Would you rather surrender your pet or sleep in your car? It’s a choice renters should not have to make | Kathryn Bermingham

Landlord pet bans are now a key driver of South Australia’s animal abandonment figures, writes Kathryn Bermingham.

Would you rather surrender your pet or sleep in your car?

For most pet-owners, it would be a heartbreaking choice. But, according to overrun shelters, it’s an ultimatum that is increasingly common in South Australia.

Owners are dropping off their cats and dogs at unprecedented rates because they are unable to find a pet-friendly rental.

Yet the state government’s rental reforms package has missed an opportunity to help renters in this situation. Current law says a property owner must agree before a tenant can keep a pet.

RSPCA pet surrender figures grow

The RSPCA SA has said, in the three years to 2022, the number of animals surrendered because of lack of pet-friendly housing has tripled.

Between mid-2021 and mid-2022 alone, the organisation said, more than 600 animals were surrendered, “often tearfully”, by owners left with no other option.

In the three years to 2022, the number of animals surrendered to the RSPCA because of lack of pet-friendly housing tripled.

At that time, animals surrendered by owners unable to find a pet-friendly rental made up one in every five animals handed over.

This week, Animal Welfare League SA became the latest organisation to stop accepting cat or kitten strays or surrenders until further notice.

There are measures that could be taken that would immediately help address this issue.

As in other states, like Victoria, the state government could move to change the law so that landlords would not be allowed to bar pets in rental properties unless they receive special permission to do so. They could also be banned from rejecting applications on the basis that a prospective tenant owns a pet.

Rescue organisations say the issue goes further than animal welfare. Pet ownership, they say, is a social justice issue, and benefits like companionship should not be denied to a person because they cannot afford their own home or find a landlord who will agree to allow a pet.

No dogs allowed in SA rental reform laws

But the legislation currently before the parliament – formed following extensive consultation with landlords, tenants and the housing and real estate sector – includes no change to rules around pets.

Consumer and Business Affairs Minister Andrea Michaels said the bill, which has passed the lower house, enacts the first of the government’s reforms, including a ban on rent bidding.

She said there were a range of views in the community on renting with pets, and the issue was being considered as part of consultation on further changes to the law.

Minister Andrea Michaels says it is important to strike the right balance to protect tenants and landlords. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Brenton Edwards

“It is important that we strike the right balance to protect the rights of both tenants and landlords,” she said.

“We do not want to see any further reduction in the supply of rental properties, with SA having one of the lowest vacancy rates in the nation, while still supporting tenants to make their rental property a home.”

Laws in this area do need to balance the interests of both groups, and some organisations argue a “pet bond” could be introduced as a protective measure.

Whatever the eventual model, a solution must be reached so that people, and animals, are not left homeless because of heartless rental laws.