Leasehold Pet Request: Getting Freeholder Consent as a Landlord in England

The Leasehold Double Bind

If you let a leasehold flat in England, a tenant pet request puts you in a difficult position. Your head lease may prohibit pets or require the freeholder's consent before any animal is kept on the premises. But Section 16A of the Housing Act 1988 requires you to give or refuse your tenant's request in writing within the baseline 28-day period, subject to statutory extensions — and you must not unreasonably refuse.

If the head lease permits pets only with the freeholder's consent, you must take reasonable steps to obtain consent, and the freeholder's refusal can be a reasonable basis for refusing the tenant's request. If keeping a pet would itself breach an outright prohibition in the head lease, that can also be a reasonable ground for refusal. The statutory extension mechanism lets you seek consent within the 28-day period when consent is required.

How the Extension Works

Section 16A(3) provides a specific extension. If keeping the pet requires consent from a superior landlord (the freeholder or head landlord), you must seek that consent on or before the 28th day after the tenant's request to trigger the statutory extension. Put the request in writing so you can evidence when you sought consent.

Your new deadline becomes the later of day 28 or seven calendar days after you receive the freeholder's consent or refusal. This means you don't need the freeholder's answer within the original 28 days — you just need to have applied for it by then.

The timing is critical: seeking consent after day 28 does not trigger the statutory extension. Put the request in writing to create a clear record of when you sought consent.

The Step-by-Step Process

Day 1–3: Receive the written pet request. Log the date received, calculate day 28 from that date, and diarise it. Immediately check your head lease for pet covenants.

Day 3–7: If the head lease requires freeholder consent, draft a formal written application to the freeholder or managing agent. Send it well before day 28 — postal delays and unresponsive managing agents are common, and you want proof of delivery.

By day 28: Notify the tenant in writing that you have applied for superior landlord consent and that the statutory deadline is extended under Section 16A(3). This keeps the tenant informed and creates a paper trail showing you acted within time.

Freeholder responds: Your new deadline is seven calendar days after you receive the freeholder's decision, or the original day-28 deadline if that is later. If the freeholder grants consent, you can approve the pet (with conditions, if appropriate). If the lease requires consent and the freeholder refuses after you have taken reasonable steps to obtain it, that refusal can be a reasonable ground for refusing your tenant's request.

Freeholder does not respond: This is the trickiest scenario. The statute extends the deadline to seven days after the freeholder responds, but what if they simply ignore you? There is no statutory backstop for an unresponsive freeholder. In practice, you should chase in writing with recorded delivery, and if the freeholder remains silent, seek legal advice. Refusing the tenant's request solely because the freeholder has not responded — when you cannot show the freeholder would refuse — is a position that could be challenged.

What to Include in the Freeholder Application

Keep it factual: identify the tenant, the property, the animal (species, breed, approximate size), and cite the specific head lease clause requiring consent. Reference Section 16A(3) and the statutory timeline. Ask for a written decision. Send it by a method that provides proof of delivery — email with read receipt, or recorded delivery post.

Combining Extensions

If you also need further information from the tenant about the pet (vaccination records, for example), you can trigger both extensions simultaneously. Your deadline becomes whichever calculated date falls latest: seven days after the tenant provides the information, seven days after the freeholder responds, or day 28 — whichever is the latest of the three.

The Tenant Pet Requests guide includes a superior landlord consent tracker with pre-drafted application letters, a timeline calculator that handles overlapping extensions, and model response letters for both grant and refusal outcomes.

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