For landlords

How do I answer my tenant's request to keep a pet?

Guide · about 11 min read · Covers the law in England as at November 2026 · Last checked on 4 November 2026

You must give your tenant a response in writing, and the ordinary deadline is the 28th day after the date of the request. Under section 16A of the Housing Act 1988, your consent is not to be unreasonably refused. The 28-day deadline can be extended in three situations: if you reasonably request further information from the tenant, if you need to seek consent from a superior landlord, or if you and the tenant agree a different date for the response. The latest applicable date is the one that governs.

This article is about an assured tenancy in England other than a tenancy of social housing, which is the scope of section 16A(6) of the Housing Act 1988 and of the 1 May 2026 commencement in S.I. 2026/421 regulation 2(a). Schedule 6 to the Renters' Rights Act 2025 delays the change for some tenancies that were already running on 1 May 2026, which is covered further down. It states the law in England as at 4 November 2026. It is for general information and is not legal advice.

What counts as a valid pet request from my tenant?

A valid request must be made in writing and must describe the pet the tenant wishes to keep. This requirement is set out in section 16B of the Housing Act 1988. The law applies to a tenant who "keeps" a pet, which section 16B defines as permitting the pet to live at the dwelling-house, whether or not the tenant is its owner. The definition of a "pet" that applies here comes from an amendment to section 45(1) of the Housing Act 1988, made by section 11(2) of the Renters' Rights Act 2025. A pet is an animal kept mainly for personal interest, companionship, ornamental purposes, or a combination of these. Section 16B(2) does not restrict separate terms you might agree with your tenant about pets that visit but do not live at the property.

How long do I have to answer a pet request?

You ordinarily have until the 28th day after the date of the tenant's written request to give a written response. The Act runs the clock from the date of the request, not the date you receive it, and it counts calendar days. Section 16A of the Housing Act 1988, which was inserted by section 11 of the Renters' Rights Act 2025, sets out this deadline and the circumstances in which it can change.

If you reasonably request further information from the tenant on or before the 28th day after the date of the request, you may delay until the 7th day after the tenant provides it. Section 16A(2) is a power to delay, so where that day falls before the 28th day after the date of the request, the original date still stands, and GOV.UK's guidance puts the same point as whichever is later. If the tenant does not supply the information, your duty to respond does not arise.

If the terms of a superior tenancy require you to obtain a superior landlord's consent, and you seek it on or before the 28th day after the date of the request, you may delay until the 7th day after you receive that consent or refusal. Like the further information limb, section 16A(3) is a power to delay, so an early answer from the superior landlord does not bring your deadline forward. The Act gives no long stop if the superior landlord never answers, so that is a gap in the provision rather than a rule this guide can state.

Lastly, under section 16A(4) you and the tenant can agree that you may delay until a date you agree. If more than one of these situations applies, the latest date is the one you must meet.

What are reasonable grounds for refusing a pet request?

A refusal can be reasonable where keeping the pet would put you in breach of an agreement with a superior landlord, such as a headlease on a flat, and the law gives no complete list beyond examples of that kind. Section 16B of the Housing Act 1988 sets out those examples.

Another named ground is that the consent of a superior landlord is required, you have taken reasonable steps to get it, and it has not been given. The Act's list is only a set of examples, so other grounds may be reasonable depending on the circumstances of your property and the pet, and this guide does not decide whether a particular refusal is reasonable.

GOV.UK's guidance for landlords says a refusal would usually be unreasonable where you know the tenant needs an assistance animal, such as a guide dog, and separately the Equality Act 2010 may be engaged in that situation. This guide does not answer how either applies to a particular request, and that is a point to take advice on. For more on the tenant's side of the same rules, read whether a landlord can refuse a pet request in England.

What happens if I do not answer the request?

The law does not state that failing to respond is the same as giving consent. If you do not provide a written response within the time limit, you may be in breach of the implied term in the tenancy agreement. This implied term, created by section 16A of the Housing Act 1988, gives the tenant the right to request to keep a pet and not have that request unreasonably refused. A tenant's remedy for a breach is to bring a claim in court. On such a claim, section 16B of the Act gives the court the power to order specific performance, which is an order to perform the obligation that was breached. The section does not say which order would follow from a particular breach, and this guide does not predict it. So silence is not consent, and it does expose you to a claim.

If the time limit has already passed, the sensible step is still to send a written reply now, with your reasons if you are refusing, and to keep a copy of it.

Can I charge my tenant extra rent or a fee for keeping a pet?

A pet fee is not among the payments the Tenant Fees Act 2019 permits, and rent is, so the two halves of that question have different answers. Section 1(1) of that Act says a landlord must not require a relevant person to make a prohibited payment in connection with a tenancy of housing in England, and Schedule 1 lists the permitted payments.

Paragraph 12 of Schedule 6 to the Renters' Rights Act 2025 disapplies the section 27 amendments to that Act for a tenancy that was an assured tenancy other than an assured shorthold tenancy immediately before 1 May 2026, so the money rules and the pet rules do not reach exactly the same tenancies, and a legacy tenancy of that kind needs its own advice.

As of 4 November 2026 that list contains no paragraph about a pet charge and none about pet insurance. Rent itself is a permitted payment under paragraph 1, so rent set at the outset is not prohibited merely because it reflects a pet, although paragraph 1A makes the excess a prohibited payment where the rent for an earlier period is higher than for a later one, comparing only periods beginning within the first year of the tenancy under paragraph 1A(8), adjusting a later period of a different length to a proportionate figure under paragraph 1A(5), and disregarding under paragraph 1A(6) a difference that results from a variation under a term of the agreement or from a change the parties agreed after it was entered into. So agreeing a reduction later does not turn the earlier rent into a prohibited payment. A separate limit applies to how that rent is arrived at. Section 56 of the Renters' Rights Act 2025 requires a written advertisement or offer to state a specific proposed rent, and prohibits inviting or encouraging an offer above the stated rent and accepting one.

