There is a hodge-podge of laws among the states and territories, and often it is up to individual landlords to decide whether pets are allowed. As the rental market tightens, people are being forced to sacrifice their pets to secure a place to live.
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So far in 2022, 616 animals had been surrendered – more than half were cats or kittens, about one in five were dogs or puppies, and the rest were other species.
That was about 22% of all surrenders, and compared with 432 last year and just 259 in 2019. “It’s the default in SA not to allow pets … in an already tight rental market, the playing field’s just not level,” Jones said.
In the Australian Capital Territory, new rental laws enacted in 2019 mean tenancy agreements cannot ban pets completely. RSPCA ACT said there had not been an increase in animals abandoned because their owners need a rental property, but a spokesperson said it remained an issue, despite the change in the law.In Victoria, where the laws changed in 2020 to stop landlords unreasonably restricting pets, the RSPCA had seen a slight decrease in surrenders.In Western Australia, where RSPCA WA is pushing for the state government to follow the lead of the ACT and Victoria, up to 15% of the animals handed in were from owners unable to find a pet-friendly rental.The rental crisis meant people had to “make the heartbreaking choice between surrendering their beloved pet or putting a roof over their family’s head”, said the RSPCA WA’s chief executive officer, Ben Cave.Use a Magic Eraser to Get Rid of Drool Marks. Does your drool a lot? If so you’ve probably got a bunch of drool marks all over the house. You can say goodbye to scrubbing off those drool marks by getting yourself some magic erasers.
Renters have no recourse if a landlord denies them a lease, and RSPCA WA wants changes so landlords have to provide “a good reason to refuse a renter’s request to keep a pet”.“This is a much more sensible approach where the landlord and tenant can have a mature conversation about whether it is reasonable for the proposed pet to live in a particular dwelling,” Cave said.Make Yourself the Funnest Thing in the World for a Reliable Recall. When training your dog to “come here” make sure you’re giving out a lot of praise & treats. The goal is to make coming back to you the best decision they could have made, if not your dog is likely going to decide that whatever he was chasing/sniffing is more interesting.
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Queensland has introduced laws to get rid of automatic pet refusals, the Northern Territory has similar laws and, while some in Tasmania are pushing for changes, tenants now need permission from landlords to have pets.Guardian Australia asked the Australian Landlords Association for comment.Invest in an escape-prevention harness if you have a small dog and a fenced-in yard. A little silly looking, but safer than risking a runaway dog. Buy it here.
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Photograph: Tim Robberts/Stone RFJones said the majority of pet owners make really good tenants, and owning pets makes people happier.
She said people who end up at the SA shelter have been searching for weeks or months for accommodation. “This is their last resort,” she said.
“There is a lot of distress at our surrenders desk. And it’s distressing for the animals because they have loving homes then all of a sudden they go into a shelter environment and they don’t understand what’s happened.”
Jones said RSPCA SA wanted people to be able to approach and negotiate with landlords, any restrictions on pets, waste management, or the introduction of a pet rental bond.If you've got a teething pup who loves destroying cords, spritz bitter apple spray onto a paper towel and wipe the cord with it. This covers more surface area and wastes less product than simply spraying the entire thing.
“Whatever it takes to get it over the line,” she said.