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Since December 1, 2025, New Zealand landlords can no longer rely on blanket "no pets" policies. If your tenant requests a pet, you must respond in writing within 21 calendar days, either granting consent (with or without conditions) or declining with documented, reasonable grounds. Failing to respond, or refusing without a valid reason, carries a penalty of up to $1,500 under the Residential Tenancies Act 1986. If you approve the request, you can charge a pet bond of up to two weeks' rent on top of the standard tenancy bond.

If you own a rental property in Wellington and you haven't updated how you handle pet requests, this post is worth your time. Here's what the new regime looks like in practice, and what you need to do when your next pet request lands in your inbox.

What Changed on 1 December 2025

Before December 2025, many landlords simply put "no pets" in their tenancy agreements and left it at that. That approach is no longer lawful.

Under the amended Residential Tenancies Act 1986, tenants now have the right to request consent to keep a pet. Landlords can still say no, but only on reasonable grounds. The default position has shifted: pets are assumed to be allowed unless you can justify a refusal.

The change was described by Tenancy Tribunal principal adjudicator Brett Carter in the first Tribunal ruling under the new rules as "an intentional move away from blanket 'no pet' policies." That ruling, issued on May 1, 2026, involved a Christchurch tenant who wanted to keep a labrador puppy in an upstairs flat. The landlord refused, citing concerns about the deck and noise. The Tribunal overruled that refusal and approved the pet, with conditions.

That decision matters because it sets the tone for how all future disputes will be decided. If a risk can be managed through reasonable conditions, refusing outright is unlikely to hold up at the Tribunal.

The 21-Day Rule

Once you receive a written pet request from your tenant, you have 21 calendar days to respond. This is not 21 working days. It starts from the day you receive the request.

Your response must be in writing and must do one of two things:

• Grant consent, with or without conditions, or
• Decline, with clearly stated reasonable grounds

Silence is not an option. Failing to respond within 21 days is treated as an unlawful act and carries a penalty of up to $1,500. It doesn't matter whether you forgot, were busy, or simply hadn't decided yet. The clock runs regardless.

This is one of those rules that catches landlords out when they're self-managing, especially if a request comes in while you're travelling or dealing with other commitments. Keeping a clear record of when you received the request, and when you responded, protects you if there's ever a dispute.

What Counts as a Reasonable Ground for Refusal

The law doesn't give landlords an exhaustive list of acceptable reasons to refuse. It does provide a framework, and the Tribunal ruling gives some useful context on how that framework is interpreted.

Grounds the Tribunal is likely to accept include:

• The property is genuinely unsuitable for the specific pet, for example, no outdoor space for a large dog, or a ground-floor apartment with no fencing
• The body corporate's rules for the building prohibit pets
• Documented evidence that the specific animal has a history of aggressive behaviour
• A cross-lease or unit title condition that restricts animals on the property

Grounds the Tribunal is unlikely to accept:

• A general concern about pets without reference to the specific animal or property
• A policy that all properties in your portfolio are "no pets"
• Fencing that is technically absent but could be temporarily installed as a condition of approval
• A preference not to deal with the additional administration

The Tribunal's approach is clear: if there is a way to mitigate the risk through reasonable conditions, you should set those conditions rather than refuse. In the Christchurch case, the adjudicator allowed the dog on the condition that the tenant pay for protective deck mats, an outdoor barrier, and supervised access to communal areas. The concerns were addressed, not dismissed. The pet was approved.

Wellington landlords who own apartments in buildings with body corporate rules are in a clearer position. If the body corporate prohibits animals, that's a documented, legitimate ground for refusal. Document it in your written response and keep a copy of the relevant body corporate rules on file.

How to Approve a Pet Request With Conditions

Approving a request with conditions is often the safest and most practical outcome. It protects you, keeps a good tenant in place, and gives you a documented agreement to rely on if anything goes wrong.

Reasonable conditions you can set include:

• A requirement for professional carpet or floor cleaning at the end of the tenancy
• Temporary fencing or barriers for dogs with outdoor access
• Restrictions on which areas of the property the pet can access
• A requirement that the tenant supervise the animal in communal areas
• A pet bond (see below)

Your conditions must be reasonable and proportionate to the specific risk the pet presents. Requiring a tenant to professionally steam-clean the entire property if they have a small indoor cat, for example, is unlikely to be considered reasonable.

All conditions should be agreed in writing and attached to or noted in the tenancy agreement.

The Pet Bond: What You Can Charge and How It Works

If you approve a pet, you can charge a pet bond of up to two weeks' rent. This is separate from the standard tenancy bond, which remains capped at four weeks' rent. Combined, you can hold up to six weeks' rent in bonds for a tenancy that includes a pet.

A few important rules around pet bonds:

• The pet bond must be lodged with Tenancy Services through Bond Hub within 23 working days of receiving it
• You cannot charge a pet bond for a pet the tenant was already keeping before December 1, 2025 with your approval, even if you hadn't formalised the arrangement
• You cannot charge a pet bond for a disability assist dog under any circumstances

The pet bond is not your only recourse if a pet causes damage. Under the new rules, tenants are fully liable for all pet damage beyond fair wear and tear, including accidental and careless damage. This is different from the standard rule for ordinary tenant damage, where a landlord's insurance can limit what they can claim. Pet damage sits outside that protection. If the pet bond doesn't cover the cost of repairs, you can apply to the Tenancy Tribunal for the remainder.

What About Existing Tenants?

If a tenant is already keeping a pet that you approved before December 1, 2025, the new rules don't require you to revisit that arrangement. The existing approval stands, the existing conditions apply, and you can't retrospectively charge a pet bond for that animal.

If an existing tenant now wants to add a new pet, that's a new request and the new rules apply in full: written request, 21-day response, reasonable grounds if you're declining, and the option to charge a pet bond if you approve.

One thing Wellington landlords should check: if you have been advertising properties as "no pets" on Trade Me Property or other platforms, that language needs to come down. A blanket "no pets" advertisement is inconsistent with the new law. You can note that pets require approval, but advertising a property as categorically pet-free implies you will refuse all requests, which is no longer how the law works.

I walk landlords in Kelburn, Karori, Thorndon, and across Wellington through situations like this regularly. The process is straightforward once you have a clear system in place, but the 21-day window and the documentation requirements are easy to miss when you're self-managing alongside a full-time job or other commitments.

The new pet consent rules are genuinely different from what came before. The Tenancy Tribunal has now set the benchmark through its first ruling, and landlords who refuse requests without documented, specific grounds are exposed. A clear process protects you, keeps good tenants in place, and ensures you're not caught out by the 21-day clock.

If you'd rather hand this over to someone who handles it every day, including tenant communication, written responses, pet bond lodgement, condition-setting, and documentation, we'd be happy to talk. Get in touch with Dave at Propertyscouts Capital City.