Landlords won’t have final say over pets under new laws

New laws will remove a landlord’s right to simply outright refuse a tenant to have a pet without reason in a bid to ‘strike the right balance’ between renters and landlords.

Landlords won‘t have final say over whether tenants living in their home can keep pets in an erosion of the rights of property owners, the LNP says.

But the Government says the laws recognise the importance of pets as companions and “strike the right balance” for both renters and landlords.

Debating the laws, opposition housing spokesman Tim Mander said allowing only a handful of reasons a landlord could reject a pet request wasn’t right.

In a watering down of previous proposals, property owners will be able to refuse a pet on “reasonable grounds” and lessors can place reasonable conditions on pet ownership, including that the pet is to be kept outside or that carpets are cleaned and the property is fumigated at the end of a lease.

But Mr Mander said a person could say no if the new pet “would exceed a reasonable number” of pets, there was a lack of space, or fencing, if the pet would likely cause excessive damage, that it posed a safety risk or that it was against bylaws.

“These changes remove a lessor’s right to simply refuse a tenant outright to have a pet without reason,” he said.

“And many landlords entering the new rental agreements, once this legislation is passed, could rightly feel aggrieved that they’ll no longer have the final right to advise the tenants, whether they can have a pet on their property or not.”

Woman relaxing with her Maltese dog at home

Housing Minister Leeanne Enoch said the laws would make it easier for renters to keep a pet.

“It’s easy to get wrapped up in the technical details of legislation but in reality, this is about people,” she said.

Ms Enoch told a story of a Cairns woman who had kept dogs for a decade in the past, but had been refused a new request to keep a rescue dog and was distressed by that.

“Covid has reinforced how important pets can be for people’s wellbeing which is why this is an important inclusion in the Bill,” she said.

The minister said the laws had been consulted on for “many years” and found ”the appropriate balance”.

Minimum standards will be prescribed to ensure homes meet basic safety, security and functionality standards from September 2023 for new tenancies and from September 2024 for all.

Ms Enoch said they followed the heartbreaking 2010 death of baby Isabella Diefenbach, who fell from her parents Yeppoon balcony when her father‘s foot fell through a rotted wooden plank the family had complained about.

It will be a finable offence of up to $6850 not to comply with a repair order, with that fine rising every week the landlord fails to do the work.

“Because just as tenants are expected to pay their rent on time, property owners should

be expected to ensure their property meets a minimum standard of liveability,“ she said.

The laws end without-ground evictions by owners, but expand the approved reasons for owners and renters to end tenancies.

Pets working from home during lockdown

However, the LNP has complained “crazy changes” mean periodic tenancies will become “perpetual” under the proposed legislation.

The laws also make it easier for a person fleeing domestic violence to exit a tenancy contract or to change the locks in an emergency situation without the owner‘s consent to ensure their own safety.

The Opposition will introduce amendments but will ultimately support the bill, with Mr Mander saying that the majority of it was positive.

Greens MP Amy McMahon failed to move a second-reading motion that all MPs who own investment properties excuse themselves from voting on the laws.

The government is planning a second tranche of rental reforms that will examine the issue of tenants making home modifications, including to accommodate people with disability.

Originally published as Landlords won’t have final say over pets under new laws