Section 10 — Pet requests

The pet-request regime introduced by the Renters' Rights Act 2025 is one of the rule changes most likely to catch landlords by surprise. Pre-1st May, “no pets” was a default tenancy clause that many landlords never thought twice about. From 1st May 2026, a blanket no-pets policy is no longer enforceable. Tenants have a statutory right to request a pet, and landlords have a statutory duty to respond reasonably and within a fixed window.

The mechanics sit in two new sections inserted into the Housing Act 1988: Section 16A(the tenant's right to make the request) and Section 16B(the landlord's right to refuse, on reasonable grounds, or to set reasonable conditions).

The 28-day written response window

When a tenant makes a written pet request, the landlord has 28 days to respond in writing. Silence is not a polite no. Silence is treated as a breach of the landlord's statutory duty under Section 16B and exposes the landlord to enforcement action.

The 28 days runs from the date of the tenant's written request. If the request is unclear — the breed, the size, whether there is one pet or several — the landlord can use the response window to ask for more information rather than refuse outright. That is a valid use of the 28 days; an extension to ask for details is permitted, provided the request for details is itself in writing and reasonable.

What you can refuse for, and what you cannot

Section 16B requires the landlord's refusal to be reasonable. The Act does not define reasonable exhaustively, but the contours are clear from the statutory scheme and the early Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities guidance:

Reasonable grounds for refusal

• The size of the property genuinely cannot accommodate the specific pet (a Great Dane in a studio flat).
• The freeholder's lease prohibits pets at the property and the landlord cannot vary the lease.
• The property has shared communal areas governed by a Resident Management Company that prohibits pets.
• A specific medical or allergy reason connected to the property (rare in practice but recognised in guidance).

Not reasonable

• A blanket no-pets policy across a portfolio.
• A general preference against pets where the property is suitable.
• The tenant declining to take out pet damage insurance (see below).
• A speculative concern about damage where the tenant has offered reasonable mitigations.

Pet damage insurance — what you can ask, and what you cannot

Landlords are entitled to ask the tenant to arrange pet damage insurance as a condition of consent. This is permitted by the Act. What is not permitted is to refuse consent solely on the basis that the tenant has declined the insurance. The distinction matters: the insurance is a request you can put on the table as part of a reasonable condition, not a hard pre-condition that allows you to bin the request if the tenant says no.

In practice this means that if you do want pet insurance, frame it as a condition of consent (with the consent itself being granted), not as the gate that decides whether you grant consent at all.

Consent, once given, is irrevocable

The single most important point landlords misread. Once you grant consent for a specific pet, that consent cannot be withdrawn for the duration of the tenancy. You cannot decide six months later that you have changed your mind. You cannot revoke consent because the tenancy goes periodic, or because there is a change in landlord, or because you sell the property to a new freeholder.

Consent is also pet-specific. Consent for a named small dog does not extend to a second dog, or to a different species, or to the same dog's offspring. A new pet means a new request and a new 28-day response cycle.

The three response paths

Within the 28 days, the landlord has three possible responses, and the right one depends on the request:

1. Approve

Approve in writing. State the named pet (species, breed, size, any identifying detail). Set reasonable conditions if required — damage insurance, professional cleaning at end of tenancy, notice to the freeholder if needed. Note the date. Keep the record.

2. Refuse

Refuse in writing with a stated reasonable ground. Generic wording does not satisfy the statutory test — the refusal must be tied to a specific reason that an objective observer would recognise as reasonable. “Property unsuitable” without more is not a reason. “Property is a top-floor studio with no outdoor access; a Labrador cannot reasonably be accommodated here” is.

3. Request more information

If the tenant's request lacks the detail you need to assess — what pet, what age, what size — ask in writing within the 28 days. The clock pauses while the tenant responds. Once they do, you have a reasonable balance of the 28 days to make your final call. Keep the request and the response in writing; verbal exchanges do not count.

What “in writing” means in 2026

Email is fine. SMS with the full text is fine. A letter is fine. A WhatsApp message is fine for evidential purposes if both sides have used it for tenancy correspondence. What is not fine is a verbal conversation followed by silence, or a phone call where you give consent and assume that closes the matter.

The reason: if the tenancy later turns into a dispute over the pet, the burden is on the landlord to evidence that they responded within 28 days. A WhatsApp screenshot with a date is evidence. A “we spoke about it on the phone” recollection is not.

Practical mistakes to avoid

• Assuming a no-pets clause in a pre-1st-May tenancy agreement still binds. It does not — Section 16A overrides it.
• Refusing solely because the tenant will not take out pet insurance. Insurance is a permitted condition; refusal solely on this basis is not reasonable.
• Letting the 28 days lapse and assuming the tenant will not notice. Silence is the strongest evidence of breach.
• Granting consent verbally, in passing, and then arguing later that no formal consent was given. Verbal consent is still consent and it cannot then be revoked.
• Treating consent for one pet as open-ended consent for any pet the tenant subsequently wants. It is not.

This page is general guidance, drafted to reflect the requirements of the Renters' Rights Act 2025. It is not legal advice on a specific tenancy. Pet disputes can escalate quickly into formal complaints; if the request involves a leasehold property with an awkward freeholder, get named legal advice on the lease before responding.