Pet tax: Why having a pet could be costing renters $14k a year

Renters have been slammed with a shock $14k pet tax, forcing a horrific decision.

Shocking research has revealed that pet owners are paying up to $270 extra a week - or over $14,000 a year - just to keep Fluffy or Fido at home.

With rental vacancies remaining extremely low across Australia, many renters with pets are facing tough choices, including surrendering their furry friend in orders to keep a roof over their heads.

The disheartening phenomenon sweeping Australian cities has been dubbed ‘pet-bidding’.

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It is a tough market for renters with pets. Picture: Alex Coppel

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Budget Pet Products analysed more than 17,000 rental listings across 20 cities nationwide to reveal where pet-friendly rentals are most common, where they’re scarce, and the extra ‘pet tax’ that renters are paying.

That research found that pet-friendly rentals make up on average 15.91 per cent of all advertised properties, and cost on average of 7.51 per cent more than non-pet-friendly rentals.

Aerial photo of the Townsville, which was the nation’s most pet friendly city. Picture: Supplied.

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Conversely, some cities like Bendigo and Perth buck the trend, with pet-friendly rents actually cheaper than non-pet options, suggesting pet acceptance varies widely by location.

“We believe everyone should be able to enjoy the companionship of a pet without facing extra financial stress,” Budget Pet Products director Karla VanDepol said.

“Beyond the usual costs like food and vet bills, many renters are now dealing with what we call the ‘property pet tax’, paying noticeably higher rent just to keep their pets.

“This added burden makes it tough for pet owners, especially in cities like Sydney, to hold onto their beloved animals.

“Landlords have a real opportunity to make a difference by adopting more pet-friendly policies, making renting with pets a realistic option for more Australians.”

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Source: Budget Pet Products

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Pet-inclusive rental options are significantly more available and affordable in regional cities.

The most pet-friendly city was Townsville, where 27 per cent of rentals were available to pet owners.

It was also cheaper for pet owners, with pet-friendly properties actually -1.81 per cent cheaper, giving the Queensland garrison city a Pet Friendly Index (PFI) of 77.75

Logan City in the Greater Brisbane regions had the second highest PFI of 75.91, followed by Darwin (74.67).

But both had rent mark-ups of 3.49 per cent and 7.39 per cent respectively.

Also in the top 10 most pet-friendly locations was Rockingham, Hobart, Ballarat, Perth, Toowoomba, Brisbane and Launceston.

Source: Budget Pet Products

Walkers out early at Bondi Beach in Sydney, with the city having the biggest pet tax.

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At the other end of the spectrum, major metropolitan cities such as Sydney and Melbourne show notably low availability of pet-friendly rentals, just 12 per cent and 7 per cent respectively.

The top 10 least pet-friendly locations were Sydney, Newcastle, Canberra, Melbourne, Geelong, Gold Coast, Wollongong, Adelaide, Bendigo and Cairns.

Sydney had the highest ‘pet tax’, according to the analysis.

Rentals advertised as ‘no pets’ averaged $1077.30 a week, while rentals that were pet friendly had an average weekly rent of $1347.08 - a mark-up of 25.04 per cent of $269.78 a week.

Source: Budget Pet Products

Hot on its heels was Newcastle with a pet tax mark-up of 22.33 per cent or $141.13 a week.

Also in the top 10 cities with the highest property pet tax was Launceston, Gold Coast, Cairns, Brisbane, Darwin, Toowoomba and Geelong.

Bendigo was the city with the lowest property pet tax, followed by Perth, Wollongon, Townsville, Adelaide, Melbourne, Rockingham, Logan City, Hobart and Canberra.

Source: Budget Pet Products

Originally published as Pet tax: Why having a pet could be costing renters $14k a year