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Newsable asks why it’s so hard to find rentals that allow pets.
Recently, Stuff wrote about some of the bizarre, and very particular, rules people living in certain subdivisions have to abide by.
One of the rules was around dog height – a development in Nelson does not allow dogs taller than 50cm.
That would mean no Border Collies, no Chow-Chows, no Dalmatians, or Golden Retrievers.
But, Beagles, Cocker-Spaniels, Frenchies, Malteses, and Pugs would be allowed.
The limit on types of dogs in certain subdivisions got the Newsable team wondering about a topic that comes up every once in a while – pets in rentals.
So, on this morning’s episodes, Tim Horsbrugh from the New Zealand Property Investors Federation, joins the team to explain why landlords aren't the biggest pet fans.
Below is an edited transcript of the interview, which you can listen to in full here.
Why are pets banned from rentals?
There are thousands of rental properties out there where landlords are quite happy to have pets, however there are particular rules which make it very tough and very challenging as a landlord when pets go wrong.
It’s [about] how the Tenancy Tribunal views the current status – where if landlords rent a property to tenants with a pet, that landlord must expect the consequential repair cost from any damage by that pet.
It’s quite difficult, from a tenancy tribunal perspective, for the landlord to claim back any costs that a pet may have caused. So when rulings go that way, we get landlords that switch off and say they’re not going to accept pets.
Do you have examples of a pet causing damage? What’s the most damage a pet could do?
Firstly, all pets pee and poo.
Do all rental houses have cat doors, or doors for animals to leave? No. Do tenants vacate houses and leave animals inside? Yes.
Do all rental properties have gardens, or suitable areas for pets outside? No.
[I have] tenancies with small dogs and cats – the damage I have seen is carpet damage, and then sometimes scratching on the doors.
They’re pretty minor things, but you do see the little damages there.
I think in some respects, landlords do want to give pets a go, however current tenancy laws are making it tricky.
Tim Horsbrugh also points to barking and animals annoying neighbours as part of the problem, and discusses the changes that could be made to make it easier for secure agreements between landlords and tenants with pets. Listen to the full interview here.
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