More landlords bucking tradition to allow pet

With dog Benji and three birds in tow, Patricia is relieved that she was upfront about having the animals and thrilled with her new property.
“When I told agents I had pets, most wanted me to apply for the property so the animal request could be decided by the owner or body corporate but I didn’t want to have multiple applications out there,” she said.
“When my daughter and I finally found a place where pets were welcome, we felt like we’d won the lottery.”
Rental supply is at its lowest level in two decades and Andrew Colagiuri, who has been in property management for nearly 20 years and founder of property management tool FLK IT OVER, says a growing number of tenants are worried about being rejected if they have pets so may not be upfront at the beginning.
“The data shows demand for pets in rentals is steadily increasing by three per cent a year since 2017 with dogs most popular followed by cats then birds,” he said.
Andrew says one in four tenancy leases now include a pet clause compared to a decade ago.
“When Covid started we saw a dramatic spike in requests for tenants to be allowed to keep chickens, dogs and cats and that spike is continuing,” he said.
“Despite the shortage of rentals, many landlords are embracing it, partly because of changes to legislation but also because it’s better to find a quality tenant even if it means allowing a pet.”