Guest post by Anneke van den Broek, Founder and CEO of Rufus & Coco.
In a huge win for Victorian pet owners, legislation has passed making it harder for landlords to refuse pets in rental properties. With more than a quarter of Victorians renting, these reforms are a very welcome change.
So, what does this actually look like? Firstly, the laws will come into effect from 2020 and while landlords will still need to provide consent, they will only be able to refuse in some circumstances, such as if a local council has banned backyard chickens, or if a body corporate has banned pets. Otherwise, residential rental providers will only able to refuse the right of a tenant to have a pet by order of the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
This is great news for landlords as well! Studies have found that pet friendly houses have longer tenancy length, a 4% lower vacancy rate, had more applicants and needed only 50% of the advertising spending and marketing of non-friendly houses!
Perceptions that pets will destroy a property need to change. In fact, kids have been found to cause more damage to properties than pets! These fears can be alleviated by rental contracts which already render the tenant liable for any damage caused, and by having proper insurance in place.
When we don’t allow pets in properties, our state governments end up paying the price in housing and rehoming pets. The Animal Welfare League in South Australia put the average cost of shelter care at $245 per dog per week and the average cost of rehoming a dog after a week at $1056.When our shelters are overburdened, pets are euthanised. Every year 20% to 28% of all dog surrenders to shelters, and 36% of cat surrenders* are due to people being unable to find pet friendly accommodation. These figures are supported by our own study which found that 1 in 5 pet owners (22%) had given away a pet or left them with a family member due to the extreme struggle to find pet-friendly accommodation. The result? Approximately 20,000 dogs and cats are euthanised in Australia each year because their owners could not find suitable rental accommodation (Alberthsen, 2014).
With Victoria setting the precedent that pets should be welcomed in properties, we are hopeful that other states will quickly follow suit. There are countless health and social benefits to pet ownership and at Rufus & Coco, we believe no one should be forced to choose between their fur-baby and having a roof over their head.
To keep across news of the Australian Pet Welfare Foundation’s (APWF) efforts to lobby state governments, visit www.petwelfare.org.au. To buy your fur-baby a toy that donates to the APWF and supports these efforts visit www.rufusandcoco.com.au/fannie-disc-dog-toy.
