WA Tenant Pet Rights and Minor Modifications: What Landlords Need to Know

Blanket "no pets" clauses in WA tenancy agreements are finished. Since the Phase One reforms took effect in 2024, tenants have a statutory right to request pet approval and make minor modifications — and landlords who don't respond within 14 days are deemed to have consented.

The Pet Approval Framework

During a tenancy, a tenant must submit a pet request using Form 25. A pet agreed to at the start of the tenancy can be listed in the tenancy agreement. You have 14 days, counted from the day after receiving the request, to make a decision and tell the tenant, and to apply to the Commissioner for approval to refuse the request or set special conditions if required.

If you do nothing within 14 days, consent is automatically deemed granted. That's not a soft deadline — it's a statutory default. Missing it means the tenant can keep the pet, and you've lost your opportunity to set conditions or object.

Grounds for Refusing a Pet

You can refuse a pet without Commissioner approval if keeping it would break a law or strata rule. For other reasons, apply to the Commissioner for approval within 14 days. Grounds can include:

• The premises are unsuitable (for example, there is no fencing)
• There are already too many pets at the property
• Potential damage is likely to cost more than the pet bond to repair
• Keeping the pet would create an unacceptable health or safety risk, undue hardship, or the pet is a dangerous dog

If potential pet damage is likely to cost more than the pet bond, that can be a ground for requesting the Commissioner's approval to refuse the pet.

The $350 Pet Bond Cap

Landlords can charge a pet bond of up to $350 for fumigation or pet-related damage. This is separate from and additional to the standard security bond, which is capped at four weeks' rent when weekly rent is $1,200 or less; the cap does not apply above that amount.

Assistance animals are not pets, and no pet bond can be charged for them.

The pet bond follows the same rules as the standard bond: it must be lodged with the Bond Administrator via BondsOnline, and at the end of the tenancy it's released through the standard bond release process (Commissioner determination if disputed).

A few practical points: the $350 cap applies no matter how many pets the tenant has. You may ask for the pet bond when the tenant's pet request is approved; it must be lodged with Bonds Administration.

Reasonable Conditions on Pet Approval

Landlords can set some conditions without Commissioner approval, including limits on the number of animals and cleaning, maintenance, or fumigation requirements. Other conditions need Commissioner approval; for example, requiring a pet to stay outside or a bird to be kept in a cage. A tenant can apply to the Commissioner to review an unreasonable condition.

Minor Modifications

The same Phase One reforms introduced a statutory right for tenants to request minor modifications to the property. The tenant uses Form 26. You have 14 days, counted from the day after receiving the request, to decide and tell the tenant; if Commissioner approval is required for a refusal, you must apply within that period. If you do not act within 14 days, the tenant can assume the change is approved, subject to another law or strata rule, a heritage listing, or a risk of disturbing asbestos.

Examples of minor modifications include picture hooks, a screw for a wall-mounted shelf or bracket, and a wall anchor for a television or furniture. A tenant needs separate approval for other changes, including major modifications.

You can require a qualified person to do some modifications. The tenant pays for and maintains the modification, and must remove it at the end of the tenancy unless you agree to keep it; the tenant must also repair any damage caused.

The 14-Day Deadline in Practice

The 14-day window is the critical operational point for landlords. When a pet or modification request arrives, you need a system that captures the date received and triggers your response well before the deadline.

If the reason for refusing requires the Commissioner's approval, you must actually apply within the 14 days — not just tell the tenant you refuse. An informal email saying "no" without the required Commissioner application doesn't count, and the deemed-consent default kicks in.

Self-managing landlords in regional WA face particular challenges here. If you're travelling or managing remotely and don't check mail or email for two weeks, the deadline passes silently.

Our WA Rental Minimum Standards compliance guide includes the full timeline for pet and modification requests alongside all other statutory deadlines, so you can track every compliance obligation in one place rather than managing each one separately.

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