The most pet-friendly suburbs in Australia to rent in

A pet is a family member but for some tenants, finding a rental where their furry companion is welcome adds another dimension of difficulty in an already competitive and tight market.

Of all the suburbs in which landlords explicitly state a pet is allowed, Sydney claims the number one spot, new pet-friendly listing data shows.

Some landlords are happy to embrace four-legged tenants, with a handful of suburbs available where house hunters will find some reprieve for them and their beloved animals.

This new list shows where in Australia it is easiest to own a pet and find a suitable rental.

Ray White’s Will Clark, from the agency’s economics team, has scanned listings nationally where a landlord indicates their permission for a potential tenant to have an animal.

Overall, Sydney and Adelaide are the most pet-friendly cities to rent in, and Brisbane ranks as the worst.

Breaking down the listings by postcode, Macquarie Park in Sydney is the suburb with the most rental ads that outwardly state they allow pets, Ray White found.

The next is Northcote in Melbourne, followed by Belconnen in the ACT.

“Sydney leads the way for pet-friendly listings, though the size of the market and the meaningfulness of a phrase like ‘pet-friendly’ in a listing is highest in New South Wales,” Mr Clark said in the report.

“A landlord in New South Wales is under no obligation to grant permission to tenants who wish to have a pet living in the property, and tenants are required to submit a request to landlords to have one residing with them.

“This is also the case with Perth and South Australia, whose lower pet-friendly listings reflect the smaller markets. Northern Territory similarly allows landlords to choose whether pets reside with their tenants, but must reply to a tenants letter of intent to house a pet within 14 days of notification to reject the pet.

“Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania and ACT do not grant landlords automatic right to refuse pets on their property, and rejecting a pet application requires a department-approved reason to do so.

“This explains their lower numbers for pet-friendly listings, as it is the default state of a rental listing to grant this permission upon application. In all states, it is still necessary to apply for a pet. Will this change in the future?”

Hundreds of animals have been surrendered in Victoria to the RSPCA because their renting owners were moving into non pet-friendly accommodation. Likewise, the RSPCA in South Australia said in June this year that one in five pets given over to their shelter has come from tenants who were not allowed an animal in their rental.