Hiding pets still a trend despite increasing landlord approval

At the time, Kevin Anderson, the Minister for Better Regulation, said that the changes to the law were based on feedback from a wide range of people and showed a fair way to keep pets in strata for both residents and owners’ corporations.

According to new statistics from FLK IT OVER, there has been an increase in the number of renters requesting permission to keep animals on their property, and landlords are now more likely to grant permission.

Since 2017, the demand for pets in rentals has continuously increased by 3 per cent every year.

FLK IT OVER’s own tenancy data over the past two years shows that one in four tenancy leases included a pet clause, compared to a decade ago when no pets allowed was the default position by landlords.

According to the company’s founder Andrew Colagiuri, “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”.

“Dogs are by far the most popular pet with over 35,000 leases signed through the FLK IT OVER platform, including at least one dog, followed by cats with 8,000 leases, which often come in a pair.

“For landlords, this increasing demand is important to take note of if they want to realise their full occupancy and maximise their rent potential by appealing to the largest market,” Mr Colagiuri said.

Even with the social isolation impacts of COVID ending, and the current shortage of rental properties, he also shared that landlords are not reverting to the no-pets policy. ”Instead they 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,” he said.

But while landlord attitudes are changing, Mr Colagiuri also pointed out that some tenants are still concerned about being rejected if they have a pet, and may not disclose this information upfront. 

“There are still many tenants who home a pet midway through their lease and hide it for fear of being not allowed to keep it,” he imparted.