Speaking at a state parliamentary inquiry into pounds last week,RSPCA senior manager of government relations Troy Wilkie said it had seen an increase in pets being abandoned because their owners did not think they could get a rental.
“About one in five[animals] are being brought in due to rental concerns – being unable to,or thinking they can’t,get a rental with that pet – and about half,50 per cent,are due to cost-of-living pressures,” he said,noting services had seen a “huge uplift” in surrenders for these reasons compared to previous years.
Stephen Albin,CEO of the Animal Welfare League NSW,told the hearing it was seeing similar trends.
The NSW state government embarked on a consultation period for major reforms to renters’ rights in July. Ideas considered by an accompanying consultation paper included removing no-grounds evictions,implementing a portable bond scheme and making it easier for tenants to have pets.
A pet can currently only be kept by a tenant in a property if the landlord agrees,unless it is an assistance animal,such as a guide dog. It is legal to refuse a rental application because the prospective tenant has a pet.
The paper posits adopting rules similar to those introduced in Queensland last year,where tenants must submit a request to have a pet to their landlord,which can only be refused for a set of prescribed reasons or with a tribunal order. No response within 21 days indicates approval.
Landlords would be able to impose reasonable conditions on the tenant,such as paying for carpet cleaning or requiring the animal is kept outside if it is an animal usually kept outside,such as a chicken.