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Landlords that allow pets in their rental properties have a competitive edge in the market, according to the author of a study into the systematic stonewalling of tenants with pets.
Dr Emma Power from the University of Western Sydney's School of Social Sciences and Psychology, told News Limited that tenants with pets find it tough to find a property.
“We know that about 60 per cent of Australians have pets and that about a third of households rent,'' Dr Power said.
“So something I'd like to get to the bottom of with our study is why agents and landlords wouldn't want to be pet-friendly when it can really be a competitive advantage for their property.
“I come at this from the angle of households. It has been proven in many studies that pets do actually increase the health and wellbeing of individuals. And with the rise of single-person households in Australian cities, pet ownership is becoming more popular.
“One of the big things to come out of the study so far has been that 64 per cent of those surveyed said that looking for a rental property while owning a pet was significantly more difficult than before they had an animal.”
But according to Troy Gunasekera, from investor group Property Club, property managers and landlords might not have a choice soon.
“Tenants and buyers need to be aware that body corporates cannot absolutely prohibit the keeping of any animal in any circumstances,” he told the Telegraph.
“It's true that not everyone likes pets, but `no pet' policies are not hard and fast. We are starting to see more independent adjudicators ruling against body corporates.”
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