Tenant Pet Requests, How Landlords Must Respond

Sections 16A and 16B of the Housing Act 1988, inserted by section 11 of the Renters' Rights Act 2025, give tenants on English Periodic Assured Tenancies the right to request permission to keep a pet. The request must be in writing. The landlord must give or refuse consent in writing on or before the 28th day after the request. The 28 days can be extended where the landlord reasonably asks the tenant for more information, where a superior landlord's decision is needed, or by agreement with the tenant; the latest of any applicable dates applies. A missed deadline does not grant automatic consent.

What the tenant must do to make a valid request

• The request must be in writing, email, letter or text message qualifies
• The request must identify the pet: species, breed, and name
• No prescribed form is required, an informal email is sufficient

What the landlord must do within 28 days

1. Log the date received. The 28-day clock starts from receipt.
2. Assess the specific request against the specific property. Consider headlease restrictions, property suitability, and any documented pet damage history.
3. Respond in writing before the deadline. Either consent (with or without conditions) or refuse (with specific, reasonable grounds).
4. If consenting: You may attach reasonable conditions, but you cannot require the tenant to take out or pay for pet-damage insurance (that would be a prohibited payment under the Tenant Fees Act 2019), and you cannot take an additional pet deposit.
5. If refusing: State the specific grounds. General preference is not sufficient.

What counts as a reasonable refusal

• The headlease or superior lease prohibits pets and consent cannot be obtained from the freeholder
• The property is physically unsuitable for the animal (e.g. a large dog in a first-floor studio with no outdoor space)
• Documented evidence of pet damage caused by the same tenant at the same property
• Strict allergy or health requirements for the property

What does NOT count as reasonable grounds

• A general preference for no animals in the property
• Concerns about re-letting difficulty or rental value
• Generalized anxiety about pet damage without property-specific evidence
• Refusing a low-risk, suitable animal without any stated justification

You cannot require pet damage insurance

You cannot make consent conditional on the tenant taking out pet-damage insurance, and you cannot require the tenant to pay for or reimburse a policy you arrange. That provision was removed before the Act was enacted, and imposing or recharging it is a prohibited payment under the Tenant Fees Act 2019. You also cannot take an additional pet deposit. Your protection is the deposit and the ordinary damages route for any actual pet damage; you may of course insure your own property at your own cost.

What happens at end of tenancy

A Pet Addendum to the tenancy agreement, recording the consented animal, the date of consent, and any conditions, is essential for evidencing what was agreed. Without it, a landlord's ability to make end-of-tenancy deposit deductions for pet damage is significantly weakened.