If you do not respond to a pet request in writing within 42 days of receiving it, the law treats your silence as consent. The tenant can keep the pet — and you have lost the ability to impose conditions such as requiring pet insurance. Set a calendar reminder the day you receive any pet request.
The Renters' Rights Act 2025 introduced a statutory right for tenants under Periodic Assured Tenancies to request to keep a pet in their rented home. The right applies to all PATs in England, including those that arose by automatic conversion from ASTs on 1 May 2026. It does not apply to tenancies in Wales (different regime), Scotland (Private Residential Tenancy), or Northern Ireland (separate legislation).
The pet-request right does not mean a tenant can keep any pet they choose without asking. It means they can formally request permission and the landlord must respond within 42 days, either consenting (with or without conditions) or refusing with written reasons on reasonable grounds. A refusal on unreasonable grounds, or a failure to respond within 42 days, exposes the landlord to civil liability.
How the pet-request process works
- Tenant makes a written request specifying the type of pet (e.g. 'one domestic cat') and, ideally, breed and age. The request does not need to be in a particular form.
- 42-day clock starts from the date the landlord receives the written request. If you are using a letting agent, ensure they notify you immediately on receipt.
- Landlord responds in writing within 42 days: consent (with or without conditions), or refusal with written reasons on reasonable grounds.
- If no response within 42 days: deemed consent. The tenant may keep the pet as if you had agreed. You cannot impose conditions after the deemed-consent window has passed.
- If refused on reasonable grounds: the tenant may challenge the refusal through the First-tier Tribunal if they believe the grounds are not reasonable.
What counts as reasonable grounds for refusal
The Renters' Rights Act 2025 does not define 'reasonable grounds' exhaustively. Based on the Act's intention and existing case law on contractual pet restrictions, reasonable grounds for refusal are likely to include:
- Lease prohibition: For leasehold landlords, where the superior lease (the landlord's own lease from the freeholder) contains a prohibition on keeping pets, this is a genuine legal constraint. You cannot grant consent that you are not entitled to give. Inform the tenant in writing of the superior lease restriction and invite them to request a variation if they wish
- HMO licence conditions: Where an HMO licence issued by the local authority expressly prohibits pets or requires the landlord's consent and specifies grounds, those conditions operate as a constraint
- Property unsuitability for the specific pet: A studio flat on the fifth floor without a garden or balcony is unsuitable for a large dog with high exercise requirements. Document the specific mismatch between the property and the pet type
- Specific risk to other occupants: In a shared HMO, another tenant may have a documented severe allergy to cats or dogs — this is a reasonable ground to refuse a pet that would make the property unsafe for that tenant
- Specific risk to the property: Where the property has features that are disproportionately vulnerable to pet damage (original wooden floors, specialist interior finishes, listed building features), this may support a conditional consent or a refusal — but be specific about the risk
Grounds that are unlikely to be reasonable include: a blanket policy of no pets regardless of type; a general preference not to have animals in the property; an assumption that all pets cause damage; or refusal based on the breed of a dog that is not a prohibited breed under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991. Each request must be assessed on its merits.
Conditions the landlord can attach to consent
Where consent is given, the Renters' Rights Act 2025 allows the landlord to impose reasonable conditions. The most important are:
- Pet damage insurance: The landlord can require the tenant to obtain and maintain a pet damage insurance policy that covers the cost of repairing any damage caused by the pet to the property, fixtures, or fittings. Specify the minimum policy value (e.g. cover of at least £5,000 for each incident), the insurer must be FCA-regulated, and the tenant must provide annual evidence of renewal
- Professional cleaning on vacation: The landlord can require professional end-of-tenancy cleaning for carpets, upholstery, and soft furnishings where a pet has been kept in the property. This should be built into the tenancy agreement or the consent letter
- Regular inspections: The landlord can carry out more frequent property inspections (with 24 hours' notice) where a pet is kept — typically quarterly rather than twice-yearly — to monitor for pet-related damage
- Specific pet only: Consent can be given for a specific named pet and does not automatically apply to a replacement or additional pet — any new pet requires a fresh request
The deposit cap (5 weeks' rent) is often insufficient to cover serious pet damage — chewed door frames, stained carpets, damaged flooring, and urine contamination can run to thousands of pounds. Pet damage insurance provides a funded recovery route beyond the deposit. Require it as a condition of every pet consent.
What to do if the tenant refuses to insure or breaches the consent conditions
If the tenant obtains consent but then fails to obtain or maintain the required insurance, or if the pet is replaced without a new request, the tenant is in breach of the consent conditions. These are also breaches of the tenancy agreement if the conditions were recorded in the agreement or the consent letter. You can:
- Serve written notice of the breach and require remedy within a reasonable period (typically 14 days for insurance)
- If the breach continues, issue a Section 8 notice relying on Ground 12 (breach of tenancy obligation) — the breach must be substantial and unremedied
- Claim for damage caused by the pet from the deposit and, where the deposit is insufficient, bring a county court claim for the balance — pet damage insurance evidence (or its absence) is relevant to the quantum of the claim