Tenancy Tribunal issues first 'pet' ruling, approves labrador puppy in upstairs flat

A Christchurch landlord, who tried to stop tenants from adopting a golden labrador in a unit within a three-level building, has been overruled by the Tenancy Tribunal in its first ruling on "pet consent" rules.

Tenancy Tribunal principal adjudicator Brett Carter issued the ruling on 1 May, suppressing the names of those involved.

Tenancy rules changed on 1 December, preventing landlords from unreasonably withholding consent for pets, but allowing them to charge a pet bond.

The Christchurch tenants wanted to adopt a golden labrador puppy, after previously fostering dogs, while living elsewhere.

The landlord refused.

Photographs advertising the property showed a cat. Its outdoor areas were a large deck and a section at the back of the property that was shared with other units.

A property manager appeared for the landlord at the tribunal hearing, and said the owner was concerned about the suitability of the deck for dogs and the noise for other people in the building.

The owner was also worried the dog could roam, because the property was not fully fenced.

The tenants offered extra conditions, including a trial period and support from an upstairs neighbour.

Carter said the purpose of the pet rules was clear.

"The pet consent rules are an intentional move away from blanket 'no pet' policies and are intended to enable tenants to have pets, while enabling a landlord to decline consent, but only where it is reasonable to do so."

Carter said landlords needed to consider requests in good faith, with an open mind, and consider the premises and particular pet.

"Dogs provide a useful example for why this case-by-case assessment is required. A property may not necessarily be unsuitable for a dog just because it is unfenced or small.

"An unfenced and/or small property may still be suitable for a small, well-behaved, house-trained dog, but may be unsuitable for another, just as a large and fenced property might be suitable for one dog, but unsuitable for a different dog.

"Likewise, the property will not necessarily be unsuitable due to the proximity of neighbours and/or the potential for barking. Again, what is required is an assessment of the premises, its neighbourhood, and of the dog, its breed, its training and its propensity to bark.

"This will always be a case-by-case assessment."

No clear reasons

Carter said the grounds should be more than hypothetical.

He said the landlord's initial response to the tenants was deficient, because they were not given clear reasons why they were being refused.

The response they received from the operations manager was sufficient, because reasons were given, including the potential for disturbance to other residents, the risk of damage to the deck, and the safety risk of the dog not having a secure exercise or toilet area.

Carter said the reasons were understandable, but could be addressed with reasonable conditions.

He said to have a dog, the tenants had to pay a pet bond equal to two weeks' rent, pay for and install mats on the outdoor deck and an adequate protective barrier to ensure the dog did not fall through the wire railings, and pay for and erect temporary fencing, if required by the landlord.

They must also supervise the dog every time it was in a communal area, including the section at the back of the premises, and remove all temporary fencing and barriers when they left.

They were told they must also have the carpet cleaned professionally and flea-treated at the end of the tenancy.

Tenancy.co.nz consultant Chris Matthews said the recent amendments to the law allowed landlords to hold tenants fully liable for pet-related damage, which gave landlords more financial protection,

He said the decision was likely to influence future cases.

"The message is clear," Matthews said. "Where reasonable conditions can mitigate potential risks, those conditions should be implemented, instead of landlords trying to justify a reasons to say no.

"Landlords and tenants have a bit more clarity around how this legislation actually works. The clear message there is that, instead of finding reasons to say no, the parties should be trying to find solutions and conditions on how it could possibly work."

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