How to Handle a Tenant Pet Request in NZ Without a Property Manager
You can handle a tenant's pet request yourself — and for most single-property landlords, you should. The process has six concrete steps, all manageable with a deadline calculator, the right templates, and access to the MBIE Bond Hub. A property manager charges 7–10% + GST of your gross rent every month to do what you can do in a few hours with the right compliance tools. Here's how.
Since 1 December 2025, the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2024 replaced the old blanket "no pets" clause regime with a structured process. Your tenant can make a written pet request, and you must respond in writing within 21 calendar days. You can refuse only on reasonable grounds, or approve with reasonable conditions. Getting the process right protects you from exemplary damages (up to $1,500) and preserves your ability to claim for pet damage under section 49B, where liability is uncapped — but only if your evidence trail holds up.
The Six Steps
Step 1: Log the Request and Start the Clock
The 21-calendar-day response period starts on the day after the request is served or deemed served under sections 136 and 136A of the Residential Tenancies Act. Email service is valid only if the receiving party designated that email address as an address for service in the tenancy agreement or by formal written notice; electronic transmission after 5:00 pm is deemed served the next working day, letterbox delivery adds 2 working days, and post adds 4 working days. Record three things immediately:
- Date and time received — record the exact date and calculate the deemed service date under the Act
- Method of service — email to the designated address for service, post, or hand delivery; save a copy or screenshot
- Pet details provided — species, breed, age, size, desexing status, microchip number
Create a simple dated receipt log. This is your proof that you received the request and when. If the tenant later claims you ignored it, or if you need to demonstrate you responded within the 21-day period, this log is your first line of defence.
Step 2: Check for External Restrictions
Before you decide whether to approve or refuse, check for restrictions that exist outside the Residential Tenancies Act:
- Body corporate operational rules — if you're in a unit title, your body corporate may prohibit specific animals. This constitutes reasonable grounds for refusal under the Act.
- Cross-lease covenants — some cross-lease properties carry restrictive covenants about animals. Review your land covenant documents.
- Council bylaws and dog control — local councils set maximum dog numbers per property (e.g., Christchurch limits properties under one hectare to two dogs over three months old). A dog that would breach council limits is a valid refusal ground.
- Co-owners or trust trustees — if the property is jointly owned or held in a trust, consult the other decision-makers before responding.
Document each restriction you find with a reference to the specific rule, bylaw, or covenant clause. If nothing restricts the pet, move to the assessment.
Step 3: Assess and Decide
You have three options:
- Approve unconditionally — rare, and usually unnecessary. Most landlords prefer conditions.
- Approve with reasonable conditions — the most common path. Conditions might include professional carpet cleaning at tenancy end, flea treatment proof, fencing requirements for dogs, desexing verification, or limits on the number of animals.
- Refuse on reasonable grounds — you must cite specific, documented grounds: property damage risk based on property features (not breed prejudice), body corporate prohibition, council limits, or cross-lease restrictions. A blanket "I don't want pets" is not a reasonable ground.
Section 42E requires consent unless reasonable grounds exist to refuse under section 42F. Assess the specific property and pet on objective evidence. Overly broad refusals risk a Tribunal finding of unlawful refusal and exemplary damages.
Step 4: Write and Send Your Response
Your response must be in writing and sent within the 21-day deadline. Include:
- Your decision — approve with conditions, or refuse with grounds
- The specific conditions or grounds — listed clearly, not vaguely
- The pet bond amount (if approving) — up to 2 weeks' rent, stated as a dollar amount
- A request for a signed tenancy variation — documenting the approved pet, the conditions, and the bond
Keep a copy of the sent response with a timestamp. If you send by email to the designated address for service, keep the sent-mail record. If by post, use recorded delivery or keep the posting receipt.
Step 5: Collect and Lodge the Pet Bond
If you've approved the pet, you can charge a pet bond of up to 2 weeks' rent, separate from the general bond (which is up to 4 weeks' rent). The two bonds together can total up to 6 weeks' rent.
Lodge the pet bond on the MBIE Bond Hub (mybond.tenancy.govt.nz) — the same platform used for general bonds. You'll need:
- A Bond Hub login using RealMe, Microsoft, or Google
- The tenancy address and tenant details
- The bond amount and payment date
The Bond Hub generates a lodgement confirmation. Save this — it's proof the bond was properly lodged, which matters if you later need to claim against it for pet damage.
Important exception: you cannot charge a pet bond for a pet that was already approved before 1 December 2025 (a "grandfathered" pet). These sit under the old rules. Keep records that clearly separate grandfathered pets from new pet requests.
Step 6: Build the Evidence Trail
Pet damage liability under section 49B of the Residential Tenancies Act is uncapped — meaning you can claim the full cost of pet damage, not just the bond amount. But uncapped liability only helps you if you can prove the damage was caused by the pet and that it wasn't pre-existing.
