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Can I keep a pet?

39 quoted answers, each with its source

The short answer

Since Monday 2 March 2020, a Victorian renter must ask the rental provider for permission before keeping a pet, using Consumer Affairs Victoria's approved form; the new laws do not apply to a pet already in the rented home before that date. The rental provider must have a good reason to refuse and can refuse only by obtaining a VCAT order saying that refusal is reasonable; if the provider wants to refuse they must apply to VCAT within 14 days, and if they do not respond within 14 days consent is taken to have been given. A pet means any animal except an assistance dog, which is a dog trained to help a person with a disability, and a rental provider cannot charge a pet bond or give a notice to vacate for asking to have a pet. Rooming house residents can keep a pet only with the owner's permission, caravan park and residential park residents must follow their park rules, and a renter cannot be legally evicted just for having a pet when their agreement has a no pet clause, although VCAT has in some cases ordered removal.

Every part of this comes from the quotes below. How we write these.

What the rules actually say21

Quoted straight from Consumer Affairs Victoria, the Residential Tenancies Act or a tribunal.

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Regarding pets in rentals, a Victorian rental provider who wants to refuse consent for a pet must apply to VCAT within 14 days.

first-party
1 quote from 1 source
If your rental provider wants to refuse consent for a pet, they must apply to VCAT within 14 days.
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For pets in rentals, the documented position is that a Victorian rental provider cannot give a renter a notice to vacate for asking to have a pet.

first-party
2 quotes from 1 source
For example, a rental provider cannot give a renter notice to vacate for:
asking to have a pet
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Pets in rental properties in Victoria require renters to ask their rental provider for permission.

first-party
1 quote from 1 source
Renters who want to have a pet in the property must ask their rental provider (landlord) for permission.
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Regarding pets in rentals, Victorian rental providers must have a good reason to refuse a renter's request to keep a pet.

first-party
1 quote from 1 source
Rental providers must have a good reason to refuse the renter’s request. Rental providers can apply to VCAT for an order to refuse permission.
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if the rental provider does not respond at all within 14 days, the renter can keep the pet.

first-party
1 quote from 1 source
If the rental provider does not respond at all within the 14 days the renter can keep the pet.
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Victorian rental providers and owners cannot ask for an additional bond as a pet bond.

first-party
1 quote from 1 source
Rental providers and owners cannot ask for an additional bond as a ‘pet bond’.
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  • a pet means any animal except an assistance dog.
  • an assistance dog is a dog trained to help a person with a disability.
first-party
1 quote from 1 source
A pet means any animal except an assistance dog, which is a dog trained to help a person with a disability.
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If VCAT makes an order excluding a pet from a Victorian rental property, the renter has 14 days to comply with the order.

first-party
1 quote from 1 source
If VCAT makes an order excluding the pet from the property, the renter has 14 days to comply with the order.
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rooming house residents in Victoria can only keep a pet with the rooming house owner's permission.

first-party
1 quote from 1 source
Rooming house residents can only keep a pet with the rooming house owner’s permission.
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Residents of caravan parks and residential parks must follow their park rules in relation to pets.

first-party
1 quote from 1 source
Residents of caravan parks and residential parks must follow their park rules in relation to pets.
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A Victorian landlord cannot unreasonably refuse consent for a renter to keep a pet.

first-party
1 quote from 1 source
the landlord cannot unreasonably refuse consent
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For pets in rentals…

  • a Victorian landlord has 14 days from receiving a pet request to apply to VCAT for permission to refuse.
  • if a Victorian landlord does not apply to VCAT for permission to refuse within 14 days of receiving a pet request, consent to the pet request is taken to have been given.
first-party
1 quote from 1 source
the landlord has 14 days from receiving the request to apply to VCAT for permission to refuse, or consent is taken to have been given.
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The changes affecting pets in rental properties are part of wider reforms under the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2018.

first-party
1 quote from 1 source
The changes affecting pets in rental properties are part of wider reforms under the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2018.
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  • A Victorian landlord can refuse a pet request in rentals only by getting a VCAT order.
  • The VCAT order that allows refusal of a pet request in rentals must say that it is reasonable for the Victorian landlord to refuse the pet request.
1 quote from 1 source
The only way they can refuse is if they get a VCAT order that says it is reasonable for them to refuse.
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There is nothing under Victorian law requiring a renter to pay a pet bond.

1 quote from 1 source
There is nothing under the law requiring you to pay a ‘pet bond’ if you have a pet.
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Tenants Victoria states that a renter cannot be evicted just for having a pet when their agreement has a no pets clause.

1 quote from 1 source
Tenants Victoria believes that you cannot be evicted just for having a pet when your agreement has a ‘no pet’ clause.
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Pets in rentals that a renter had before Monday 2 March 2020 are not covered by the new Victorian pet laws.

