Pet requests under the Renters' Rights Act: what you can and cannot refuse.

What actually changed on pets?

Before the Renters' Rights Act, a landlord could simply write “no pets” into the tenancy and that was the end of it. The Act removes that blanket position. A tenant now has a statutory right to request permission to keep a pet, and the landlord must not unreasonably refuse. The pet itself is defined broadly: it covers animals kept for companionship rather than just cats and dogs, so a request might cover a rabbit, a caged bird or a fish tank as readily as a labrador.

This is one of the changes landlords across the patch ask us about most, because it feels like a loss of control. In practice it is more of a shift in process. You still have real grounds to say no when saying no is justified. What you have lost is the automatic, reason-free refusal.

How does a pet request work in practice?

The request must come from the tenant in writing. From the day you receive it, you have 28 days to respond, also in writing, either granting consent or refusing it with your reasons. If you genuinely need more information to make the decision, for example the breed, the number of animals, or whether a managing agent or head lease is involved, you can ask for it. Where you do, the clock effectively pauses, and you then have 7 days from receiving that further information to give your answer.

The single most important thing to get right is the deadline. If you miss the 28 day window and have not properly refused, you risk being treated as having consented, and an unreasonable or late refusal can be challenged. Put a diary marker on every pet request the day it lands. For our managed landlords across Brampton, Huntingdon and the surrounding villages, we track these dates as part of the managed service so nothing slips.

What counts as a reasonable refusal?

The Act does not list every acceptable reason, because reasonableness depends on the property and the pet. But the pattern is clear from the legislation and the early guidance. Refusals that tend to be reasonable include:

• The property is genuinely unsuitable for the pet requested, such as a large, active dog in a small upper-floor flat with no outside space.
• A superior landlord or head lease prohibits pets, which you cannot override. This is common in leasehold flats.
• The number of animals is excessive for the size of the home, or there is a credible animal-welfare concern about keeping the pet there.
• There is clear evidence of irresponsible ownership, for example a documented history of an animal causing damage or nuisance.

What will not stand up is a refusal with no property-specific reason, or a refusal that simply restates a general dislike of pets. Whatever your reason, write it down clearly. If a refusal is ever questioned, the written reasoning you gave at the time is what gets examined.

Can you make the tenant take out pet insurance?

No, and this is the part that catches landlords out, because an earlier draft of the reform allowed it. The version that became law does not. Requiring a tenant to pay for pet damage insurance, or to reimburse you for a policy you take out, would be a prohibited payment under the Tenant Fees Act 2019. You cannot make it a condition of granting consent.

So the trade many landlords expected, “yes to the pet, but only if you insure it,” is not available. That makes the question of how you protect the property more important, not less, which is the next point.

How do you protect against pet damage now?

Your protection runs through three things you already have. The first is the deposit. The tenancy deposit, capped at five weeks' rent (or six where the annual rent is £50,000 or more), is protected in a scheme and remains your route to recover the cost of genuine damage caused by a pet, provided you can evidence it.

The second is the inventory. A thorough, dated, photographic check-in report is what turns “the carpet is scratched” into a defensible deduction at check-out. If you let a pet in, the inventory matters more than ever. The third is your own buildings and contents cover; it is worth checking that your landlord policy does not exclude pet-related damage, and updating it if it does.

Taken together, a fair deposit, a proper inventory and the right insurance give you a sensible position without needing the pet insurance the Act has taken away. Our compliance overview sets out the standards we hold every managed tenancy to.

What should you do now?

If you self-manage, draft a short, neutral process for handling pet requests: log the date received, decide within the window, and reply in writing with reasons if you refuse. Review your tenancy template so it no longer contains an unconditional pet ban, which is no longer enforceable. Check your insurance for pet exclusions, and make sure your inventory process is genuinely photographic and dated.

If your properties are managed by Villager Homes under a fully managed service, we handle pet requests end to end: the deadline tracking, the written decision, the inventory and the deposit position. The official position on the new rights sits in the government's guide to the reforms on GOV.UK.