How the Renters' Rights Act 2025 changed pet requests
The headline change is a shift from landlord discretion to documented reasonableness. Before the Act, many landlords ran a blanket no-pets policy and refused pets outright. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 ends the blanket ban once a tenancy is running. The Act creates an implied term in every assured tenancy: tenants may keep pets if they ask and you consent, and as a landlord you must not unreasonably withhold that consent without a genuine, evidenced reason. In practice, that turns the default from "no pets" into "consider each request fairly and allow pets where you reasonably can".
The definition of a pet is deliberately broad. The Housing Act 1988 now defines a pet as an animal kept mainly for personal interest, companionship, ornamental purposes or any combination of these.
Tenant demand for pet friendly homes has long outstripped supply and the Act is the Government's attempt to close that gap. It gives renters stronger rights to keep pets while preserving landlords' ability to refuse for real reasons. For landlords, the result is more tenants with pets, and more pet requests to assess properly.
How the pet request process works
The process is structured and time limited. Understanding each step is the first defence against an avoidable mistake:
- The tenant makes a written request. A valid request must be in writing and must include a description of the specific pet. A verbal mention does not start the clock.
- You must respond in writing within 28 days. You must give or refuse permission in writing on or before the 28th day after the date of the request.
- You can extend the deadline in defined ways. If you reasonably ask for further information about the pet, you can delay your decision until the 7th day after the tenant supplies it. If keeping the pet needs a superior landlord's consent and you seek it within the window, you can delay until the 7th day after that superior landlord responds. You and the tenant can also agree a later date.
The single most important step for any landlord is to diarise the 28 day deadline the moment a request arrives. Miss it, and you weaken your position before the question of reasonableness is even reached.
Can you refuse a tenant a pet?
Yes, but only on reasonable grounds, given in writing, within the response window. You retain the power to refuse permission for a pet, but the power is now conditional. A refusal must be reasonable on the facts of this pet and this property, not a reflex. Landlords who allow pets where they reasonably can, and refuse only where they genuinely should, are the ones who stay on the right side of the Act.
The risk of getting it wrong is concrete. If a tenant believes you have refused permission unreasonably, or ignored their request to keep a pet, they can take the matter to court. The court can order specific performance, meaning it can order you to allow the pet, and it can order you to pay the tenant's costs and could even result in potential fines. An arbitrary or late "no" is therefore an expensive position for landlords to defend.
The real question is not whether you can ever refuse, but whether your particular reason counts as reasonable. The rest of this guide answers that for landlords handling pet requests.
If your tenant has requested a pet, AST Assistance can help you understand your rights to refuse it and how to stay compliant.
Reasons you can refuse a pet (reasonable grounds)
Grounds most likely to be accepted
There are sound, evidenced reasons landlords can refuse a pet request, and the Government guidance and the Act itself set out the firmest examples. A reasonable refusal is one you can document and defend. The grounds most likely to stand up include:
- A superior landlord or head lease prohibits pets. The Act expressly treats it as reasonable to refuse where allowing the pet would breach an agreement with a superior landlord, or where a superior lease bans pets without consent and you have taken reasonable steps to obtain that consent without success.
- Freeholder or leasehold restrictions. If you are a leaseholder and the freeholder does not allow pets, that is a recognised reasonable ground.
- The property is genuinely unsuitable for the animal. Government guidance accepts it may be reasonable to refuse where the property is too small for a large pet or several pets. Think of a large dog in a small flat with no outdoor space.
- An existing tenant has a genuine allergy. Where another tenant in a shared property has an allergy, that is a reasonable ground to refuse.
- The pet is illegal to keep. An animal that is unlawful to own, such as dog breeds listed in the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, is a fair reason to refuse a request.
- An unreasonable number or type of animals. A request for several pets at once, or for an animal plainly unsuited to the home, can be a reasonable ground to refuse.
The distinction that matters is reasonable versus arbitrary. The Dogs Trust advises that dogs can be kept in smaller homes provided their welfare needs are met, and that a garden is beneficial but not essential. The Dogs Trust also notes that the assessment should focus on the specific animal and property rather than a blanket view of pets. So "no garden" alone is not an automatic refusal. The assessment is about this specific pet in this specific property, supported by evidence such as a lease clause or a view on suitability.
Reasons that are not usually reasonable
Government guidance is equally clear about the grounds that will not normally justify refusing permission. It is generally not reasonable to refuse because you:
- Do not like pets
- Have had issues with previous tenants who had pets
- Had previous tenants with pets that caused damage
- Have general concerns about potential damage
- Think a pet might affect future rentals or future tenants
- Know that the tenant needs an assistance animal
These reasons fail because they are not about the request in front of you. A worry about future rentals, or a general concern about damage based on the past, is considered speculation rather than evidence. If your only reason sits on this list, expect a refusal to be overturned.
Assistance animals are not classed as pets
A guide dog or other assistance dog trained to help a disabled person is an auxiliary aid, not an animal kept for companionship. Refusing an assistance animal can amount to disability discrimination under the Equality Act 2010, which sits alongside the Renters' Rights Act here.
An assistance animal request should not be run through the ordinary pet requests process as if refusal were on the table. The safer course for landlords is to recognise the request, confirm the role the assistance dog plays and grant permission.
What about emotional support animals?
Emotional support animals occupy a different position, and landlords should handle these requests carefully. In the UK, emotional support animals do not have the same automatic legal status as a trained assistance dog. That means an emotional support animal is generally considered on a case by case basis, like any other pet request, rather than carrying the automatic Equality Act protection that an assistance animal enjoys. Assess the request reasonably, but do not assume an emotional support animal must be treated identically to a guide dog.
AST Assistance will guide you on how to identify whether your tenant’s pet would be classed as an assistance animal and your rights to refuse should they request to keep it on your property.
