Victorian tenants outraged by confrontational question about rent application
An overwhelming question in an online rental application has sparked controversy after it was spotted by a potential renter.
The Victoria woman was applying for a new home when the topic of pets came up in the online form.
Despite not being a required question, she reconsidered her options when she saw, “Would you consider rehoming your pet?”
Laws have recently changed in some states across Australia to allow tenants to move in peace with their four-legged friends, but they are not yet universal.
The frustrated woman ventured online where she discussed the issue with others in a rental group.
A woman who was applying for rent was shocked when the application she was filling out asked if she would be open to rehoming her pets
Although it was an optional question, the woman was shocked by the brutality of the question
While her answer to the question may not necessarily affect the outcome, she was still in complete shock.
“I am applying for property and I am truly in shock that this is a question,” she wrote.
“Not sure why they couldn’t accommodate a pet.”
Data shows that Australians are some of the biggest animal lovers in the world, with about 69 per cent of homes having at least one animal as a member of the family.
Dogs are the favorite: 48 percent of pet owners choose man’s best friend, with cats taking second place, accounting for 33 percent.
However, the rental crisis is reducing these numbers, with data from the RSPCA showing that one in five pets are being rehomed because landlords don’t want or can’t have them where they live.
While there was no indication that owning a pet would have hurt her chances of getting the property, others in the group suggested it might.
“That’s so f***** up. Landlords gain nothing by forbidding people to lead normal lives,” one person said.
“At best, it encourages tenants to lie on the application,” a second added.
“Encouraging renters to rehome their pet (or suggesting they have a better chance without the pet) just invites dishonesty and there is a good reason for that.
Everyone should have the right to enjoy a pet. I also strongly believe that children do more damage (I have both).’
“Whoever designed their application form borders on psychotic,” said a third.
Landlords in every state except NSW require a valid reason to deny their tenants a pet, and 86 percent of people in a NSW survey want the state to follow suit
Australia is one of the largest pet-loving countries in the world, with 69 percent of people owning a pet
All states and territories allow renters access to a service animal, but only some have laws that provide for having a pet for the pet’s sake.
Residential tenancy laws in Victoria, Queensland, the Northern Territory and ACT have recently been amended to make it easier to own a pet in a rental home.
Tenants still have to declare that they have a pet, but landlords need a valid reason to refuse them.
These reasons may be that there is no suitable space or enclosure or that the animal poses a risk to the public.
South Australia was the last state to grant this right to renters in June, with 68 per cent of people owning a pet in the state but only 20 per cent of rental properties allowing it.
However, New South Wales has not offered any protections to tenants, and landlords can still simply refuse residence to pet owners.
The NSW Tenants Union is campaigning for change and considers banning pets “a breach of (a tenant’s) reasonable rest, comfort and privacy,” according to their website.
A recent poll on the NSW government website found that 87 per cent of respondents believed it should be easier for tenants to keep pets in their homes.