep a pet within 21 days. This means your pet is automatically approved.
If the pet is approved, can the landlord set conditions?
Yes. The landlord can set ‘reasonable conditions’ which are defined in the law.
For example, for pets not normally kept inside, a condition preventing the pet being inside the premises.
Can the landlord set unreasonable conditions for keeping the pet?
No. Unreasonable conditions are void and include:
- Increasing rent
- Increasing rental bond
- Requiring forms of security
- Another condition not permitted to be included as a term – see s15/s19
How long does consent last?
Once there is consent, the consent continues as long as the tenant lives at the property and the pet is alive, even if there are changes in landlord or tenancy details.
What grounds can the landlord use to reject a pet?
These grounds are set out in law and include:
- An unreasonable number of pets are being kept at the premises (it is not an unreasonable number of pets if there are 4 or less animals)
- The premises are unsuitable because fencing is not appropriate or there is insufficient open space
- The nature of the premises means the pet could not be kept humanely
- Keeping the pet is likely to cause damage that would cost more to reasonably repair than amount of bond
- The landlord resides at the same premises
- The tenant has not agreed to a reasonable condition provided by the landlord
- Keeping the pet contravenes:
- An Act or other law
- A local Council order
- A by-law of a scheme that has legal effect (i.e. strata, community, precinct, or neighbourhood scheme)
- A community rule in a residential community scheme
The landlord needs to give reasons why they consider a ground to apply.
Does the landlord have the final say?
No. A tenant can apply to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) if:
- The tenant has made an application for consent to keep a pet;
- The landlord has refused to provide consent and the tenant believes the grounds specific are not applicable; or
- The landlord has given consent subject to a condition and the tenant believes the condition is unreasonable.
If the grounds the landlord has stated for refusal are applicable or the condition/s they set are reasonable, NCAT must dismiss the tenant’s application.
However, if NCAT is not satisfied that the grounds for refusal are applicable, the Tribunal:
- Must make an order allowing the keeping of the pet, and
- May make an order subject to reasonable conditions.
NCAT has powers to modify the consent of a landlord to remove, vary, or substitute conditions to ensure they are all reasonable conditions.
If a tenant applies relating to more than one pet, the Tribunal may make different decisions for different animals.
What else should a tenant know when applying for a pet?
These new laws only apply to tenants covered under the Residential Tenancies Act. There are different laws for other living arrangements such as student accommodation, renters without a tenancy agreement, and people living in a boarding house. If you are unsure if you are a tenant, it is important to seek advice.
If you are a tenant in a strata scheme, you need to also check the schemes by-laws about the keeping of animals as they may contain approval processes and rules. A strata by-law can only prohibit pets where the keeping of an animal would unreasonably interfere or impact on other occupants. Strata schemes are not allowed to have a blanket ban on pets in their by-laws.
Information accurate as of 8th June 2025. The information above is not legal advice. If you have a legal issue, please get specific legal advice.
