Rent hikes and bond blow-outs if pet mandate goes ahead

Rents may increase and tough new bond measures may be put in place if the State Government gives all tenants the right to keep pets, the Property Council has warned.

Landlords would be able to recoup more than just their tenant’s rental bond if pets inflict damage to their property, under a proposal put forward by the property industry’s peak body.

Ahead of a hearing this week into the government’s rental reforms, the Property Council of Australia has warned in its submission that there could be a hike to rental prices if moves are made to mandate a right for tenants to keep pets.

Under the government’s proposed shake up, landlords will still be able to block a tenant from keeping a pet at their homes – but only if they have a prescribed reason.

One of those reasons is if the pet is likely to cause damage that could not be repaired for less than the value of the rental bond.

Under the government’s proposed shake up, landlords will still be able to block a tenant from keeping a pet at their homes, but only if they have a prescribed reason.

In its submission to a parliamentary inquiry, the Property Council said the government’s legislation did not provide an avenue for property owners to recoup the cost of damages caused by pets if it exceeded the value of the rental bond.

“Despite the legislation’s best intentions, it is impossible to guarantee that any pet will not cause damage,” the Property Council’s Queensland executive director Jen Williams wrote.

“Therefore, the legislation should provide an avenue for a lessor to recoup costs that exceed the amount provided for in the rental bond.”

In the submission, Ms Williams also argued that mandating a right to keep pets may increase the costs and responsibility related to property insurance and maintenance.

“These costs are then likely to be informally passed on to the tenants in the form of increased rent,” she wrote.

The government’s legislation indicates that the tenant would be “responsible for repairing any damage to the premises” that is caused by the pet or the animal.

Damages to the property caused by the animal will also not be classed as fair wear and tear, under the legislation.

The Greens also have their own legislation before the parliament that would give tenants the right to keep a pet unless the lessor successfully applies through the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal for an order to refuse the pet.

Greens MP Amy MacMahon. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

Greens MP Amy MacMahon said the changes they were proposing were already in place in the ACT and Victoria – and that there was no evidence it had driven up rents.

“But what these changes have done is significantly improve housing security for renters with pets,” she said.