If you're signing a new NSW lease with a dog or cat, two clocks matter. Yours runs for 7 days: from 2 October 2026, a tenant moving in with a pet who applies for consent within 7 days after entering the tenancy agreement can keep the pet at the property while waiting for the landlord's written response. The landlord's runs for 21: if there is no response within 21 days of the application being given to them, the pet is automatically approved without conditions.
Put those together and your pet can be living with you for close to four weeks before an answer is even due. That is our estimate, and here is the working. Apply on day 7, the landlord receives it that day, add their 21 days, and the reply is due around day 28 after you signed. Apply sooner and the answer is due sooner.
The carpet matters from the same moment. A tenancy agreement must not require you to have the carpet professionally cleaned, or pay for it, at the end of the tenancy, except where the landlord has consented to a pet being kept inside and the cleaning is reasonable for the type of pet. A yes to an inside dog or cat is the point where a carpet-cleaning clause can start to count. This guide from Harbourfresh Carpet Cleaning walks through the dates first, then the carpet.
Can your pet move in before the landlord says yes?
- Before Day 0
Option: ask before signing on the standard pet application form, signed by all tenants. The landlord replies on the same form.
- Day 0
Enter the tenancy agreement.
- Days 1 to 7
Your window: apply within 7 days and the pet can stay while you wait for a written response.
- After Day 7
Applied later? You need the landlord's consent before the pet is kept at the property.
Landlord receives your application
- 1
Yes, in writing.
- 2
No response in 21 days: automatically approved without conditions.
- 3
Refused (if you applied within your 7 days)
- Apply to the Tribunal within that time: pet stays while it is considered
- Dismissed or withdrawn: a further 21 days before the pet must go
New tenancies, NSW. Pet-application rule from 2 Oct 2026. Already-consented pets don't reapply. Assistance animals need no consent (notify the landlord). Different rules apply in purpose-built student accommodation.
Yes, if you apply in time. The landlord doesn't have 7 days to decide: the 7 days are yours, and the landlord's response time is still 21 days.
Miss the window and the order flips. If you don't apply within 7 days of entering the agreement, you must have the landlord's consent before keeping the pet at the property.
You don't have to wait until after signing. A tenant can ask for consent before signing the agreement, using the standard pet application form, signed by all tenants on the agreement, with the landlord replying on the same form.
Two groups can skip the form altogether. Tenants who already have consent for a pet do not need to apply again, and assistance animals need no consent, though tenants should notify the landlord.
The change didn't arrive as a pets law. It came through the Residential Tenancies Amendment (Protection of Personal Information) Act 2026 (NSW), a privacy reform, and according to a law firm's briefing, the only provision commenced so far relates to keeping pets.
Work out the dates for your own lease
Pet-application date checker for NSW rentals
Your pet can stay at the property while you wait for the landlord's written response
The landlord's response is due by 27 November 2026. No response by then: automatically approved without conditions.
Refused: the pet can stay until .
Applying to the Tribunal within that period lets the pet stay while it is considered. If the application is dismissed or withdrawn, there is a further 21 days.
Our working: for a deadline that matters, check with NSW Fair Trading.
Here is a typical case. You enter the agreement on 2 November 2026 and hand the landlord your application on 6 November. That is inside your 7 days, so the dog can stay while you wait. The landlord's 21 days run from 6 November, so a response is due by 27 November. If nothing comes by then, the pet is approved without conditions under the 21-day rule. The dates are our working, using plain calendar days. For a deadline that matters to you, check it with NSW Fair Trading.
What happens if the landlord says no?
If you applied within your 7 days, a refusal doesn't mean the pet goes that day. If the landlord refuses, the tenant can keep the pet for 21 days after receiving the response. Apply to the Tribunal within that period and the pet can stay while it is considered. If the Tribunal dismisses the application or the tenant withdraws it, there is a further 21 days before the pet must be removed.
The landlord also needs a reason, and it has to be one on the list. The rules for refusing a pet started on 19 May 2025, and a landlord can refuse only for listed reasons. One of those reasons is a number of animals, and four or fewer is reasonable.
| Reason a landlord can give | What NSW Fair Trading says about it |
|---|---|
| An unreasonable number of animals | Four or fewer is reasonable |
| Unsuitable fencing | Listed reason |
| Not enough open space | Listed reason |
| The animal can't be kept humanely | Listed reason |
| Highly probable the pet will cause damage above the bond amount | The landlord can weigh tenant steps such as toileting areas, training and rugs over floors or carpets. Tiled or concrete flooring, which is harder to damage, is something a landlord can weigh. |
| Other laws (council rules or strata by-laws) | A strata by-law banning all pets is not valid |
| The landlord lives in the same home | Listed reason |
| The tenant didn't agree to reasonable conditions | Listed reason |
NSW. These listed reasons have applied since 19 May 2025. Purpose-built student accommodation is different: the landlord can refuse without giving a reason.
