Decision details

Moved by Councillor Ellsmore, seconded by the Chair (the Lord Mayor) –

It is resolved that:

(A)      Council note:

(i)         Australia has among the highest rates of pet ownership in the world. Pet ownership has increased in NSW to 60 per cent of households;

(ii)        research from the RSPCA found that pet ownership has many benefits, including improvements to mental health and wellbeing;

(iii)      the majority of people living in the City of Sydney are now renters. Households renting in the City increased from 46.7 per cent in 2016, to 53.7 per cent in 2021;

(iv)      the Council has previously advocated to the NSW Government to introduce legislation to offer better protection to renters, including by prohibiting no-grounds evictions, punitive and discriminatory practices, rent bidding by landlords, and ‘no pets’ clauses;

(v)       in NSW, tenancy laws still allow for blanket ‘no pets’ clauses. This allows landlords to refuse requests from renters to have a pet without providing a reason (unless it is an assistance animal);

(vi)      in other states and territories, rules have recently changed to make it easier for tenants to keep pets in rental homes by, for example, requiring the landlord to provide a reason to refuse a pet;

(vii)     the NSW Government is currently consulting about changing tenancy rules, to make it easier for renters to have pets; and

(viii)    there is strong community campaigning by Make Renting Fair and the Tenants’ Union NSW to change NSW tenancy laws to end blanket 'no pets' clauses in NSW;

(B)      Council expresses its strong support for law reforms which would make it easier for renters to have pets in NSW; and

(C)      the Chief Executive Officer be requested to:

(i)         provide a submission to the NSW Government in support of reform to support pet ownership in rentals, by the deadline of Friday, 2 December 2022; and

(ii)        send a copy of this motion and the City of Sydney Council submission to the Minister for Fair Trading Victor Dominello, the relevant opposition Shadow Minister, and the NSW Tenants Union.

Carried unanimously.

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