Currently in South Australia, a Landlord can refuse pets in their rental property without stating a reason. Pets are often considered an essential part of many families. However, there are a number of benefits for those Landlords who are willing to allow pets. These reasons include:

1. Opening up a larger rental pool
   By allowing pets, all prospective tenants currently looking for a rental are able to apply. In doing this, it opens up the rental pool to all potential tenants resulting in more interest and applications. This can make the difference between the property sitting empty and finding a tenant.

2. Pet owners generally stay in a property longer
   Unfortunately many pet owners struggle to find a rental property for them and their pets. This means when a tenant finds a pet friendly property, they often stay longer due to previous difficulties in finding a suitable property.

3. You can attract a higher-quality tenant
   Many families have pets, but also make excellent tenants. Often these tenants come with pet references from existing Landlords and Property Managers. By making the property ‘no pets’, this automatically excludes these tenants from applying.

4. Your requests may be ignored anyway
   Despite a property being advertised as no pets, it is quite often that pets will still reside in the property without the knowledge of the Landlord or Property Manager. By allowing pets, this allows tenants to be open and honest by disclosing their pets, therefore creating a healthier relationship between Landlord and Tenant.

5. You help stop animals being surrendered to animal shelters
   Unfortunately many pets are abandoned to the RSPCA every year as their owners are unable to find a rental property where they are allowed to keep their pets. Allowing pets in your rental property helps prevent this from occurring.

If you are a Landlord looking at renting out your property, we usually recommend advertising your property as ‘Pets Negotiable’ for your own benefit. Of course, this is ensuring that the property is suitable. 

If you are looking at renting out your property in South Australia, please reach out if you have any questions or to chat about how we can help with the process. Give us a call on (08) 8281 1000, email us at pm.mail@fnsalisbury.com.au or complete the contact form on our website to request a callback.

Disclaimer: The advice on this website is general in nature and does not take into account your personal situation. We recommend seeking independent professional advice tailored to your personal situation.