Section 56 reaches fewer tenancies than this guide does: section 56(6) excludes supported accommodation, which this guide does not. So where section 56 applies, a pet related uplift above the advertised figure is not made lawful by agreeing it before anything is signed. So a pet related uplift above the advertised figure is not made lawful by agreeing it before anything is signed. Calling a charge pet rent does not by itself make it rent. Raising the rent during a tenancy is a separate procedure under section 13 of the Housing Act 1988.

Section 1(3) of the Tenant Fees Act 2019 adds that a landlord must not require a relevant person to enter into a contract with a third party for a service or for insurance. Section 1(4) excepts utilities and communication services. Section 1(7) provides that offering such a contract as an alternative to another requirement is not a requirement, and section 1(8) takes that away where the other requirement is itself prohibited or where it would be unreasonable to expect the person to comply with it, so a nominal choice does not get round the prohibition. On insurance the prohibition answers it directly: requiring a tenant to take out pet insurance is requiring a contract of insurance with a third party, and the exception in section 1(4) is for utilities and communication services, not insurance. Whether some other charge you have in mind counts as a prohibited payment on its own facts is for Trading Standards or a court.

Can I ask for a higher tenancy deposit if my tenant has a pet?

You can only take a deposit up to the legal cap, and a pet does not raise that cap. The amount of the tenancy deposit is capped by paragraph 2 of Schedule 1 to the Tenant Fees Act 2019. The cap is five weeks' rent where the total annual rent is less than £50,000, and six weeks' rent where the annual rent is £50,000 or more. This cap is based on the rent amount alone. A landlord cannot require a deposit that exceeds this statutory limit, regardless of whether a pet will be living at the property. Any amount taken above the cap would be a prohibited payment. That cap comes from the Tenant Fees Act 2019, so the same legacy exception applies to it: paragraph 12 of Schedule 6 to the Renters' Rights Act 2025 keeps the section 27 amendments away from a tenancy that was an assured tenancy other than an assured shorthold immediately before 1 May 2026.

What should I include in my written reply?

Your written reply should be clear and keep a record of your decision. Record the date of the tenant's request, which is the date the statutory clock runs from, as well as the date you received it, and the date of anything that extends the deadline.

State your decision clearly: either you consent, or you refuse consent. If you are refusing, section 16A does not itself require you to give reasons, but GOV.UK guidance says a landlord should, and you will need to be able to show why the refusal was reasonable if it is challenged. Referring to the specific pet and property can help show you have considered the request properly. You should keep a copy of the request you received and the reply you sent. Keeping good records is important for all your other new duties under the Renters' Rights Act 2025 as well. That gives you a record of what was asked and what you answered, which is a different thing from showing that the answer itself was reasonable.

Where can I keep a record of a pet request and my reply?

VEYLO X is a software platform for renting and letting in England. Landlords can use it to store a copy of the tenant's request and their written reply in one place. Whether to consent or refuse is the landlord's own decision, and VEYLO X does not make it.

VEYLO X for landlords

Common questions

Here are answers to some common questions about the rules on pets in rented homes in England.

Does this apply to my existing tenancies?

Yes, in most cases. Section 16A applies to every assured tenancy other than a tenancy of social housing within the meaning of Part 2 of the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008. The change was made by section 11 of the Renters' Rights Act 2025, which inserts an implied term into the tenancy. Those parts were commenced on 1 May 2026 by statutory instrument 2026 number 421, regulation 2(a), and only for assured tenancies that are not social housing assured tenancies. From that date the term is implied into new tenancies, and into existing tenancies except those for which Schedule 6 to that Act delays it, including where a section 21 or section 8 notice given before 1 May 2026 is still valid.

What if my tenancy agreement has a 'no pets' clause?

For the tenancies to which it applies, the Act implies the term into the tenancy whatever the written agreement says. Section 16A of the Housing Act 1988 creates an implied term that the tenant may keep a pet if they make a valid request and the landlord consents. The same section says that consent is not to be unreasonably refused. The Act does not expressly strike out a blanket 'no pets' clause, but a term implied by statute into every tenancy to which section 16A applies is not displaced by one. You must still follow the statutory procedure and can only refuse on reasonable grounds.

What kind of information can I reasonably request about the pet?

The Act does not define what further information is reasonable for a landlord to request. This will depend on the individual circumstances of your property. GOV.UK's guidance for landlords points to questions about the animal, the space it would have and whether it is house trained, which gives a sense of the kind of question that fits. A request for documents is a different matter, and nothing in section 16A requires a tenant to produce any. The key is that your request for information must be reasonable, and you can only use it to help you make a reasonable decision about whether to grant consent. A request for an excessive amount of information could itself be seen as unreasonable.

Does this law apply to a pet that only visits?

No, the process for requests applies only to pets that will live at the property. Section 16B of the Housing Act 1988 specifies that a tenant "keeps" a pet if they allow it to live at the dwelling-house. Section 16B(2) states that the new rules do not restrict landlords and tenants from agreeing separate terms about pets that may visit the property but do not live there. Your tenancy agreement can therefore still deal separately with a pet that only visits.

Sources

The primary sources behind this guide. Where the law and a summary disagree, the law is what counts.

This article is general information, not legal advice. It covers England only and reflects the position as at November 2026. For the current rules, see the GOV.UK Renters' Rights Act information sheet, and consider free advice from Shelter or Citizens Advice for your own situation.

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