12 October 2026 · 1 min read
How long does a landlord have to reply to a pet request in England?
28 days, in writing, from the date of your request. Two things can add 7 days, and silence is not consent. What happens on day 29.
A landlord in England must give or refuse consent in writing on or before the 28th day after the date of your pet request. That deadline comes from section 11 of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025, in force since 1 May 2026, and the landlord must not refuse unreasonably. Missing it is not consent: the Act contains no deemed consent, so do not move an animal in on the strength of a missed deadline.
This guide covers England only.
What can extend the 28 days
Two things, each by 7 days:
- A request for more information. If the landlord reasonably asks about the pet within the 28 days, they can wait until the 7th day after you provide it.
- A superior landlord’s consent. If keeping the pet needs a freeholder’s or head landlord’s consent and your landlord asks for it within the 28 days, they can wait until the 7th day after they get an answer.
If the deadline passes
Write again, briefly, refer to the original request and its date, and ask for a written answer by a specific date. If a letting agent is involved, use their complaints procedure, since agents in England must belong to a redress scheme. Shelter and Citizens Advice give free housing advice to renters in England.
The full day-by-day picture is in The 28-day rule: what happens after you send a pet request. If you have not sent a request yet, start with How do I ask my landlord for permission to keep a pet in England?
UK ESA Register’s Landlord Pet Request Kit, €58 (about £49), calculates the 28-day date for you. UK ESA Register is a private register, not a government scheme and not a legal document, and the right to ask belongs to you as a tenant with or without anything we sell.
Read next
- Renting with a cat in England: what landlords ask, and how to answerCats are the easier request, and landlords still say no. The five concerns behind a refusal, and how to write one a landlord can say yes to.
- Moving with a pet: eight questions to ask before you sign a tenancyWhat to find out about a flat, a lease and a landlord before you commit, so the pet conversation happens on your terms, not after the deposit.
- How to write a Pet CV a landlord will actually readOne page, six headings, no adjectives. What to put in a Pet CV, what to leave out, and why a letting agent files it when they bin everything else.