Renting with pets in Ireland: what the law says

There is no right to keep a pet in a rented home in Ireland. The Residential Tenancies Act says nothing about pets, which means the question is left to the tenancy agreement. A lease may forbid pets, may allow them with the landlord's written consent, or may say nothing. Where it says nothing, a pet is not a breach, but a landlord can still object to any nuisance or damage the animal causes.

A landlord may also refuse to let to someone with a pet. That is not one of the grounds the Equal Status Acts protect, so there is no complaint to make. The one exception is an assistance dog for a person with a disability, which is a matter of reasonable accommodation rather than a pet. Most tenants with a pet therefore get there by asking, and the letter builder has a request you can adapt.

This guide covers the Republic of Ireland only.

What the lease can say

Section 16 of the Act requires a tenant to comply with the obligations in the tenancy agreement, so a no-pets clause is enforceable through the Act's own machinery. It also requires a tenant not to cause damage beyond normal wear and tear and not to behave, or allow others to behave, in a way that is anti-social. A dog that barks through the night is a nuisance to the neighbours whether or not the lease mentions dogs.

A lease signed before the pet arrived is the lease you have. If it forbids pets and you want one, the route is a written variation agreed with the landlord, not quiet hope.

What the landlord can enforce

Keeping a pet against a no-pets clause is a breach of your obligations. The Act sets the sequence a landlord must follow. First a written warning that names the breach and gives you a reasonable time to put it right. Then, if the breach continues, a notice of termination with 28 days' notice under s.67, which must meet every requirement in s.62. A landlord who skips the warning, or who serves a notice before the time to put it right has run, has served a notice that may be invalid.

The landlord cannot remove the animal, enter the home to check for it without arrangement, or change the locks. Entry is by arrangement except in an emergency, and a lock-out is improper conduct the RTB investigates. The notice checker tests a breach notice against the Act, and landlord entry, privacy and viewings covers inspections.

Where the lease allows the pet, the landlord can still deduct from the deposit for damage the animal caused beyond normal wear and tear: chewed skirting, scratched doors, stained carpets. Scuffs and worn patches that any tenant would leave are wear and tear. What a landlord may deduct draws the line.

Pet deposits and pet rent

Since 9 August 2021 the deposit is capped at one month's rent in total. A "pet deposit" on top of a full month's deposit is over the cap, whatever it is called, and you can refer it to the RTB. A landlord who wants extra security for a pet can only take it within the one month. Deposits and advance rent explains the caps.

"Pet rent", a higher monthly rent in return for consent to a pet, is a different thing. The rent is whatever is agreed at the start of the tenancy, within the rules on setting rent, so a higher rent agreed because of a pet is simply the rent. Once set, it can be reviewed only once in 12 months and by no more than 2% or CPI. A landlord cannot add a pet charge mid-tenancy as a rent increase outside those rules.

Assistance dogs

A trained assistance dog for a person with a disability is not a pet in law. The Equal Status Acts bar discrimination in the provision of accommodation on the disability ground and require a provider to do all that is reasonable to accommodate a person with a disability. Refusing a tenancy, or a tenancy with the dog, on that ground may be discrimination, and the complaint goes to the Workplace Relations Commission within the time limits the Acts set.

Tell the landlord or agent in writing that the dog is an assistance dog and offer the training organisation's documentation. Keep the reply. If the refusal is in writing, so is the evidence.

How to ask

Ask before you sign, or before the pet arrives, and ask in writing. Describe the animal: the species, breed, age, whether it is neutered, vaccinated and microchipped, and how long it will be alone in the home each day. Offer a reference from a previous landlord who knew the pet. Offer to have the carpets cleaned at the end, and to put that in the lease. Say that you understand damage beyond wear and tear comes out of the deposit.

Then ask for the consent in writing, as a variation of the lease, and keep it with the agreement. The letter builder has the request. A landlord who is nervous about pets is usually nervous about damage and noise; a letter that answers both before they are asked gets more yeses than a phone call.

If the answer is no, that is the landlord's right. A pet brought in anyway puts the tenancy at risk, with the warning and the 28-day notice above, and the Act gives you no defence to a breach you chose.

Dogs and the law outside the lease

Separate from the tenancy, a dog must be licensed, microchipped and kept under control, and the local authority's dog warden enforces that. A restricted breed must be muzzled and on a short lead in public. A lease that forbids restricted breeds is enforceable like any other clause. A dog that is a nuisance to neighbours can be the subject of a complaint to the local authority as well as to the landlord.

Where this leaves you

No law gives you a pet in a rented home; the lease decides, and a landlord may say no. Where the lease forbids pets, keeping one is a breach, and the landlord's route is a written warning and then a 28-day notice, never the locks. The deposit stays capped at one month whatever the pet, and damage beyond wear and tear comes out of it. An assistance dog is a question of disability law, not of pets. Ask in writing, answer the landlord's worries before they are raised, and get the consent in writing. Threshold on 1800 454 454 will read a no-pets clause or a breach notice with you for free.