How savvy pet owners are scoring their dream rental homes
It’s tough out there for plenty of renters, especially pet owners but there are a few things you can do to make it easier. For yourself, your furry friend and your landlord.
Property
Don't miss out on the headlines from Property. Followed categories will be added to My News.
For renters with pets, it can be a dog’s life.
With research revealing 75 per cent of tenancy leases do not have pet-friendly clauses, renters hoping to find accommodation to share with their animal companions need to take a savvy approach to home-hunting.
And current market conditions aren’t helping. SQM Research shows Sydney’s vacancy rate is at 1.6 per cent, one of the lowest levels in memory. The eastern suburbs has more vacancies than the Sydney average, but is expected to tighten significantly over spring and summer due to its proximity to the coast.
Andrew Colagiuri, the founder of property management software tool FLK IT OVER, says “many tenants who home a pet midway through their lease hide it for fear of not being allowed to keep it”.
The research carried out by Colagiuri’s company shows three-quarters of tenancy leases don’t have pet-oriented clauses. However, he adds that landlords’ attitudes are changing compared to a decade ago, when “no pets allowed” was the default position.
The research found dogs are by far the most popular pet with more than 35,000 leases signed through the FLK IT OVER online platform since 2018, while cats come second with 8000 leases. Chickens are in third place followed by a variety of pets including guinea pigs, mice, snakes and horses.
“Despite the shortage of rental properties, landlords are not reverting to the ‘no pets’ policy. Instead they are embracing it, partly because of changes to legislation but also because it’s better to find a quality tenant, even if it means allowing a pet,” says Colagiuri.
RELATED: What property ‘perfect storm’ means for buyers, sellers, tenants
HOW TO FIND A PET-FRIENDLY RENTAL
In today’s highly competitive market, Kingsford renter Kerstin Keimling and leading real estate industry specialists have tips on identifying and securing a pet-hospitable home.
First up is dog trainer Keimling with support from her four pets, border collie Suvee, German spitz Benji, and ginger cats Sheila and Bruce.
“When I set my priorities, they are very clearly about my pets,” says Keimling.
“The condition of a property isn’t as important as having a freestanding or attached house with a big backyard. I don’t look for strata properties.
“My expectations on a rental property are probably a bit lower than other people’s. I tend to pick properties that, further down the line, may be demolished for development.”
Over the past eight years, Keimling has moved several times, and she takes a philosophical approach to seeking a home: “If it’s a newly renovated property and someone rocks up with dogs and cats, then I can understand why a landlord would go for an applicant without pets. So, I realise that I am going to have to make compromises.”
With her references at the ready, she blocks out time to visit properties (“that I’m not too fussy about”) and if she likes what she sees, she immediately submits an application.
German-born Keimling contrasts the way Australian society views pets with the more liberal acceptance shown in European countries.
She gives the example of German restaurants where diners might find other customers’ dogs resting under neighbouring tables.
Keimling adds pet owners have an obligation to ensure their animals are well behaved in rental properties and, importantly, in public: “When you’re going for a walk, it’s little things like picking up your dog’s poo and not letting the animal pee on every single house wall.”
In a nice piece of synergy, clients of Keimling’s dog training business seek references from her when they are hoping to rent with pets.
RELATED: Australia’s most popular pet names revealed
“I’m totally happy to give a client a reference saying their dog has been trained by me and is well behaved,” says Keimling. “Those references have been quite helpful for my clients getting properties. Renters need to make their tenant profile as good as it can be.”
NEW RULES FOR TENANTS WITH PETS
In the run-up to the state election, now premier Chris Minns said his party would make major changes to rules involving landlords’ ability to reject renters with pets.
Under the proposed new system announced by Labor, a generic pet request form would be made available and owners of rental properties would have 21 days to make a decision.
If the application was denied, the landlord would have to provide a reason from a government-approved list. Applications that did not get a response within the period would be automatically approved.
The Minns government’s proposed rental reforms went before the NSW parliament earlier this year and the public was asked to comment on “how to make it easier for renters to keep pets” in an online survey which closed this month.
Andrew Cocks, group managing director of real estate agency Richardson & Wrench, agrees on the strategy of increasing the pool of potential renters for a property.
“Having the ability to invite tenants who have got pets opens you up to a much broader range of prospective tenants,” Cocks says.
“That gives you an opportunity to ensure you are able to secure the right tenant for your particular property. You’ll find a tenant who is going to want your property more quickly if you’ve got the ability to talk to the entire rental market than if you’re talking to only those who don’t have pets. That’s particularly the case post-Covid, where the ownership of pets has increased dramatically.”
Cocks says renters should be realistic in their expectations about the suitability of individual properties: “Some pets aren’t suitable to some properties. I’ve got a golden retriever myself and the thought of her going into a rental property with me, particularly if there were wood floors, would be a nightmare for me and the landlord.
“So, it does come down to property specifics and property-relevant pets.”
To assist a leasing agent to get an application “over the line” with a landlord, Cocks recommends a prospective tenant provides detailed information on their pet. That could include photos of the pet together with references from a pet training school or a vet saying the animal is house trained.
Cocks’ colleague Jonathan Carr, head of the property management department at Richardson & Wrench Double Bay, points to data showing renters with pets “generally spend a significant amount longer in a property”.
“Therefore, it definitely decreases that wear-and-tear factor of tenants moving in and out,” says Carr. “Pre-Covid, tenants were generally staying in a property about 18 months on average but tenants with pets were staying on around 26 to 28 months, which is a big difference.”
WHAT TO SEARCH FOR
Carr is in synch with Cocks on the need for tenants to identify properties that are suitable for their pets’ needs. For renters searching in the eastern suburbs, Carr says: “It’s about specific properties which are more likely to be pet-friendly in the sense of having an outdoor space, be it a balcony or a garden.
“There are a number of older buildings, particularly in the Rose Bay and Edgecliff areas – for example, the Art Deco-style buildings – which don’t have the outdoor spaces and therefore may not be properties truly suited to pets.”
To assist tenants and owners, animal welfare charity Companion Animal Network (CAN) has set up an online portal, rentwithpets.com.au, “to create a bridge between responsible pet owners and the nation’s landlords”.
The site provides advice for both parties, including a checklist on responsible pet ownership and information on matters such as state laws.
CAN CEO Trish Ennis says if pets are not allowed in a rental property “you are asking people to give up their family. It’s about the human-animal bond.”
Ennis is currently lobbying the federal and state governments to standardise laws regarding renting with pets: “You have people relocating around Australia who find that if they go into NSW, for instance, they can’t bring their pet to a property, which is just ridiculous.”
She contrasted NSW’s laws with those in Victoria where, if a rental provider believes it is reasonable to refuse consent to having a pet living in a property, they have to seek an order from the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal to bar the pet.
In regards to companion animals, Ennis says: “There are so many people out there who are lonely. They might have health issues or mental issues and an animal might be the only resource they have to keep them happy.”
She says CAN is ready to endorse landlords and strata properties with its logo “to say ‘Hey, look, we’re a pet-friendly property.’”
It’s an initiative destined to receive a round of a-paws from pets across Sydney.
More Coverage
Originally published as How savvy pet owners are scoring their dream rental homes
Building company collapses owing millions
Another Aussie builder has gone bust, leaving home buyers in the lurch and creditors owed millions.
Developer’s shock decision on future of $1.5bn mega project
The developer behind a $1.5bn project which is one of the largest in the Gold Coast’s history has made a shock decision about its future. FIND OUT WHAT IT MEANS