Casey's Story
With many experiences of poor customer service by the real estate agent in mind, Casey decided to wait until the new rental laws enabling tenants to apply to keep a pet in their homes came into effect, before seeking permission to have his dog, a border collie named Elsie, move in with him.
Casey has been renting in the Campbelltown area for a few years while finishing his studies. His current home is managed by an agent who has been unsupportive and difficult to communicate with from the start.
Casey’s property had signs of wear and tear when he moved in, and he carefully documented them in his condition report. This report comes in handy after each inspection, when the agent attempts to blame Casey for the discoloured grout in the bathroom, a sign of use dating back to before the time of his tenancy. In the past, the property manager has also attempted to inspect Casey's property more than the legally allowed 4 times in a 12 month period, and refused him permission to hang pictures on the walls of his apartment until after the first inspection.
With all of these experiences of poor customer service by the real estate agent in mind, Casey decided to wait until the new rental laws enabling tenants to apply to keep a pet in their homes came into effect. Casey then asked for permission to have his dog, a border collie named Elsie, move in with him.
Once the new regulation came into effect on May 19th 2025, it was finally time to apply. It came as no surprise that the agent was not helpful or supportive of Casey’s request.
At first, the real estate claimed that the Pet Application Form Casey submitted was filled in incorrectly. When this attempt to dismiss Casey’s request was rebuffed, the agency sent him a letter signed by the property manager, not the landlord, refusing the request for keeping a dog in the granny flat. Their reasons: “highly probable that the keeping of the animal will cause damage that would cost more than the bond of $1000 to reasonably repair.”
Casey wasn’t surprised by the refusal, nor was he going to give up this easily. He applied to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) to challenge the decision denying him the right to keep a dog in his home.
Casey found the online Tribunal application process was easy to follow and had no trouble submitting it. After the brief first hearing, the parties were instructed to collect evidence and reconvene to have their arguments heard. Casey attended the second hearing armed with academic articles and a statement about his two-year-old border collie; he was ready for the agent’s arguments. What happened next was a vindicating experience.
The Tribunal Member was not impressed by the arguments presented by the property manager. After failing to provide convincing evidence proving the dog would cause damage, apart from an insurance article about border collies describing them as “highly energetic” and photos of dusty skirting boards from past inspections, the property manager moved on to insisting it would be inhumane to keep the dog outdoors, despite Casey’s application stipulating Elsie would live inside the granny flat. In a last ditch effort to have Casey’s matter dismissed, the agent complained that they would have no way of checking if the dog was walked regularly, a particularly outlandish argument, which the Tribunal Member rejected, along with all the others.
In early July, Casey received the orders from the Tribunal granting him permission to keep Elsie in his rental property, and the border collie was finally able to move in.
However, the official Tribunal orders haven’t stopped the real estate agency from bothering Casey. Recently, the property manager attempted to again make their 5th inspection of the property in 12 months. The agency has also emailed Casey a number of times requesting he signs an agreement for keeping the pet, which not only isn't required by law, but also contained additional conditions on the tenancy, including that Casey take on financial responsibility for repairing the fence surrounding the property. Casey, refused to sign this agreement and also emailed the agency back to inform them about the complaint he filed against them with the office of NSW Fair Trading.
Casey is pleased with the outcome of his Tribunal matter and to have Elsie by his side in his granny flat. His successful journey to this point was only possible thanks to the long-awaited law changes that many renters and renters’ rights advocates have fought for; law changes that help renters have a home that really feels like home.
More info
Factsheets: Tenancy law has changed in NSW, Pets, NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT)
Tips: Negotiating with the landlord
