Pet parents looking to secure a rental in the ACT might have some luck in Belconnen, which has been declared Canberra's most pet-friendly suburb.
Data from real estate agency Ray White shows Canberra recorded 96 rental listings with pet-friendly descriptions in the 12 months to July 2022, compared to 75 the year prior.
Belconnen, in Canberra's north-west, was declared the city's most accommodating suburb for pet owners, with 10 listings in the past 12 months that specifically mentioned the phrase "pet-friendly".
There were three listings in Parkes and the rest were thinly spread across other ACT suburbs.
Finding a pet-accepting landlord hasn't always been an easy task in Canberra.
Dog owner Allan Freedman said finding a rental property that would accommodate his German shepherd, Misty, was so difficult about five years ago that buying his own home became an easier option.
"I applied for, I would say, 30 or 40 rental houses and I just got rejected every time," he said.
In some applications, Mr Freedman offered to pay $20 more per week and an additional pet bond of up to $1000.
Disheartened by his rental search, Mr Freedman moved back with his parents before purchasing his own property with a backyard.
Since then, the ACT has introduced legislation making it easier for renters to own pets.
Following an amendment to the Residential Tenancies Act in November 2019, a landlord may only refuse consent for a pet with the approval of the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
A tenancy agreement can impose a requirement the tenant must seek the landlord's consent before keeping a pet, however if the agreement does not have a provision about pets, the tenant can have a pet without permission.
Canberra renter Lauren Swan said it was a smooth process bringing Audrey, her new cocker spaniel puppy, into her rental.
She reached out to her property manager who sought permission from the landlord and the building's strata manager.
"The owner is apparently a dog-lover, so she said, 'Yes, of course'," Ms Swan said.
"I sent them photos of the dog and they love her."
For Ashlee Malcolm and Matt Luff, finding a pet-friendly rental in Canberra took some time.
They were previously renting an apartment but moved out in search of a property that would suit a dog in the future.
"That was one of our non-negotiables when looking for a house to rent - we wanted to be able to have a dog," Ms Malcolm said.
She said while there were some rental listings that specifically stated the home was pet-friendly, most agents recommended the couple specify their intention to own a dog in the application.
"So I suppose we did have to apply for a lot more houses because no one could give us a yes or no answer," Ms Malcolm said.
Their persistence paid off and they eventually found a suitable rental. They promptly welcomed Tacko, a staffy cross, into their home.
It helped that the real estate agent was a dog person, Ms Malcolm said.
"We've been very lucky with our landlord and our agency, they've been really good to us," she said.
"We asked to get a dog door installed and within 20 minutes the landlord came back and was like, 'Yeah, that's cool'."
Ms Malcolm said renters should consider writing a pet resume to go with their application, with some photos and fun facts about their pet.
"I think that kind of makes you stand out from the crowd a little bit more and be a bit more personable," she said.
Ray White data shows Sydney recorded the most pet-friendly listings with 771 advertisements, while Melbourne followed with 416 listings and Brisbane had 366.
William Clark from Ray White Economics said the ACT's laws on pets in rental properties may explain the small number of pet-friendly listings "as it is the default state of a rental listing to grant this permission upon application".
Listings were also more prominent in areas with multiple apartment blocks.
"Suburbs with high concentrations of apartments like Macquarie Park [in Sydney] and Belconnen stand out, as landlords with more than one unit in a block may employ one agent for all apartments and use the same listing for the units in that apartment," Mr Clark said.
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