Renting with an animal used to depend almost entirely on the landlord's goodwill. A standard agreement said no pets, and that was usually the end of the conversation. Since 1 May 2026 a tenant in England has a statutory right to ask, and the landlord has to give a proper answer within a fixed period. This guide explains where that right comes from, what a request has to look like to start the clock, how the 28-day response period works in practice, what sort of reason is likely to make a refusal reasonable, and what a tenant can do when the answer never arrives.
Where the right to ask comes from
The Renters' Rights Act 2025 inserted a new section 16A into the Housing Act 1988. It gives an assured tenant in England an implied right to request the landlord's consent to keep a pet at the property, and it provides that consent must not be unreasonably refused. Like the rest of the tenancy reforms, it applies to tenancies that were already running on 1 May 2026 as well as to new ones, in the same way that section 21 was removed for everybody at once. You can read the provision in the Act itself.
The operative word is request. The Act does not stop a landlord from saying no where there is a genuine reason. What it removes is the ability to refuse for no reason, to refuse silently, or to treat an old blanket clause as the answer.
What counts as a request
The request has to be made in writing. Email is generally the better option because it timestamps itself. Beyond that the Act does not prescribe a form, but the content matters in practice, because a vague request invites a reply asking for more detail.
A request that is hard to refuse tends to cover:
- The species, breed, approximate adult size and age of the animal.
- How many animals, and whether this is in addition to anything already at the property.
- Where the animal will be kept, and what happens during the working day or when you are away.
- Vaccination, microchipping, neutering and insurance details if you have them, and a reference from a previous landlord if one exists.
Send it as a single dated message and keep a copy. If a dispute ever reaches a local authority or a court, the date of the request is the first thing anyone will want to establish.
The 28-day response period
The landlord must give or refuse consent in writing on or before the 28th day after the request. That is a short window by the standards of most landlord paperwork, and the date moves in only three situations: if the landlord reasonably asks for more information about the pet within that period, they then have until 7 days after the tenant provides it; if a superior landlord's consent is needed and the landlord asks for it within that period, they have until 7 days after hearing back; and the landlord and tenant can agree a later date. Otherwise it runs whether or not the landlord happens to be away or between agents.
A worked example. A tenant emails a request on Thursday 4 June 2026, describing a four-year-old neutered cat kept indoors. The 28 days run from the date of the request, so the landlord has until Thursday 2 July 2026 to respond. If the flat is leasehold and the head lease needs the freeholder's consent, the landlord should ask the freeholder before 2 July, and then has until 7 days after the freeholder replies. A reply sent on 10 July with no extension in play is late even if it is otherwise a perfectly reasonable refusal.
| Landlord response | Form | Where it leaves things |
|---|---|---|
| Consent | Must be in writing | The pet may be kept. Both sides should keep the email. |
| Refusal | Must be in writing | Effective only if the refusal is reasonable. The tenant can challenge the reason. |
| No reply within 28 days | None | No consent either, so the pet cannot simply move in. The landlord is in breach of the implied term, which a court can enforce. |
What a reasonable refusal looks like
The Act does not set out a closed list of good reasons, and it would be misleading to suggest one exists. Reasonableness depends on the property, the animal and the landlord's actual position. The examples below are illustrative rather than a legal test, but they show the shape of the argument.
A superior lease that genuinely forbids pets
Where the landlord holds a leasehold interest and the head lease prohibits animals, the landlord is not free to consent. That is a concrete, checkable constraint rather than a preference, and the Act itself names it as a reasonable reason to refuse. The written refusal should say which interest is affected, and the landlord should be able to produce the term if asked.
A property that is objectively unsuitable for the animal
Size, layout and access can matter. A large, high-energy dog in a small flat with no outdoor access is a different proposition from a house cat in a ground-floor flat with a garden. The point is the mismatch between this animal and this property, not a general view about pets.
By contrast, a refusal resting only on a standing policy, a general worry about wear and tear, or the fact that the agreement has always said no is much harder to defend. Write the reason down at the time, in terms specific enough that it would still make sense to a stranger reading it a year later.
Deposits, damage and conditions
The pet provisions sit alongside the existing deposit rules. Deposits must still be protected under the Housing Act 2004, and the Tenant Fees Act 2019 cap on the amount that can be taken still applies, and a pet is not a reason to sidestep them. Nor is it a route to more rent: a higher rent can only be achieved through the section 13 procedure described in rent increases explained, with its notice period and its once-a-year limit.
A tenant who keeps a pet remains responsible for the condition of the property under the ordinary terms of the tenancy, and the normal end-of-tenancy deductions process is unaffected.
If the landlord refuses or says nothing
Start by writing back. Ask for the reason in writing if it was given verbally. A great many refusals are reflexes rather than decisions, and a specific reply to a specific concern - the animal will not be left alone all day, the flat has its own entrance, here is a reference - often resolves it.
If it does not, the route is the court rather than a council fine. The duty to answer is a term implied into the tenancy, and a court can order the landlord to perform it. Pet requests are not among the duties councils can fine for, which are set out in what happens if you get it wrong. In time there will also be a compulsory landlord ombudsman able to deal with complaints of this kind, though that is still to come rather than a route available today - see the database and ombudsman guide.
What landlords should do about it now
Two practical changes. First, retire the flat no-pets clause from your template and replace it with wording that reflects the statutory process. The prescribed content of a tenancy agreement is covered in the written statement of terms. Second, treat pet requests as a diarised item rather than correspondence: log the date the request arrives, set a reminder for day 21, and reply in writing whatever the answer is. The cheapest possible compliance is a short written reply sent on time. The compliance checker covers the rest of the duties that are already live.
See which duties apply to your tenancy
The compliance checker walks through the duties that attach to a tenancy in England, including the pet response rule, the paperwork deadlines and the penalties for missing them. Free, and nothing you enter leaves your browser.
Check your obligationsFrequently asked questions
Does a no-pets clause in my tenancy agreement still apply?
A clause that purports to ban pets outright cannot displace the statutory right to make a request and to have it considered. The landlord still has to deal with a written request on its merits and cannot simply point at the clause as the reason for refusing.
What happens if my landlord never replies?
Silence is not consent, so you still need a written yes before the pet moves in. But a landlord who says nothing is in breach of a term the Act implies into every assured tenancy, because consent or refusal has to be given in writing by the deadline. Write again and keep the dates. If that fails, a court can order the landlord to deal with the request, and the landlord ombudsman is expected to handle complaints like this once it is running.
Can a landlord charge extra rent or a bigger deposit for a pet?
No. Deposits must still be protected, and the Tenant Fees Act 2019 cap on the amount a landlord can take still applies, so a pet is not a reason to exceed it. Rent can only be increased through the section 13 process, so a pet cannot be used as a reason to raise the rent outside that route.
Is a landlord allowed to refuse because the freeholder does not permit pets?
The Act itself names this as a reasonable reason to refuse, because the landlord genuinely cannot grant what the superior lease forbids. The landlord should say so in the written refusal and be able to point to the relevant term if asked.
Related guides
Based on the Renters' Rights Act 2025, SI 2026/421 and SI 2026/324, and official gov.uk guidance, verified September 2026. England only. This is general information, not legal advice - for advice on your own situation speak to a solicitor or a body such as Citizens Advice or Shelter. See the official government guide to the Act and the Act itself.