Grandfathered Pets NZ: Rules for Pets Already in Rentals Before December 2025

The Transitional Rule

Schedule 1AA of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 protects pets that were lawfully present in a rental property before 1 December 2025. If a tenant was already keeping an animal under explicit written consent, a pet clause in the tenancy agreement, or an agreement that contained no pet prohibition, that animal is fully grandfathered.

Landlords cannot retrospectively require these tenants to apply for consent, impose new pet conditions, or demand a pet bond for a grandfathered pet.

What "Lawfully Present" Means

The animal must have been at the property with some form of legal basis — not kept secretly in breach of a "no pets" clause. Three situations qualify:

Written consent existed. The landlord gave written permission for the pet at any point before 1 December 2025, whether in the tenancy agreement or a separate letter.

The agreement permitted pets. The tenancy agreement explicitly allowed pets, or allowed the specific type of animal.

The agreement was silent on pets. If the agreement did not mention pets at all, the tenant was not prohibited from having one. Under the pre-2025 rules, silence did not constitute a ban.

An animal kept in breach of an existing "no pets" clause is not grandfathered. The tenant would need to submit a new formal request under the Section 42E framework.

What You Cannot Do

For a genuinely grandfathered pet, you cannot:

• Require the tenant to submit a formal pet consent application
• Impose new conditions on the animal (cleaning requirements, containment rules)
• Charge a pet bond — Section 18AA only applies to pets approved under the new consent framework
• Use the pet as grounds to end the tenancy

The pet continues under whatever terms existed before 1 December 2025.

When the Protection Ends

Grandfathering covers the specific animal, not a rolling entitlement to keep pets. If the grandfathered pet dies or is permanently re-homed and the tenant wants a new animal, they must submit a fresh pet request under Section 42E. At that point, you can assess the new animal on its merits, set conditions, and require a pet bond.

If the tenant moves to a different property — even under a new tenancy with the same landlord — the grandfathering does not transfer. The pet request process starts fresh at the new address.

Document the Status

Even though you cannot charge a bond or impose conditions, record which pets are grandfathered and on what basis. A simple note in your tenancy file — the animal, the date it was present, and the clause or consent that authorised it — protects you if there is ever a dispute about whether the animal was lawfully there before the commencement date.

Our Pets in Rentals NZ guide includes a grandfathered-pet audit worksheet to help you document existing animals and distinguish them from new requests that require the full consent process.

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