Pet requests: you have to consider them
Since 1 May 2026 a tenant in England can ask to keep a pet, and the landlord must not unreasonably refuse. How the request works, what counts as reasonable, and what you can ask for in return.
England. Checked against the law on 29 September 2026. Information, not legal advice.
The rule
A tenant may request a pet in writing. You must respond in writing within 28 days. If you ask the tenant for more information, or need consent from a superior landlord (which you must ask for within the 28 days), you have until seven days after you get the answer, if that is later. You may refuse only if it is reasonable to do so, and a blanket "no pets" clause no longer works.
What is reasonable
Likely reasonable: the head lease of the flat forbids pets and you cannot get consent; the animal is dangerous or unsuitable for the size of the home; a previous pet caused serious damage. Not reasonable: a general dislike of animals, or "the carpets are new".
What you can ask for
- Sensible conditions: the animal is registered with a vet, not left alone for long periods, fouling is cleaned.
You cannot require pet insurance, charge a pet fee or take a larger deposit. An earlier version of the Bill allowed landlords to require pet damage insurance, but that was left out of the Act as passed, so any such charge is a banned payment under the Tenant Fees Act 2019. The five-week deposit cap still applies, and damage by a pet is claimed from the ordinary deposit. If the tenant chooses to insure, that is up to them.
How LevelMoves helps
The PA logs the request with the date, drafts a reply for you to approve, and tracks the deadline. Whether to accept is your decision; accepting a pet is on the ask-first list, so it will never say yes on your behalf.
Questions landlords ask
Can I still say no pets in my advert?
You can state a preference, but you cannot enforce a blanket ban. A tenant can request a pet after moving in and you must consider it reasonably.
Can I charge a higher deposit for a pet?
No. The deposit cap of five weeks' rent applies whatever the tenant keeps. You cannot require pet insurance or a pet fee either: that part of the Bill was left out of the Act.
What if the freeholder bans pets in the lease?
A head lease that forbids pets, where the freeholder will not consent, is a reasonable ground to refuse. Keep the correspondence.
More guides
What changed for landlords on 1 May 2026
The Renters' Rights Act came into force in England on 1 May 2026. Section 21 is gone, every tenancy is now periodic, and rent rises follow one procedure. Here is what a self-managing landlord actually has to do differently.
The assured periodic tenancy explained
Every private tenancy in England is now an assured periodic tenancy. What that is, how it starts, how it ends, and what your agreement can and cannot say.
How to raise the rent (once a year, section 13)
In England you can raise the rent once every twelve months, by a section 13 notice on the prescribed form with two months' notice. Here is the procedure and what the tenant can do about it.
Deposits: the cap, the 30 days and the prescribed information
A tenancy deposit in England is capped at five weeks' rent, must be protected in a government-approved scheme within 30 days, and the tenant must get the prescribed information. Miss any of that and you face a penalty of up to three times the deposit.
Stop reading. Start uploading.
The PA keeps every date in this guide for you and asks before anything that costs money.