Pet laws in effect

From 1 December 2025, new laws under the Residential Tenancies Act take effect. They aim to make it easier for tenants to keep pets while giving landlords added protections. Key changes include:

• tenants can keep a pet if allowed in the tenancy agreement or with written landlord consent
• landlords may only decline pet requests on reasonable grounds
• landlords can set reasonable conditions on keeping the pet, like charging a pet bond of up to two weeks’ rent (only one pet bond at a time)
• tenants are responsible for all pet-related damage beyond fair wear and tear
• existing pets allowed before 1 December do not require a new consent, and landlords cannot add conditions or charge a pet bond for them.

Rules about pets

Bond Hub: A new way to manage bonds online

We have introduced Bond Hub, an online self-service tool for landlords to:

•  view all bonds in one place
• lodge new bonds or top-ups (including pet bonds).

To use Bond Hub, landlords must register and verify their identity via RealMe, Microsoft, or Google.

Tenants do not need to register — they will receive email links from us for refunds or payments.

Refunds will move to Bond Hub in 2026 for more flexibility. Until then, follow the current process using the bond refund form.

Property managers using integrated software can now process refunds through their systems — check with your provider for availability.

Integrated property management software users: Prepare for bond service updates

Bonds

Bond Hub(external link)

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