Can a Landlord Charge a Pet Bond in NSW? The Law and Your Options

The Short Answer: No

A landlord in NSW cannot charge a pet bond, pet deposit, or any additional security for keeping an animal. Section 160 of the Residential Tenancies Act 2010 prohibits requiring or receiving any security beyond the standard rental bond, and Section 159(1) caps that standard bond at four weeks' rent. There is no pet exception, no additional pet levy, and no way to charge higher weekly rent as de facto pet security.

The maximum court penalty for taking a prohibited security is 20 penalty units — $2,200 at the current NSW rate.

How the Pet Approval Framework Works

The general pet-consent rules started on 19 May 2025. From 2 October 2026, a tenant who applies within seven days after entering the tenancy agreement can keep the pet at the property while waiting for the landlord's response. Under the current rules:

• A tenant can apply to keep a pet within seven days of entering the lease.
• The pet can stay on the premises while the landlord considers the application.
• The landlord has 21 days to respond. Silence is treated as consent — if you don't respond within the window, the pet is deemed approved.
• Refusal grounds are limited to those in the law. They include an unreasonable number of animals; unsuitable fencing or insufficient open space; inability to keep the animal humanely; a high probability of property damage exceeding the bond; a conflict with other laws; the landlord living in the same home; or the tenant refusing reasonable conditions.

A landlord who rejects a pet application on grounds that don't fall within the statutory list can be challenged at NCAT.

Your One Lever: The Carpet Cleaning Clause

Pet bonds are banned, but a landlord may set reasonable pet-related conditions. Under Section 19(2) of the Act, a professional carpet-cleaning condition is allowed only if it is stated in the response to the pet application, the pet lives indoors, and cleaning is appropriate for that animal and property. A professional fumigation condition is allowed only for an indoor mammal.

Without an applicable pet-related condition, a landlord may still claim reasonable cleaning costs if the carpet was left less clean than it was at the start of the tenancy, allowing for fair wear and tear.

Claiming Pet Damage Against the Bond

When a pet causes damage beyond fair wear and tear — urine stains that have soaked through carpet underlay, scratched timber flooring, chewed door frames — you claim against the standard four-week bond through the normal end-of-tenancy process.

The claim needs the same evidence as any other damage claim: the ingoing condition report showing the state before the tenant moved in, an outgoing condition report documenting the damage, time-stamped photographs, and itemised repair quotes or invoices. NCAT applies depreciation, so you'll receive the remaining useful life value of the damaged item, not the cost of a brand-new replacement.

What About Assistance Animals

A tenant is not required to seek the landlord's consent to keep an assistance animal. Assistance animals are protected under anti-discrimination legislation, and refusing a tenancy or imposing conditions because of an assistance animal is unlawful. The pet approval framework applies to domestic pets, not assistance animals.

For the complete bond compliance process — including what you can and can't deduct at the end of a tenancy — see our NSW Rental Bond guide.

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