Tenant reference
Pet Requests
a right to askHow the new statutory right to a pet works under the Renters' Rights Act 2025
Every tenant has a statutory right under the Renters' Rights Act 2025 to request permission to keep a pet at a rented property, and the landlord can no longer unreasonably refuse.
Start here
The mechanism is section 16A and section 16B of the Housing Act 1988, inserted by section 11 of the RRA and in force since 1 May 2026. The framework gives the tenant a statutory way to make the request, gives the landlord a defined period to answer in writing, names two circumstances in which a refusal is reasonable, and lets a court order a landlord to honour the term. The right is not absolute. A landlord can still say no on reasonable grounds. A landlord cannot, however, make consent conditional on pet insurance or on any extra payment: the Tenant Fees Act 2019 has not been amended to allow either. This page sets out the operational rules, the timeframes, and the route tenants and landlords should follow on a Harvey W James managed property. For tenant pet requests on a managed property, email lettings@harveywjames.com.
The origin
Where the right comes from
Before the RRA, whether a tenant could keep a pet was a matter of the tenancy agreement. Many tenancy agreements contained absolute "no pets" clauses, and a tenant who took on a pet without permission was in breach of the tenancy. The RRA changes the position in two ways. First, section 16A of the Housing Act 1988 (inserted by RRA s.11) makes it an implied term of every assured tenancy (social housing excepted) that the tenant may keep a pet if they ask in writing and the landlord consents. Second, the landlord must give or refuse that consent in writing within a statutory period, and consent is not to be unreasonably refused (s.16A(1)).
The right applies to all assured periodic tenancies under the post-RRA regime, including tenancies that were originally created as assured shorthold tenancies before 1 May 2026 and have since converted to periodic. A "no pets" clause written into the tenancy agreement does not override the statutory right; the statutory right takes precedence over inconsistent contractual terms.
The process
How a pet request runs
A tenant who is asking about more than one pet should make a single request that lists all the pets. The 28-day statutory response period (see below) runs from the date the request is received, not the date each pet is named, so consolidating into one request is operationally simpler for both parties.
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1The tenant asks
The tenant makes the request in writing, specifying the pet they propose to keep. On a managed property the route is to email lettings@harveywjames.com.
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2The landlord responds · within 28 days
The landlord must give or refuse consent in writing on or before the 28th day after the request. The clock can extend where the landlord reasonably asks for more information, needs a superior landlord's consent, or agrees a later date with the tenant. Silence is not consent: the Act contains no deemed-consent rule.
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3Grant, or refuse on reasonable grounds
The landlord grants the request, or refuses on a reasonable ground — the Act names a superior landlord's or head-lease prohibition as one. Consent cannot be conditioned on pet insurance or on an extra payment: the Tenant Fees Act 2019 forbids both.
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4Unreasonable refusal is a breach
An unreasonable refusal breaches the implied term. In proceedings brought by the tenant, the court may order specific performance of the obligation (s.16B(5)).
Step one
The statutory request — how a tenant makes one
The tenant makes the request in writing, addressed to the landlord (or to the landlord's agent if the property is managed). On a Harvey W James managed property, the route is to email lettings@harveywjames.com. The request must specify the pet the tenant proposes to keep. Best practice (and what we ask for at HWJ) is to include species, breed, age, expected adult size, and a short note on how the pet will live in the property. Where the pet is a dog or cat, attach any veterinary registration or microchip records the tenant already holds. The tenant does not have to provide character references for the pet, but volunteering relevant information at the request stage typically accelerates the decision and reduces follow-up exchanges.
The clock
The 28-day statutory response window
Section 16A(1)(c) of the Housing Act 1988 (inserted by RRA s.11) requires the landlord to give or refuse consent in writing on or before the 28th day after the date of the request. The Act does not oblige the landlord to give reasons, but a refusal has to be reasonable, so we always state the ground. The clock can move in three ways. Where the landlord reasonably asks for further information about the pet within the 28 days — the breed, say, or veterinary records — the landlord may delay until the 7th day after the tenant provides it; if the tenant never provides it, the landlord is not required to answer (s.16A(2)). Where the head-lease means a superior landlord's consent is needed and the landlord seeks it within the 28 days, the landlord may delay until the 7th day after the superior landlord answers (s.16A(3)). And the landlord and tenant may agree a later date between themselves (s.16A(4)). Where more than one applies, the latest date governs (s.16A(5)). There is no deemed consent: a landlord who misses the deadline is in breach of the implied term, and the remedy is the court's (s.16B(5)), not an automatic yes.
On managed properties we operate to a target of 14 days for a first response. The statutory 28 days is a maximum; tenants in a stable tenancy generally do not want to wait the full period, and landlords who respond promptly retain goodwill on the renewal cycle. For a routine request on a property without strong contraindications (e.g. a one-bedroom flat with strict no-pet building rules), the response is typically same week.
The limits
What counts as a reasonable refusal
The Act names two circumstances in which refusal is reasonable — where keeping the pet would put the landlord in breach of an agreement with a superior landlord, and where the head-lease requires the superior landlord's consent and the landlord has taken reasonable steps to obtain it without success (s.16B(4)) — and says the reasonable circumstances "include" those, so the list is not closed. Beyond the two named circumstances, the Act does not define reasonableness; a court decides it on the facts. The categories below are how we frame the assessment on a managed property. They are not statutory definitions.
- Building-rules prohibition. Where the property is a leasehold flat and the head-lease or building regulations prohibit pets (or prohibit the specific species), the landlord has a reasonable ground to refuse. We verify the head-lease position before responding. A blanket "no pets in flats" position from a freeholder is itself sometimes open to challenge under the RRA, but at the level of a managed-property response, the leasehold restriction is a sufficient ground.
