Letter from the Editor: Everyone should be allowed to have an animal in their lives, including renters

Anyone who has tried to find a rental property in the Illawarra lately will know just how difficult it can be.

And if you own a pet, the odds are stacked even more heavily against you.

However, the NSW Government’s promised shake-up of rental laws may mean those odds are considerably shortened.

More people are renting than ever before, with about 33 per cent of the state’s population renting, an increase of 17.6 per cent since 2016.

According to PropTrack, the rental vacancy rate in the Illawarra for August sits at 1.13 per cent, a drop of .05 percentage points from July.

Under current rental laws in NSW, a tenant can request to keep a pet, but the landlord can refuse without providing any reason.

One exception is an assistance animal, which can’t be refused.

Under the planned legislation, a landlord will have to provide a valid reason for rejecting an animal, such as that pet being in breach of local government regulations.

According to a report by the Australian Institute of Family Studies, almost 70 per cent of Australian households include pets.

We know most of us with pets consider them to be part of the family and there is overwhelming evidence that having an animal in the house provides a boost to physical, mental and social health.

Taking a dog for a walk not only makes the canine happy but it exercises the human, helps alleviate signs of depression and is a social outlet – even exchanging a nod and a smile with a fellow dog walker can make us feel happier.

I can’t imagine the despair of people who are walking the thin line between a home and homelessness, or the women trying to escape domestic violence, often with children in tow, who can’t bear the thought of leaving a beloved pet behind.

Research evidence indicates that victim-survivors often stay in violent relationships, delay leaving or return to perpetrators because they have valid fears for the safety of the family animals and don’t want to leave them behind.

According to the Community Legal Centre, studies have shown that between 18 and 48 per cent of victim‑survivors are so concerned for their animal’s safety that they delay or avoid leaving abusive relationships.

For them to make the break from that violence and be told there’s a home available, but only if you get rid of the animal, must be heartbreaking.

The RSPCA knows all too well how the soaring cost of living, including rent, combined with lack of available housing have driven up the rates of pets being surrendered, or abandoned. It says one in five animals received in NSW is due to fears about rental applications.

Ask a landlord who has more rights in a rental agreement and chances are they’ll say the tenant. Ask a tenant and chances are they’ll say the landlord has all the power.

I’ve never been a landlord but I’ve heard horror stories from friends who’ve rented out properties and been burnt by tenants who have little respect for the property in which they live. Conversely, tenants tell stories about horror landlords who have no respect for their privacy or wellbeing and are quick to hike rents or deliver eviction notices.

Having an animal as part of your life should not be a reason for not having a home.

We’ve been home owners for a couple of decades, apart from a 12-month rental stint in between selling and buying a couple of years ago.

We were very fortunate that our estate agent, the beautiful gentleman Bob Onofri, went into bat for us with our potential landlord and convinced him that our 13-year-old cat was “part of the family” and would be no trouble.

Not every tenant is lucky enough to have a Bob Onofri on their side but these changes to the rental laws will hopefully allow everyone to have a Winkz in their homes and their lives.

Footnote: As I was writing this column, our 16-year-old feline family member peacefully passed away. Winkz was my shadow and she’ll always have a special place in our hearts.