Tasmania's reputation for being one of the hardest places in Australia to find a pet-friendly rental is set to change under rental reforms promised by the Liberal state government.
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The government said it will start discussions on its pet rental reforms over the next three months, to look at which approach is best for Tasmania.
Ultimately, the proposed changes will allow renters to have pets as a right, and prevent landlords from being able to automatically reject rental applications because of pets.
Instead, landlords might only be able to refuse pet rental applications where it is reasonable to do so.
Other states have already adopted similar laws, such as Victoria in 2020 and Queensland in 2022.
Pet rental process in other states
In Queensland the renter must fill out a special form to request that a pet live at a property and a landlord must respond to that request within 14 days, otherwise the pet can stay.
A landlord can either approve the request, approve the request with conditions which the tenant must agree to, or can refuse according to the permitted grounds of refusal.
Any conditions must relate to the pet, for example the pet must live outside or carpets must be cleaned and fumigated at the end of the lease.
They also must be reasonable, with regard to the type of pet and the nature of the premises.
In Queensland the landlord can refuse on ten grounds, including pets already living at the property, a "lack of appropriate fencing, open space or another item necessary to humanely accommodate the pet", or they can argue that keeping the pet is likely to cause damage that would cost more than the rental bond to fix.
In Victoria the process is similar, however, if the landlord wants to refuse a pet application they must apply to the Victorian tribunal to do so.
The tribunal looks at whether the refusal is reasonable, based on the type of pet and property, the property's fixtures, and any other relevant laws or considerations, to make a final decision.
Pet-friendly rental: Hunting dogs with rooftop backyards
In a Victorian case the landlord refused a pet application for a medium sized dog, in an older style home with a reasonable sized back yard.
The landlord refused because -
- their insurance did not cover pet damage,
- because their property had been damaged by pets in the past and they had been unable to recover those costs, and;
- because they suffered from allergies which might flare up if they returned to live at the property.
But the tribunal found that additional insurance premiums and previous pet damage were not valid grounds of refusal, nor was the medical condition, and the pet was allowed to stay.
In another case a landlord wanted to refuse a German Short Haired Pointer puppy at an apartment property with a rooftop terrace, but the tribunal held that the refusal was not reasonable.
The tribunal found the size of the terrace and 1.7 metre high enclosure was sufficient at law, for a dog that would live inside and be outside under supervision.
It made comment that the owners could continue to assess the risk as the puppy became an adult, giving weight to renter choice and responsible dog ownership.