- Property unsuitability. A large dog in a studio flat, an exotic reptile that requires a controlled-environment enclosure the property cannot accommodate, or a pet whose physical needs the property cannot meet. The threshold is genuine unsuitability, not personal preference.
- Damage risk out of proportion to the property. A pet whose likely wear on the specific property is out of proportion to what a tenancy deposit capped at five weeks' rent can cover. This is a narrow category and it has to be argued on the particular animal and the particular flat, not on a general fear of damage.
- Health, safety, or hygiene grounds. Pets prohibited under the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976, banned breeds under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, or species whose presence creates a documented health or safety risk to other occupants or neighbours.
- Documented prior breach. Where the same tenant has had a previous pet at the property without authorisation and there is evidence of damage, nuisance, or breach of conditions, that history is a reasonable ground for refusing a new request.
Grounds we do not treat as reasonable on a managed property, because none of them is specific to the pet or the property: a blanket "no pets" policy; landlord personal preference; a generalised concern about wear and tear; and a fear of damage that is not anchored in evidence about the tenant's history or the specific animal.
The condition
Pet insurance and deposits — what the law allows
A landlord cannot make consent conditional on the tenant taking out pet damage insurance, and cannot take out cover and pass the premium on. Whatever was proposed while the Bill was going through Parliament, the Act as passed allows neither. Section 1(3)(b) of the Tenant Fees Act 2019 forbids a landlord from requiring a tenant to enter into a contract of insurance with a third party in connection with the tenancy, section 2(3)(b) forbids a letting agent from doing the same, and Schedule 1 lists no pet-related permitted payment. Any "pet insurance" condition in a tenancy agreement or a consent letter is therefore a prohibited requirement, and we do not use one. A tenant is free to insure their own pet if they wish; that is their choice, not a term.
The deposit does not change either. Schedule 1, paragraph 2 of the Tenant Fees Act 2019 caps a tenancy deposit at five weeks' rent where the annual rent is under £50,000 (six weeks' rent at or above it), and any excess is a prohibited payment. There is no pet top-up. Pet-related damage at the end of the tenancy is claimed from the ordinary deposit under the ordinary rules, with the inventory and check-out report as the evidence.
If you disagree
When the tenant disagrees with the decision
If the landlord refuses the request and the tenant believes the refusal is unreasonable, or the landlord does not answer at all, the tenant's remedy is in the court: section 16B(5) provides that in proceedings in which a tenant alleges a breach of the implied term, the court may order specific performance of the obligation — that is, order the landlord to give the consent. The court will look at the request, the response, the ground given, and the circumstances of the property and the tenancy. The Act gives no role to the First-tier Tribunal on a pet request, and it treats no silence as consent. On a managed property we would rather never reach that point: a refusal from us carries its ground in writing, and a request that has gone quiet can be chased at lettings@harveywjames.com.
Separately from the court, the Property Redress Scheme is the route for complaints about how Harvey W James (as agent) handled the request. The PRS membership and the route to the Ombudsman are set out in the Internal Complaints Procedure.
At check-out
What happens at the end of the tenancy
At check-out, any pet-related damage is assessed alongside the standard end-of-tenancy inspection, against the inventory and the check-out report. It is claimed from the tenancy deposit under the ordinary deposit rules; there is no separate pet fund and no insurance the tenant was required to hold. Any loss above the deposit is pursued from the tenant in the usual way, and a landlord who holds rent and legal protection should check what their own policy covers (see Rent Protection). Fair wear and tear is excluded from any claim under the standard inventory and check-out methodology.
The wider regime
How this fits with the rest of the post-RRA framework
The pet right sits inside the wider RRA reform package: assured periodic tenancies (Part 1 of the Act), the rent-in-advance limits (sections 8 and 9), the rental bidding ban (section 56), the abolition of Section 21, the Section 8 grounds (see the Section 8 grounds explainer), and Awaab's Law (see the Awaab's Law explainer; not yet in force for private tenancies, and no date set). Sections 16A and 16B came into force on 1 May 2026, the same day as the periodic-regime switch (S.I. 2026/421), and section 16A(6) applies them to every assured tenancy other than social housing.
For the broader regulatory framework that drives all of the above, see The Renters' Rights Act 2025. For the landlord operational position, see Landlords. For the tenant lifecycle, see Tenants. For terminology, see the Glossary. For specific questions, see the FAQ.
Useful contacts and registers
Useful contacts and registers
Speak to the desk
- Pet requests on managed properties: lettings@harveywjames.com, 020 3865 1500
- Landlord and tenancy management: 020 3865 1500, landlord@harveywjames.com
- General enquiries: info@harveywjames.com
- Aftercare and repairs: aftercare@harveywjames.com
- Complaints: harvey@harveywjames.com (and see the Internal Complaints Procedure)
Registers & redress
- Property Redress Scheme (agent redress): membership PRS010914 — verify here.
- Propertymark Client Money Protection: membership M0243538 — verify here.
- Information Commissioner's Office (data protection): registration ZA312485 — verify here.
This page describes Harvey W James' operational approach to pet requests under the Renters' Rights Act 2025 (in particular section 11) and the Housing Act 1988 (in particular sections 16A and 16B as inserted by the RRA), together with the Tenant Fees Act 2019 (as amended), the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, and the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976. This is not legal advice. The statutory framework set out above is the framework as published; the operative provisions are those in the Acts of Parliament and any supporting regulations. For your specific situation seek independent legal advice. Last reviewed on 12 September 2026 against the Housing Act 1988 sections 16A–16B and the Tenant Fees Act 2019 sections 1–2 and Schedule 1 as published on legislation.gov.uk (Statute Law Database, revised to 30 June 2026), and against Essential Terms and Charges v2.4.0.