A dog, a landlord on holiday and an email thread
A tenant emails to ask whether they can get a dog. The property manager forwards it to the landlord, who is on holiday. The tenant follows up on the phone. The landlord replies a fortnight later asking what breed and whether the garden is fenced. The property manager asks the tenant, who has already put a deposit on a puppy. Eventually the landlord agrees with conditions, which are written in an email and never added to the tenancy file.
When the tenancy ends and the carpets need replacing, nobody can find what was agreed.
Why pet requests are messy
Rules on how tenants may request pets, how landlords must respond and on what grounds a request can be refused vary by where the property is and when the tenancy began, and your adviser confirms what applies. Whatever the rules, the practical work is the same: collect enough detail for the landlord to decide, get a decision within the time that applies, record it with its reasons, and reflect any conditions in the tenancy.
When requests arrive by email, phone, text and at inspections, and landlords are asked informally, timings and reasons are easily lost.
| Step | Where it slips |
|---|---|
| Request received | Arrives by phone and is not logged |
| Details gathered | Landlord asks follow-up questions one at a time |
| Landlord decision | Slow, and the deadline is not tracked |
| Reasons recorded | Verbal or buried in email |
| Conditions applied | Not added to the tenancy |
What mishandled requests cost
A slow or undocumented response can put a landlord in a difficult position, depending on the rules that apply, and your adviser can explain the risk. Tenants who wait weeks for an answer, or receive a refusal with no reason, are more likely to complain or leave. And agreed conditions that were never recorded are no use at the end of the tenancy.
The pet request process we build
- One way in: tenants make requests through a short form linked from your tenant communications, and requests made by phone or at inspections are entered by staff through the same form.
- Details up front: the form asks for the information landlords usually need, such as type of pet, size, number and any relevant arrangements, with photos if the tenant wishes.
- Landlord decision: the landlord receives the request with the property details and a simple way to agree, agree with conditions, ask a question or refuse with reasons, as your adviser's guidance sets out.
- Deadline tracking: the response time your adviser confirms is tracked from the date the request is received, with reminders to the landlord and alerts to the property manager.
- Record: the request, the decision, the reasons and any conditions are stored against the tenancy, and the tenant receives the decision in writing.
- Tenancy update: agreed conditions are flagged for adding to the tenancy records and for checking at inspections and checkout.
The system does not decide whether to agree a pet. That is for the landlord, with your team's help and your adviser's guidance.
Pet requests with a paper trail
Every pet request is logged the same way, however it arrives. Landlords get what they need to decide in one go. Deadlines are tracked rather than remembered. At the end of the tenancy, the agreement and its conditions are on file, and inspections along the way can check them.
Are pet requests getting lost?
- Pet requests arrive by phone, email and text with no central log.
- Landlords take a long time to respond to pet requests.
- Reasons for refusing a pet are not recorded.
- Agreed pet conditions are not added to the tenancy file.