For too many years, in recent decades, New Zealanders-who-rent have - increasingly - had to make the choice to either stay hunting for a home for a prolonged period, or live without a pet being part of their family.
While I readily accept that a small percentage of irresponsible pet owners "ruin it for others", the fact is this: A larger percentage of Kiwi households own a pet than those that don't have a pet.
According to research undertaken in 2022 by Companion Animals New Zealand (CANZ), 64 percent of our homes have a furred member of the family (I mean, a real one, the actual, literal, original, four-legged type).
So it's especially gratifying to finally see a politician with the power to do so, make a difference for all those households who both own a pet and rent - whether they be people on their own, large families, or anything in between.
According to an
article in
'Inside Government New Zealand', a new pet-friendly tenancy Bill has just passed its first reading.
The article's author quotes Housing Minister Chris Bishop:
“We’ve heard from many renters that it’s far too hard to find a rental home when you have a pet or want to get one. Pets are important members of so many Kiwi families, and we think it’s only right to make it easier to rent a home with your furry friend.
“The Bill makes it far easier to have a pet in a rental property in two ways: it requires landlords to only withhold consent for their tenants to have a pet on reasonable grounds, which might include things like whether the property has suitable fencing for a dog, for example.
“It also allows landlords to charge an additional two-week bond in case the pet causes damage to the property, giving the landlord greater reassurance that they won’t be left out of pocket through allowing Mr Fluffy Bum to move in with his person,” he said.
