Pet consent letters: what to include and how to issue one under the Renters' Rights Act 2025

Under the Renters' Rights Act 2025, tenants on Periodic Assured Tenancies have a statutory right to request permission to keep a pet. Once you receive a valid written pet request, you have 42 days to respond. If you agree, you must set out your consent in writing — this is the pet consent letter. Getting this document right protects both you and the tenant, sets clear expectations, and gives you an evidence base if things go wrong.

What a pet consent letter must include

There is no prescribed form for a pet consent letter, but it must contain certain key elements to be legally effective and practically useful:

• Parties and property: Full names of all named tenants (as they appear in the tenancy agreement) and the full address of the let property
• Pet identification: Specific description of the pet — species, breed, age if known, name if known (e.g., 'one male domestic cat, black and white, age approximately 3 years, named Milo'). Do not consent to 'pets in general' — each consent relates to the specific animal described
• Date of consent: The date on which consent takes effect. For a mid-tenancy request this is typically the date you issue the letter; for a new tenancy it may be the tenancy start date
• Conditions of consent: Every condition you impose must be set out clearly. The RRA 2025 specifically permits landlords to require pet insurance. List each condition as a numbered item so it can be referred to clearly in any later dispute
• Tenant acknowledgment: A signature box for the tenant(s) to sign and date, confirming they accept the conditions. Without the tenant's signature, the conditions are unilaterally imposed and may be challenged
• Landlord signature: Your signature or that of your agent, with date

Conditions you can lawfully impose

The RRA 2025 specifies that landlords may impose 'reasonable conditions' when granting a pet request. Case law and tribunal guidance will develop over time, but the following conditions are widely considered reasonable:

• Pet damage insurance (recommended): Require the tenant to take out and maintain an insurance policy covering third-party liability and damage to the property caused by the pet. Specify a minimum level of cover — £100,000 third-party liability is common. Require the tenant to provide evidence of the policy on request and to keep it in force for as long as the pet is kept at the property
• Professional carpet cleaning at end of tenancy: Where a pet is kept, professional carpet cleaning at the end of the tenancy (to professional rather than domestic standard) is a reasonable condition. Specify the standard — for example, hot-water extraction cleaning by a contractor acceptable to the landlord
• Flea treatment: Professional flea treatment of carpets, soft furnishings and upholstered items by a pest control contractor at the end of the tenancy. Required where dogs or cats are kept
• Immediate damage notification: Require the tenant to notify you promptly (e.g., within 48 hours) if the pet causes any damage to the property, fixtures or fittings
• Prohibition on breeding: A condition that the pet is not used for breeding purposes at the property
• Compliance with legislation: A condition that the tenant complies with all applicable legislation regarding the keeping of the pet — including, for dogs, the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, and for exotic animals, any licence requirement

What you cannot include in a pet consent letter

• A 'pet deposit': You cannot require a separate deposit for the pet above the statutory deposit cap. Any such requirement is a prohibited payment under the Tenant Fees Act 2019
• Blanket prohibitions for future pets: Consent to one specific pet does not give you grounds to prohibit future reasonable requests — each new pet request must be considered on its merits
• Conditions that amount to refusing consent: Conditions that are so onerous or costly that no reasonable tenant could comply with them are tantamount to a refusal. The First-tier Tribunal can strike down unreasonable conditions and treat the request as refused — triggering the deemed consent provisions
• Conditions preventing the tenant from challenging your refusal: You cannot include a clause waiving the tenant's statutory right to refer a refusal to the First-tier Tribunal. Any such waiver clause is void

Taking a photographic schedule before the pet arrives

One of the most important practical steps — which the consent letter should prompt — is to take a dated photographic schedule of the property's condition before the pet is brought in. This is separate from the check-in inventory at the start of the tenancy and serves a specific purpose: it gives you a baseline against which to measure pet-specific damage at the end of the tenancy.

• Photograph every carpeted area, any upholstered furniture provided by you, skirting boards and door frames, garden (if applicable), and any existing fabric blinds or curtains
• Date-stamp every photograph — use a phone camera with automatic date and location metadata
• Send the photo schedule to the tenant by email on the same day as you take it and ask for acknowledgment
• Retain the photos in a folder labelled with the property address and 'pre-pet schedule [date]'

What to do if the tenant breaches the conditions

If the tenant breaches the conditions attached to pet consent — for example by allowing the insurance to lapse, failing to notify you of damage, or keeping additional animals — you have several options:

• Issue a written warning: Write to the tenant identifying the specific condition breached, the evidence of the breach, and the remedial action required and by when. Give a reasonable opportunity to remedy
• Withdraw consent: If the breach is serious or unremedied, you can withdraw consent in writing. The tenant is then required to remove the pet. If they do not, this is a breach of tenancy
• Section 8 Ground 12: Persistent or serious breach of conditions in the tenancy agreement (including pet consent conditions incorporated by reference) is Ground 12 — a discretionary Section 8 possession ground. Build a clear paper trail before relying on this
• Document for deposit claim: Keep all correspondence, inspection reports and photographs. These form the evidence base for any end-of-tenancy deposit deduction claim