TENANT advocates have demanded changes to the no-pet rental clause after a local woman whose house caught fire was left homeless.
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Kim Anesbury shared her story with the Daily Advertiser this week after she was knocked back from a dozen properties because she had a cat.
Her experience has sparked calls to revisit the controversial tenancy agreement.
Abolishing a landlord-right to deny tenants with animals and introducing a “pet bond” are among the new suggestions to improve housing laws.
New South Wales Tenancy Union Senior Policy Officer Ned Cutcher said no-pet clauses need to be abolished completely.
“It’s time to sort this out, so pet and animal lovers can at least have a little more leverage and choice over where they live,” he said.
“People shouldn't be put in the position to choose between loved and cherished pets and their own homes.
“It’s troubling and disappointing somebody can struggle so much to find a house in these circumstances, all because they have pets.”
But property manager at Hore and Davies Lozetta Gaffney said a “pet bond” is a better alternative, which will give landlords financial security and open up opportunities for animal lovers.
“We’re trying to bring a ‘pet bond’ into new laws, so it allows people with pets to easily get homes, but also withholds a sum for the owners,” she said.
“That way the home owners have an amount withheld in case damages are made, but people with a cat or a dog aren’t restricted in their living conditions.
“I definitely think that would be a solution, because it is realistic that some pets can damage properties.”
There are also concerns that a high number of locals are forced to surrender their pets to shelters and the RSPCA because they are banned from so many homes.
“You can be sure a large portion of the animals given up to the RSPCA are a result of people not being able to bring them into their new home,” Mr Cutcher said.
The Tenants Union of NSW also argue this can also be used to discriminate against applicants.
Under the NSW residential tenancy agreement, clause 43 allows landlords to prohibit renters from keeping “animals on the residential premises without obtaining the landlord’s consent.”
Renters who feel they have been treated unfairly can write to the tenancy tribunal.
