Pet Requests After the RRA 2025: The 28-Day Rule, Reasonable Refusal, and What to Actually Put in Writing

The Renters' Rights Act 2025 made one of its most-publicised changes in pet provisions. As a landlord in England, you can no longer include a blanket "no pets" clause in your tenancy agreement. Tenants can request a pet at any time, and once they do, your 28-day clock starts.

The framework sounds simple. In practice, the detail catches landlords out — particularly around what "reasonable refusal" actually means, whether you can ask for pet damage insurance, and what happens if you miss the 28-day deadline. This guide covers the process step by step, with the actual statutory references so you know the rules aren't being made up.

The legal framework

The pet provisions are in Section 11 of the Renters' Rights Act 2025, which inserts Sections 16A and 16B into the Housing Act 1988.

The shape of the regime is:

• The tenant has the right to make a written request to keep a pet (Section 16A(1)).
• The landlord must respond within 28 days, in writing (Section 16A(1)(c)).
• If the landlord requests further information from the tenant, the deadline is extended to 7 days after the tenant provides it, or the original 28 days, whichever is later (Section 16A(2)).
• A parallel extension applies if the landlord needs superior landlord consent (Section 16A(3)).
• The landlord can only refuse on reasonable grounds (Section 16A(1)(d)).
• The tenant's remedy for non-compliance is to apply to court for specific performance (Section 16B(5)) or raise the issue with the Private Rented Sector Ombudsman.

There is no explicit "deemed consent" rule in the Act. Some commentary describes failure to respond as leading to "deemed consent" — this is a simplification. The legal reality is that you've breached an implied term of the tenancy, and the tenant has remedies for that breach.

Two things that did NOT make it into the Act

Two pet-related provisions were proposed and rejected during the Bill's passage. It's important to know about both because they change how you can structure protections.

Pet damage insurance was removed. The original Bill contained a provision allowing landlords to require the tenant to take out pet damage insurance as a condition of consent. The Government removed this at Lords Report Stage in June 2025. The official reason cited was that pet insurance is a prohibited payment under the Tenant Fees Act 2019, and the proposed exception would have created enforcement complexity. The practical effect: you cannot require a tenant to take out pet damage insurance. If you include such a requirement in your consent letter, it's unenforceable.

A separate pet damage deposit was rejected. A proposed amendment would have allowed landlords to take an additional deposit (over and above the 5-week cap) specifically for pet damage. This amendment was also rejected. The 5-week deposit cap under the Tenant Fees Act 2019 remains your only deposit protection for any damage — pet-related or otherwise.

If you read older guides on the RRA pet provisions written before June 2025, they may reference pet insurance or pet deposits. Both have gone.

What counts as reasonable refusal

The Act doesn't enumerate the reasonable grounds for refusal. Section 16B(4) deals only with the situation where the superior landlord (e.g. a freeholder) imposes restrictions. The Government published guidance on what's likely to be reasonable:

Likely to be reasonable:

• The property is genuinely unsuitable for the size or type of pet. A studio flat is not suitable for a Great Dane. A first-floor flat with no outdoor access is not suitable for a large dog. Be specific about why.
• Another occupant in a shared building has a documented severe allergy. Note "another tenant of mine" doesn't apply here — this is about the building, not your portfolio.
• The pet would be illegal to keep (e.g. an unlicensed exotic species).
• The freeholder (in a leasehold property) explicitly prohibits pets. The freeholder's prohibition flows through; you cannot consent to something the freeholder forbids.
• Local authority HMO licence conditions or planning conditions specifically prohibit certain animals.

Unlikely to be reasonable:

• You personally don't like pets.
• Generic concerns about damage or noise without specific property-related justification.
• A previous tenant's pet caused problems.
• The pet might "lower the tone" of the property.
• A blanket policy you apply to every property regardless of suitability.

If a tenant challenges your refusal, the tribunal or court will look at whether you considered the specific request and gave a property-specific reason. "I don't allow pets" is not a reason. "Your property is a top-floor one-bedroom flat with no outdoor space, and the breed of dog you've requested needs 90 minutes of exercise twice a day — that's not compatible with the property as let" is a reason.

The process, step by step

Step 1 — Receive the request

The tenant submits a written pet request. The Act doesn't prescribe a form, but the request should include the type and breed of pet, the number of animals, any relevant background (an established pet vs. a new acquisition), and any information about how the tenant proposes to manage the pet in the property.

Note the date you received the request. This is when your 28-day clock starts.

If the request is unclear or missing information, you can ask the tenant for clarification. Your 28-day deadline is then extended to either 28 days from the original request OR 7 days from receipt of the information, whichever is later. Make your request for additional information in writing and keep a copy.