Before the pet moves in:
- Photograph every room — walls, carpets, doors, garden, fencing. Date-stamp the photos.
- Complete a written condition report — room by room, noting existing damage, wear, and condition.
- Have the tenant sign the condition report — or note in writing that they declined.
During the tenancy:
- Conduct periodic inspections — photograph the same areas, note any new damage.
- Log any issues — complaints from neighbours, dog registration status, condition of common areas.
This documentation is what makes a Tribunal claim for pet damage succeed. Without it, you're relying on memory and general statements, which Tribunal adjudicators regularly reject.
What Free Resources Cover (and Where They Stop)
Tenancy Services publishes the rules, provides standard tenancy agreement forms, and runs the Bond Hub. Citizens Advice Bureau and Community Law explain your rights. These are accurate and useful — and for some landlords, they're enough.
Where they stop is the operational execution. None of them give you:
- A deadline calculator tied to your specific receipt date
- A decision matrix that maps your property's restrictions to the statutory "reasonable grounds" test
- Conditional consent templates drafted to the "reasonable conditions" standard
- A pet bond ledger that tracks the pet bond separately from the general bond
- Inspection log sheets designed for pet damage evidence
If you're confident building these yourself, the free route works. If you want the process structured and ready to use, a compliance guide fills the gap. Pets in Rentals in New Zealand: A Landlord's Guide includes all of these tools — 7 standalone worksheets covering the full process from receipt to bond lodgement.
Common Mistakes Self-Managing Landlords Make
Ignoring the request. Under the old rules, silence meant "no." Under the new rules, failing to respond in writing within 21 days without a reasonable excuse is an unlawful act. Always respond in writing, even if your answer is no.
Refusing without documented grounds. "I just don't want pets" is not a reasonable ground. You need a specific, documented reason tied to the property, the pet, or an external restriction.
Forgetting to lodge the pet bond separately. The pet bond and the general bond are separate statutory instruments. Collecting both and lodging them as a single amount creates confusion if you later need to claim against just the pet bond.
Skipping the condition report. Section 49B's uncapped liability is only useful if you can prove the damage. No baseline condition report means no evidence of what the property looked like before the pet arrived.
Applying conditions to grandfathered pets. Pets approved before 1 December 2025 are not subject to the new pet bond provisions. Charging a pet bond for a grandfathered pet is unlawful.
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Who This Process Is For
- Self-managing landlords with one to three properties who want to keep control of the process and the costs
- Landlords who already handle inspections, rent collection, and maintenance and just need the pet-specific compliance sorted
- Anyone comparing a full-service property-management retainer with the narrower pet-specific paperwork task and choosing to self-manage
Who Should Hire a Property Manager Instead
- Landlords with a large portfolio where the administrative time across all properties justifies the management fee
- Anyone who genuinely wants zero involvement in tenant communication and paperwork
- Landlords facing a complex situation — multiple unauthorised pets, an active Tribunal dispute, a body corporate conflict — where the process has already gone sideways
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if I miss the 21-day deadline?
Failing to respond in writing within 21 days without a reasonable excuse is an unlawful act, and the Tenancy Tribunal can award exemplary damages up to $1,500. A holding message does not pause or extend the deadline; send your decision within the 21-day period.
Can I refuse a pet request for a disability assist dog?
No. Disability assist dogs are excluded from the pet consent framework entirely under the Residential Tenancies Act. A landlord cannot refuse a disability assist dog, cannot set conditions on one, and cannot charge a pet bond for one. The dog's handler should be able to provide evidence of the dog's certification.
Do I need a lawyer to handle a standard pet request?
For the routine process — receive, assess, respond, collect bond, lodge — no. The process is administrative, not legal. A compliance guide or the free Tenancy Services resources cover the standard workflow. Where you need legal advice is if the situation has escalated: an active Tribunal application, a dispute about whether your refusal grounds are reasonable, or a claim for significant pet damage where the tenant is contesting liability.
What if my tenant already has a pet and never asked permission?
Discovering an unauthorised pet triggers a different process. You can issue a 14-Day Notice to Remedy under section 56, requiring the tenant to remove the pet or submit a formal consent request. If they submit a request, the standard 21-day process applies from that point. The guide's worked scenarios include this specific situation with step-by-step instructions.
Can I approve a pet but change my mind later?
Once you've given written consent (with or without conditions), you can't withdraw it without the tenant's agreement or a Tribunal order. If the tenant breaches the conditions — stops flea treatments, doesn't maintain fencing, the pet causes damage — your remedy is to address the breach under the tenancy agreement, not to revoke consent unilaterally.
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