1 quote from 1 source
If you had a pet in your rented home before Monday 2 March 2020 then the new laws don’t apply to you.
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Tenants Victoria welcomed the Victorian pet changes for pets in rentals in a media release issued on Friday 28 February 2020.

2 quotes from 1 source
Media Release: Friday 28 February 2020
Tenants Victoria has welcomed changes starting next week aimed at making it easier for Victorian renters to have pets.

Measured finding1

Something someone actually measured, with the method attached.

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For pets in rentals, a Victorian rental provider has 14 days, starting the day after they receive the pet request form, to make a decision.

first-party
1 quote from 1 source
The rental provider has 14 days (starting the day after they receive the form) to make a decision.

Practical effect3

What is observed to happen in practice, as distinct from what is documented.

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VCAT has in some cases ordered tenants to remove their pets from their homes.

medium confidence
1 quote from 1 source
The landlord could apply to VCAT for an order that you have breached your agreement by breaching the ‘no pet’ clause. But there is no notice to vacate for this reason and VCAT cannot legally evict you for having a pet in breach of your agreement. However, in some cases, VCAT has ordered tenants to remove their pets from their homes.
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Some Victorian landlords ask tenants to pay a pet bond if they have a pet.

1 quote from 1 source
Some landlords ask tenants to pay a ‘pet bond’ if they have a pet.
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A landlord or agent may try to threaten a tenant with eviction if the tenant does not get rid of a pet kept in breach of a rental agreement that contains a no pets clause and was signed before the new laws started.

medium confidence
1 quote from 1 source
for rental agreements with ‘no pet’ clauses that were signed before the new laws started, a landlord or agent may try to threaten a tenant with eviction if they do not get rid of a pet they are keeping in breach of their agreement

Changed on5

A dated change. This is where advice quietly stops being true.

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From Monday 2 March 2020, a Victorian tenant must…

  • ask the landlord before keeping a pet on the rented property.
  • use Consumer Affairs Victoria's approved form when asking the landlord before keeping a pet on the rented property.
first-party
2 quotes from 1 source
From Monday 2 March 2020:
a tenant must ask the landlord before they keep a pet on the rented property, using Consumer Affairs Victoria's approved form
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The Victorian Parliament passed the Consumer Legislation Amendment Act on 3 December 2019.

first-party
1 quote from 1 source
Most of the reforms start on 1 July 2020 but these changes are starting early, after the Victorian Parliament passed the Consumer Legislation Amendment Act on 3 December 2019.
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The laws in Victoria about having pets in rented homes changed on Monday 2 March 2020.

1 quote from 1 source
The laws in Victoria about having pets in rented homes changed on Monday 2 March 2020.
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The Victorian pet changes for pets in rentals started in the week after Friday 28 February 2020.

2 quotes from 1 source
Media Release: Friday 28 February 2020
Tenants Victoria has welcomed changes starting next week aimed at making it easier for Victorian renters to have pets.

Disputed between sources3

Sources that do not agree, presented without picking a winner.

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  • Turnbull Cook states that a landlord's refusal of a pet may be made on reasonable grounds.
  • Consumer Affairs Victoria states that a rental provider who does not agree should apply to VCAT.
  • Consumer Affairs Victoria states that a rental provider who does not agree should tell the renter within the 14 days.
medium confidencefirst-partyvendor
2 quotes from 2 sources
Refusal to allow the pet may only be made on reasonable grounds.
If they don’t agree, they should apply to VCAT and tell the renter they have done so within the 14 days.

Often said, but we could not find it in the rules6

Lots of people say this. We went looking for an official source that backs it up and could not find one, so treat it as something people repeat rather than something settled.

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RentBuzz states that Victoria was the first Australian state to introduce comprehensive protections for pets in rentals.

vendor
1 quote from 1 source
Victoria was the first Australian state to introduce such comprehensive protections for pet-owning renters.
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For pets in rentals, RentBuzz states that the burden falls on the landlord to demonstrate that their refusal of a pet request is reasonable.

vendor
1 quote from 1 source
It is important to understand that the burden falls on the landlord to demonstrate that their refusal is reasonable.
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Little Real Estate states that…

  • tenants have always needed to request permission from their landlord to keep pets.
  • landlords now cannot unreasonably refuse pets unless there is a practical reason.
vendor
1 quote from 1 source
Tenants have always needed to request permission from their landlord to keep pets in their properties, however now the new laws are in place so that landlords cannot unreasonably refuse pets, unless there is a practical reason.
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Turnbull Cook states that…

  • a landlord has 14 days commencing the day after receipt of the form to decide whether the pet may be kept.
  • refusal to allow the pet to be kept may only be made on reasonable grounds.
vendor
1 quote from 1 source
A landlord has 14 days commencing the day after receipt of the form to make a decision if the pet may be kept. Refusal to allow the pet may only be made on reasonable grounds.