NSW Fair Trading investigates Meriton’s $1100 per animal ‘pet licence’ amid tenant complaints
PET owners have hit out at property empire Meriton after the company charged its tenants a $1100 per pet non-refundable fee at some of its Sydney apartment blocks.
NSW
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WHEN risk manager Anita Milford-Chilvers wanted a pet-friendly apartment for her and her two moggie rescue cats Serena and Pascal she thought she’d found the perfect spot.
But the 44-year-old was shocked to discover she would have to pay $1100 per animal for a ‘licence’ to keep them at the Meriton-owned block Mulberry on Miller complex in North Sydney.
While the one-bedroom apartment was advertised as pet friendly in October last year, Ms Milford-Chilvers said it turned out to be anything but.
She says she was asked for $2200 for the right to keep her two cats — one who has three legs and one eye — as a non-refundable licence fee on top of her $2360 bond.
“I am disgusted that a company like Meriton would prey on desperate tenants that already find it difficult to obtain accommodation allowing them to have an animal,” she said.
“Pet owners often have to pay far more in rent anyway to obtain a property that is potentially fenced in or is larger if they have a dog. I would be more than happy (as would most responsible pet owners), to pay a ‘pet bond’ which would circumvent any issues for landlords.
“I’m definitely not happy to pay a fee which goes straight to Meriton. This is downright un-Australian.”
The situation forced Ms Milford-Chilvers to rent elsewhere but her situation is not unique.
According to the NSW Tenants Union, the fee is illegal.
It has received four complaints about Meriton charging renters for a pet licence since 2015, while NSW Fair Trading said it had received seven reports since 2015, but wouldn’t name the company or companies responsible.
Similar reports have also been made in online forums. One long-term Meriton tenant said the company told them to get rid of their cat within seven days unless they paid the licence fee.
The company later backed down.
Asked whether the practice was illegal, a NSW Fair Trading spokesman said they are “continuing to review the practice of imposing a pet licence fee”.
“Fair Trading will contact Ms Milford-Chilvers further to discuss her individual circumstances,” the spokesman said.
“The NSW Government is currently developing a package of reforms aimed at improving the renting experience for tenants in NSW. As part of this process, the Government is examining the current laws relating to pets in tenancies.”
NSW Tenants Union senior policy officer Leo Patterson Ross called on NSW Fair Trading to ensure Meriton’s practice is properly investigated.
He said properties that “appear to be pet friendly don’t turn out to be so — either pet applications are unsuccessful, the conditions on which pets are allowed are far too restrictive, or the landlord may advertise it as pet-friendly subject to strata approval which never materialises”.
“The Residential Tenancies Act 2010 should also be amended to ensure tenants are allowed pets, and are responsible for ensuring the home is appropriate for the pet,” Mr Patterson Ross said.
A Meriton spokeswoman said their tenancy agreements state that “no pets are to be kept on the premises without the landlord’s consent”.
“If tenants would like to keep a pet (other than assistance animals) on the residential premises they can apply to enter into a licence agreement which does not form part of the Residential Tenancy Agreement,” she said.
“If the tenant does not wish to enter into the licence agreement then the tenant refers back to clause 43 of the Residential Tenancy Agreement. The license fee is $1000 + GST per pet.
“As stated above, the licence agreement does not form part of the Residential Tenancy Agreement. NSW Fair Trading has never requested that Meriton stop entering into the licence agreements.”
The Mulberry on Miller complex rents out one, two and three bedroom apartments in North Sydney for between $610 and $1000 per week.
* Follow Ben Pike on Twitter at @benpike00 or email ben.pike@news.com.au