Pets and renting: Landlords should be saying 'yes' to pets

Queensland may be home to millions of pets, but many end up homeless when their owners move rental properties.

It’s a sad statistic that, according to the Residential Tenancies Authority, only about 10 per cent of Queensland’s rental properties allow pets.

Current legislation requires tenants to get written permission to have a pet in their rental property and stipulates they are also responsible for any damage to the property caused by their pets.

But fear of this “damage” may be out of proportion to reality and could be compelling landlords to say “no” to pets, when they should be saying “yes”.

Hot Property Management’s Zoran Solano says his agency encourages landlords to accept pets in rental properties as long as the property is suitable.

“We definitely encourage landlords, because what we understand in the market is the number of people per household is decreasing and more people have pet companions these days,” he says.

“By alienating that demographic, you’re really reducing the potential rental market … and it’s supply and demand that’s really going to boost your potential.

“We don’t like to alienate those people, because they still need a place to live. For us, allowing pets is something that’s really critical.”

While there are no hard and fast statistics available, it’s estimated about 30 per cent of pets are surrendered because of their owners changed living conditions, which includes moving into rental properties where pets are not approved.

RSPCA Queensland spokesperson Michael Beatty says while legislative change has made it more difficult for bodies corporate in particular to ban pets completely, the number of pets surrendered because they’re not approved to live in rental properties remains infuriatingly high.

“It’s very frustrating. We have enough trouble dealing with the unwanted animals, let alone the wanted animals,” he says.

“Very rarely would a pet actually damage the property, particularly if you can ensure that the pet has got some good references and the pet has a history of being well behaved.”

Solano believes some landlords have an unrealistic fear of the damage that a pet may cause at a property, especially because people can cause damage, too.

“I think there is a big misconception from investors that pets ruin properties. That’s one of the reasons. If you don’t accept a person with a pet, people can still cause damage. People can still cause accidental or malicious damage,” he says.

“Sometimes there are brand new properties or fully renovated properties and they’re concerned about excess wear and tear, but people can cause a lot of excess wear and tear as well.

“The quality of property management – keeping on top of routine inspections – is critical when allowing pets.”