What you must prove to reject a tenant's request for a pet
Because tenants can challenge an unreasonable refusal, the burden in practice falls on you to show your decision was sound. To refuse a request safely, you should be able to demonstrate that the refusal was:
- Reasonable on the facts of this pet and this property, and tied to one of the recognised grounds above.
- Given in writing within the 28 day deadline, or within a properly applied extension.
- Documented, with the reason stated. The Act does not strictly require you to give reasons, but a written refusal that sets out the reasonable grounds is far easier to defend.
- Supported by evidence, such as the superior lease clause, the freeholder's position or a clear view on the property's suitability.
- Keep records throughout: the tenant's written request, any further information you requested, correspondence with a superior landlord, and a note of how you reached your decision. If a refusal is later questioned, that file is your defence.
The tenant's challenge route
Tenants can complain to you and, if unsatisfied, apply to the court, which can order the pets be allowed and order you to pay costs. A Private Rented Sector Ombudsman is also expected, with the NRLA indicating it will arrive from 2028, after which it will be able to investigate how a pet request was handled. For now, the court is the live route, which is why a poorly evidenced refusal carries real risk.
Your rights as a landlord
The Renters' Rights Act strengthens tenant rights, but landlords keep meaningful protections. This is also where two costly myths need busting, because both could leave you in breach of the law.
- Myth one: you can charge a pet deposit: you cannot. No separate pet deposit or additional pet fee is permitted, and the Renters' Rights Act did not change the deposit cap. Under the Tenant Fees Act 2019 it remains five weeks' rent where the annual rent is under £50,000, and six weeks' rent where it is £50,000 or more. The standard tenancy deposit is your route to recover pet damage beyond fair wear and tear.
- Myth two: you can require the tenant to take out pet insurance: you cannot. The original pet insurance clause was removed from the legislation before it passed, so requiring tenants to hold pet insurance, or recovering the cost of pet insurance from them, would breach the Tenant Fees Act 2019. Landlords may take out their own cover voluntarily and at their own expense, but many standard landlord policies exclude pet damage, so check yours before relying on it.
Your protections as a landlord
Your genuine protections to protect your investments from damage by your tenant’s pets or unauthorised pets are these:
- The tenancy deposit: use it to cover pet damage beyond fair wear and tear at the end of the tenancy, supported by a thorough inventory.
- Recovering damage beyond the deposit: where pet related damage exceeds the deposit, you can pursue the difference. You cannot, however, claim for the same damage twice, for example from both insurance and the deposit, as that may amount to fraud.
- Breach and Section 8: if a tenant keeps a pet without seeking consent, or after a reasonable refusal, and the tenancy agreement contains an appropriate pet clause, that is a breach. With Section 21 now abolished, possession runs through Section 8, Ground 12, a discretionary ground where the court decides whether the breach justifies possession.
- One further point: consent, once given for a specific pet, cannot be withdrawn. If a pet later becomes a nuisance, you manage that through your tenancy conditions and, if needed, Section 8 on the anti-social behaviour ground. For help recovering costs, see what damage is a tenant liable for, and for the breach route, our Section 8 eviction service.
How to handle a pet request properly
A defensible decision starts with a clear process, not a last minute scramble. Treating each request on its own merits, with good records, is what protects you. A sound pet request process looks like this:
- Acknowledge the written request in writing and make a note of the deadline date.
- Assess suitability against the property and the specific pet.
- Request further information or seek superior landlord consent within the window if needed, noting the relevant 7 day extension.
- Decide in writing, granting permission with conditions for the named pet, or refusing on documented reasonable grounds.
- Update the paperwork. Record the granted pet, set pet policy conditions in the tenancy, and book routine inspections.
Prevention and good record-keeping
Good prevention also means a thorough check in and check out inventory with dated photographs or videos, sensible clauses drafted into your tenancy agreement, and protecting the deposit correctly so you can recover any pet damage at the end. A clear, repeatable process is worth far more than a blanket ban the Act no longer supports. For the wider picture, our Renters' Rights Act compliance service helps landlords stay compliant.
Can you still advertise a property as "no pets"?
You can advertise "no pets" and decline a prospective tenant who owns pets, because the right to request applies to sitting tenants, not applicants. In practice, though, a "no pets" advert offers little protection, since tenants can request to keep a pet once moved in and landlords must then consider it on a case by case basis. It may also push tenants to conceal pets rather than ask, which serves neither party. Where landlords are willing to allow suitable pets for the property, advertising accordingly will attract better-matched tenants from the outset.
Can you refuse permission for a second pet later?
Consent attaches to the specific pet you approved. If a tenant who already has permission for one pet wants another, they must make a fresh request, and you assess that new pet request on its own merits. You can grant permission for one and decline another where the grounds genuinely differ.
Do the same rules apply to every kind of animal?
The same rules apply to any animal that meets the broad definition of a pet, from a dog to a rabbit. The reasonableness test is what flexes: what is reasonable for a small caged animal differs from what is reasonable for a large dog. You should assess each request against the property and the specific animal.
How AST Assistance can help
Handling a pet request well is part legal judgement and part process, and getting it wrong can lead to a court order, a costs bill or even significant fines. AST Assistance is a landlord consultancy. We help you assess whether a refusal is reasonable, manage the request and response within the statutory deadline, and document the decision so it stands up if challenged.
Where a tenant keeps a pet without consent and you need to act on a breach, we advise you and instruct trusted independent solicitors to handle any formal proceedings. We are a consultancy, not a firm of solicitors, so you get clear, practical guidance backed by the right legal support when it is required.
Have a pet request to handle, or unsure whether your refusal will hold? Request a call back using the form below, or call AST Assistance on 01706 619954. We will review your position and set out your options as a landlord.