How do rugs and training count when a landlord weighs carpet damage?
One listed reason is that it's highly probable the pet will cause damage above the bond amount. This is the one that comes down to your floors. On that ground, Fair Trading lists tenant preventative actions a landlord can weigh, including setting toileting areas, training the animal, and placing rugs to protect floors or carpets. Tiled or concrete flooring, which is harder to damage, is something a landlord can weigh.
So say what you'll do in the application. Mention a washable rug in front of the couch, a toileting spot in the yard, and a dog that has been through training. A short paragraph covering those gives the landlord something concrete to weigh. It doesn't guarantee a yes.
Can a lease make you pay for professional carpet cleaning?
Does a carpet-cleaning clause apply to you? (NSW)
Q1Did the landlord consent to the pet?
NoThe term doesn't apply. Ask for it to be deleted before signing.
Yes
Q2Is the pet kept inside, with that consent?
NoThe exception is for inside pets, so the term can't require it.
Yes
Q3Is the cleaning reasonable for the type of pet?
YesThe term can apply.
NoBeyond what the term can require.
Only in one situation. You don't always have to pay for a professional carpet clean when you move out: a lease can only require it for an inside pet the landlord consented to, and only where the cleaning is reasonable for that pet.
Read the lease before you sign it. Such a term only applies if the landlord consented to the pet, and if not, it should be deleted before signing.
Fumigation follows the same logic, but for mammals only. A term requiring professional fumigation is prohibited unless a pet mammal is kept inside with consent, and invalid terms cannot be applied.
For what the carpet should look like on the way out, our earlier guide to moving out in NSW, carpet wear and tear and the pet clause picks up from here.
Which carpet marks count against your bond?
The standard is your starting point. The tenant must leave the property as near as possible to its starting condition, excluding fair wear and tear.
On carpet, the line falls in a few predictable places. Furniture indentations and traffic marks are fair wear and tear, while stains and burn marks are damage. Water stains depend on the cause: stains from a leaking roof or bad plumbing are fair wear and tear, but stains from an overflowing bath or indoor pot plants are damage. A pet accident left to soak in is still a stain.
| Carpet mark | NSW Fair Trading calls it |
|---|---|
| Furniture indentations | Fair wear and tear |
| Traffic marks | Fair wear and tear |
| Burn marks | Damage |
| Stains (other than water stains from a leaking roof or bad plumbing) | Damage |
| Water stains from a leaking roof or bad plumbing | Fair wear and tear |
| Water stains from an overflowing bath or indoor pot plants | Damage |
You must leave the property as near as possible to its starting condition, excluding fair wear and tear.
Because "starting condition" is the yardstick, photograph the carpet on the day you move in, room by room, with the date showing. Do the same at move-out. That gives you something to compare against if the bond is ever in question. Our end-of-lease carpet cleaning guide covers the move-out side.
Cleaning pet urine from carpet in a rental: what to do on the day
Speed matters more than any product. Deal with an accident the same day, soak up what you can, and don't add more liquid than you can get back out. Test anything you use on a hidden patch first, because a bleached mark is a mark of its own.
Know when to stop. If the smell keeps returning, the patch is bigger than a hand towel, or you're a few weeks from handing back the keys, it is time for a professional clean. Our guide to keeping carpets fresh with pets has more on the everyday side.
A pet accident on rental carpet: the same day.
Where do the rules work differently: strata and student housing?
In a unit, the landlord's yes may not be the only one you need. Tenants may need owners corporation approval as well as the landlord's consent, and the strata application is separate. A by-law banning all pets is not valid.
Student housing sits outside most of this. In purpose-built student accommodation, the landlord can refuse a pet without giving a reason.
Moving in with a pet, or handing the keys back?
If you're moving in, get the application in within your 7 days. Photograph the carpet on day one, and put a rug down before the dog finds its favourite spot.
If you're moving out with a pet the landlord said yes to, check whether your lease has a carpet-cleaning clause and whether it's reasonable for your pet. Harbourfresh Carpet Cleaning cleans carpets, rugs and upholstery across Newcastle, Lake Macquarie and the Hunter. Tell us your move-out date, the rooms and the pet through our free quote form, and you can see what we clean on the services page.
Sources
- Pets in rentals, NSW Government
- Changes to rental laws, NSW Fair Trading
- Residential tenancy agreements, NSW Government
- Fair wear and tear versus damage in rental properties, NSW Government
- Public service announcement: NSW landlords and real estate agents, the Privacy Act now applies to you, Sparke Helmore