Pets and the Renters' Rights Act: What Landlords Can (and Can't) Do Now

Pets are one of the Renters' Rights Act changes landlords feel most personally — and one where the final rules caught a lot of people out. Since spring 2026, a tenant has the right to request to keep a pet, and a landlord must not unreasonably refuse. That much was expected. The sting is what happened to the safety valve: an earlier plan to let landlords insist on pet-damage insurance was dropped from the final Act — so the obvious way to protect yourself against damage is off the table. Here's what you can and can't do, what counts as a reasonable refusal, and the one thing that genuinely protects you now. This is general guidance, not legal advice — confirm the current rules on GOV.UK.

The new right: request, and "don't unreasonably refuse"

A tenant can now make a formal request to keep a pet, and you have to consider it properly. You can't apply a blanket "no pets" policy, and you can't simply ignore the request — you're expected to respond in writing, with your reasons, within the statutory timeframe. The default is that consent should be given unless you have a genuine, defensible reason to refuse. In practice this flips the old position: the starting point is "yes, unless," not "no."

What counts as a reasonable refusal

"Unreasonable" is the key word — you can still say no where there's a real justification. Broadly, reasonable grounds tend to involve something outside your preference and rooted in the property or your obligations:

• A superior lease that forbids pets — for example a head lease or freeholder condition on a flat that you can't override.
• A property genuinely unsuitable for the specific animal — size, type or the nature of the home making it impractical.
• A request that's disproportionate to the property — the reasonableness test cuts both ways and depends on the specific pet and home.

What isn't reasonable is a flat refusal with no thought, or "I just don't want the hassle." If you refuse, your reason has to stand up — which is exactly why your written response matters.

What you can't do

It's worth being blunt about the closed doors, because assuming otherwise is where landlords get caught:

• You can't demand pet insurance from the tenant, or make consent conditional on it.
• You can't charge extra rent or a pet "premium" — treating a pet as a way to push the rent up is prohibited.
• You can't take a bigger deposit to cover a pet — the deposit cap still applies, pet or no pet.
• You can't unreasonably drag your feet — a non-response or an unjustified refusal is itself a breach.

Your remaining cushion for damage is the ordinary tenancy deposit, within the usual cap — so a thorough condition record at check-in matters more than ever, because it's what any end-of-tenancy deduction will rest on.

The record that protects you

With the financial levers removed, the thing you can control is documentation — and it's what makes an accept-or-refuse decision defensible. Keep:

• The tenant's written pet request, dated.
• Your written, reasoned response, served within the timeframe — whether a consent or a justified refusal.
• Any evidence behind a refusal — the superior-lease clause, or why the property is unsuitable.
• A detailed condition record at check-in and check-out, so a genuine damage claim against the deposit is evidenced.

What landlords should do now

1. Drop any blanket "no pets" wording from adverts and tenancy agreements — it's no longer lawful as an automatic rule.
2. Have a written process for pet requests, so each one gets a timely, reasoned answer.
3. Base refusals on real, documented grounds, not preference — and keep the evidence.
4. Tighten your check-in condition records, since the deposit is now your main protection against damage.
5. Verify the rules and penalties on GOV.UK before refusing a request or setting any pet-related term.

Pets fit the pattern of every recent reform: the easy financial fixes are gone, and what protects you is a clear, documented, even-handed process — the same discipline behind the other rules already in force, and behind why you can't simply raise the rent to price in the risk. Handle the request properly, write it down, and a pet becomes a non-event rather than a liability.

General guidance for UK landlords, not legal advice. The rules on tenant pet requests, reasonable refusal, deposits and pet-related charges are set by government and can change — always verify the current requirements and penalty levels at GOV.UK and take professional advice on a specific decision where needed.