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Since 1 May 2026 the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 gives tenants an implied right to request to keep a pet, and a landlord may not unreasonably refuse. This is one of the most misunderstood changes in the Act, because a blanket “no pets” position — in the tenancy agreement or in the advert — is no longer lawful. You can still say no, but only with a specific, reasonable and defensible ground, given in writing. This checker walks through the common reasons and shows whether a refusal is likely to hold up.

The clock matters as much as the reason. Under section 11 you must give or refuse consent in writing on or before the 28th day after the tenant’s written request. If you reasonably ask the tenant for more information about the pet within that window, you get a further seven days once they reply. Where keeping the pet would need a superior landlord’s consent — for example a freeholder on a leasehold flat — the deadline extends until seven days after that decision. Miss the deadline and you risk being treated as having unreasonably refused.

What counts as a reasonable ground is narrow and fact-specific. A superior lease or your own leasehold genuinely prohibiting pets is the strongest. A property being genuinely unsuitable for the particular animal — a large, active dog in a small studio with no outdoor space — can work, but it must be specific to that animal and that home, not a general worry about mess. A documented history of damage from a previous pet kept by the same tenant can also support a refusal if you have the evidence.

What does not count is just as important. “I’d rather not have pets”, generic concern about wear and tear, or a standard “no pets” clause are not reasonable grounds on their own. If your only reason is one of these, the safer route is to consent and manage the risk through a condition rather than to refuse and risk a challenge at the new Private Rented Sector Ombudsman or the tribunal, where the burden of showing reasonableness falls on you.

The Act gives you a practical safeguard: you may make consent conditional on the tenant maintaining pet damage insurance, or on the tenant paying your reasonable cost of obtaining such insurance. This is a specific permitted exception to the Tenant Fees Act→ 2019, which otherwise bans most landlord charges. Used well, it lets you say yes to the pet while protecting the property — which is usually a stronger position than a contestable refusal.

Whatever you decide, document it. Record the date of the request, your written decision and the specific reasons, and keep the thread. If a refusal is ever challenged, a dated, reasoned paper trail is the difference between a defensible decision and a finding that you unreasonably refused.