When Sarah Bradnam and her family moved from Brisbane to Tasmania a couple of years ago, she said it was a shock to find a place that allowed for her two labradors.
A former president of Tasmania's real estate peak body says rental properties are "significant investments" and landlords "won't want them degraded in any way".If the legislation passes in its current form, a tenant would be allowed to keep a pet in their rental, even without the property owner's consent, so long as they're notified.
Under the Residential Tenancy Act, the tenant is obliged to return the property to the condition it was at the beginning of their tenancy — and this won't change for people with pets. "Recently I've had to try and find a new rental and I offered to have a reference for my dog from a previous landlord.
Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, the ACT and the NT have all eased laws around 'no pet' clauses in rental agreements."We think the government has struck the right balance between renters being able to have a pet and landlords being able to refuse a pet on reasonable grounds," he said.