Pet fees

Pet fees are charges connected to a tenant keeping a pet in a rental property. In England, almost all such charges are prohibited under the Tenant Fees Act 2019, which bans landlords and agents from requesting any payment that is not listed as a permitted payment under the Act. A standalone pet fee, whether called an "admin charge", "pet deposit top-up", or anything else, is not a permitted payment and cannot lawfully be charged. The penalty for requesting a prohibited payment is a civil penalty of up to £5,000 for a first breach, rising to £30,000 for a further breach within five years. The process by which a tenant makes a pet request, and the 28-day response obligation on landlords, is governed by a separate statutory framework under section 11 of the Renters' Rights Act 2025.

What landlords can charge in relation to pets

The Tenant Fees Act 2019 permits only four categories of payment from tenants: rent, a refundable tenancy deposit, a refundable holding deposit, and a payment to vary the tenancy when the tenant requests the change. That last category is the only legitimate "pet fee" a landlord can charge.

If a tenant asks to vary an existing tenancy agreement to add a pet clause, the landlord may charge up to £50 for preparing the variation, or a higher amount if the landlord can evidence that the reasonable cost actually exceeds £50. This charge is only permitted where the variation is at the tenant's request. A landlord cannot charge for updating the agreement as a condition of granting pet consent; the variation payment must be separate from the consent decision.

The deposit cap and pet deposits

A separate "pet deposit", money paid in addition to the standard deposit specifically to cover pet-related risk, is not a permitted payment under the Tenant Fees Act 2019. The deposit cap applies regardless of whether a pet is present: five weeks' rent where the annual rent is below £50,000, or six weeks' rent where it is £50,000 or above. A landlord who accepts a deposit that exceeds the cap faces civil penalties and may lose the right to rely on the deposit at the end of the tenancy.

If the existing deposit is below the cap, a landlord could in theory request an additional deposit before the cap is reached, but only up to the cap total, not as a separate pet-specific charge. The practical window for this is narrow and usually immaterial.

Pet rent

Pet rent is a higher headline rent that reflects the additional risk of a pet-owning tenant. It is not a fee; it is part of the rent, and it is not prohibited under the Tenant Fees Act 2019 provided it is advertised transparently from the outset. A landlord who lets a property to a tenant with a pet at £1,200 per month, where an equivalent letting without a pet would be £1,100, has not charged a prohibited payment. The higher rent is the declared rent for that tenancy.

The Renters' Rights Act 2025 does not prohibit pet rent but constrains how rent can be adjusted during an existing tenancy. From 1 May 2026, rent can only be increased once in any 12-month period via the Section 13 process, with prescribed notice, and rental bidding is banned. A landlord cannot informally negotiate a "pet surcharge" on top of the running rent once the tenancy has started.

Pet damage insurance

An earlier version of the Renters' Rights Bill proposed allowing landlords to require tenants to take out pet damage insurance as a condition of granting pet consent. This provision was removed during the Report Stage in the House of Lords; it does not appear in the Renters' Rights Act 2025 as passed. A landlord cannot require a tenant to take out pet insurance, and cannot be reimbursed for the cost of pet insurance the landlord arranges. Requiring or accepting such a payment would be a breach of the Tenant Fees Act 2019.

What a landlord can do is take out their own pet damage insurance policy, a product the landlord purchases in their own name to cover damage beyond the deposit cap. Landlords concerned about pet damage beyond what the deposit can cover should consider pet damage insurance, a policy the landlord takes out themselves, which does not involve passing costs to the tenant and therefore does not trigger the Tenant Fees Act prohibition.

The prohibition on pet fees sits within the broader framework of the Tenant Fees Act 2019, which lists the only payments a landlord or agent can lawfully request from a tenant in England.

Practical risk management

Without a pet deposit top-up, and without the ability to require insurance from the tenant, the landlord's primary protection against pet-related damage is the standard deposit combined with robust documentation. A detailed, photographic inventory at the start of the tenancy establishes the baseline condition clearly. Prompt repair reporting during the tenancy prevents damage from compounding. A clear pet clause in the tenancy agreement (prepared as a paid variation if requested by the tenant) sets expectations about cleaning, permitted areas, and end-of-tenancy restoration. The deposit can then be used for evidenced damage at the end of the tenancy in the usual way, subject to the deposit cap and the deposit protection rules.

Landlords using August can store the written pet consent and any variation agreement in document management, giving a clear audit trail if a deposit deduction or fee dispute arises later.

For a complete guide to managing pets in rental properties, including template language for pet consent addenda, end-of-tenancy damage claims, and how to handle the 28-day response process, see our landlord guide to pets in rental properties.

Frequently asked questions

Can a landlord charge extra rent for a pet?

Yes, at the point of letting. A landlord may advertise and charge a higher rent where a pet is present, provided the rent is the advertised rent from the start of the tenancy and is not presented as a separate pet surcharge on top of the rent. Once the tenancy is running, rent can only be increased through the formal Section 13 process, once per year, with prescribed notice, and informal pet-related top-ups are not permitted.

What happens if a landlord charges a prohibited pet fee?

A prohibited payment under the Tenant Fees Act 2019 exposes the landlord to a civil penalty of up to £5,000 for a first breach. A further breach within five years attracts a penalty of up to £30,000 or criminal prosecution. The tenant can also recover any prohibited payment through the First-tier Tribunal. Enforcement lies with local authority Trading Standards and the relevant district or borough council.

Do the pet fee rules apply in Scotland and Wales?

Scotland and Wales have separate but broadly similar fee-ban regimes. In Scotland, the Rent (Scotland) Act 1984 and subsequent regulations restrict charges to tenants; specific rules on pet-related fees are governed by Scottish tenancy law rather than the Tenant Fees Act 2019, which applies to England only. In Wales, the Renting Homes (Fees etc.) (Wales) Act 2019 introduced comparable prohibitions. Landlords with properties across more than one nation should check the rules in each jurisdiction separately.