Step 2 — Assess the request

Within the 28-day window, consider:

• Is the pet legal? Some species require licences (certain reptiles, exotic mammals, dangerous breeds under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 amendments).
• Is the property suitable for the pet's size, exercise needs, and noise profile? An XL Bully in a one-bedroom flat is unsuitable for reasons that go beyond the breed-specific restrictions.
• Is there a freeholder restriction? Check your lease if it's leasehold.
• Is there an HMO licence condition?
• Does the tenant have any history that's relevant — for example, are they a long-standing tenant with a record of careful occupation, or new with no track record?

If you need to approach the freeholder or superior landlord for their consent, do that promptly. Your 28-day deadline gets a parallel extension to allow for their response.

Step 3 — Respond in writing

Your response, in writing, within the deadline:

• States the decision (consent / consent with conditions / refused).
• For refusals, sets out the specific reason. Reference the property's characteristics, not the type of pet in general.
• For consent with conditions, sets out the conditions. Reasonable conditions might include: the pet must remain on a lead in shared external areas, the tenant must keep the property professionally cleaned at end of tenancy, the tenant must repair any damage caused by the pet, the tenant must notify you if the pet's circumstances change (e.g. an additional animal, a behavioural issue, regulatory issues like dangerous breed listing).
• Does NOT require pet insurance (that's unenforceable post-RRA).
• Does NOT impose a "pet rent" or additional deposit (both are prohibited payments under the Tenant Fees Act 2019).

DocuTenant generates the consent letter, refusal letter, or consent-with-conditions letter with the correct wording for each case. The template handles the legal reference, the date calculations, and the proof-of-service tracking.

Step 4 — Keep records

Whatever you decide, save the written request, your written response, any clarification correspondence, any freeholder consultation, and the date of every step. If the tenant later disputes the decision, or if you later need to address the pet's behaviour, having a clean paper trail is your defence.

What happens if you don't respond in time

The Act doesn't impose an automatic deemed-consent rule. What it does is create an implied term in the tenancy that the landlord will respond to a pet request within the prescribed period. Missing the deadline is a breach of that implied term.

The tenant's remedies for breach are:

• Apply to court for specific performance (Section 16B(5)). The court can order you to consider the request and respond. In practice, this is slow and expensive for the tenant — most won't take this route for a pet request.
• Raise the issue with the Private Rented Sector Ombudsman, once the Ombudsman scheme is operational (it's being established under the RRA but not yet live as at May 2026). The Ombudsman can make recommendations or directions.
• Bring the dispute to the Property Tribunal in some circumstances, depending on the scheme rules once they're finalised.

Practically, the tenant might also simply get the pet and assume your silence was effectively consent. If you then try to enforce a "no pets" rule, the tenant has a strong defence based on your failure to respond. The right answer is to respond within the deadline every time — it removes the ambiguity.

How to handle the unwritten request

Tenants frequently mention pets in passing — "we're thinking of getting a dog", a photograph of a cat in their social media that they'd let slip during an inspection, a casual chat at the doorstep about a hamster. These are not formal requests under the Act.

The 28-day clock only starts when the tenant makes a written request. If a tenant mentions wanting a pet in conversation, the right response is to invite them to make a written request so the process can begin. Don't volunteer a verbal refusal — it doesn't bind anyone and it leaves you exposed if the tenant later submits a formal request and you respond differently.

A model timeline

To make the process concrete:

Day	Event
0	Tenant submits written pet request
3	You ask for clarification on breed / size
8	Tenant provides the clarification
15	You contact freeholder for consent (leasehold property)
22	Freeholder responds
27	You issue written decision to tenant — well within the 28-day window

The cleaner you keep the timeline, the lower the risk of dispute.

What about new tenancies starting from 1 May 2026?

Your tenancy agreement cannot include a blanket "no pets" clause. It can include:

• A clause requiring the tenant to make a written request before keeping a pet.
• A clause setting out the kind of conditions you might impose on consent.
• A clause confirming that any pet kept without consent is a breach of the tenancy.

These are fine. What's not fine is a clause that purports to refuse all pets in advance — that's void from the start.

DocuTenant's APT tenancy agreement template handles this correctly with a pet-consent process clause rather than a blanket prohibition. If you're using an older template, replace it.

The bottom line

Most pet requests are reasonable, and most landlords would have allowed a sensible request anyway. The RRA changes the burden of proof — you can't just say no, you have to engage with the request and give a specific reason if you refuse.

Done well, this is a few minutes of work per request: receive in writing, consider, respond in writing within 28 days, document. Done badly — ignored, refused with vague reasons, or hit with unenforceable conditions like pet insurance — it creates exposure that compounds across your portfolio.

Get the process right once, set up your templates and your calendar reminders, and pet requests become administrative routine rather than a compliance risk.

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This article is for general guidance only and does not constitute legal advice. For specific legal situations, consult a qualified property solicitor.