Pet request letter template for landlords in England (free)

Here is a complete pet request letter you can use. It is free, there is nothing to sign up for, and it is the same structure our paid kit uses — we would rather you sent a good letter than no letter.

Copy it, replace anything in capitals, and send it by email so you have a dated record.

The template

[YOUR NAME] [PROPERTY ADDRESS] [POSTCODE]

[TODAY’S DATE]

[LANDLORD OR AGENT NAME] [THEIR ADDRESS]

Dear [NAME],

Request for consent to keep a pet at [PROPERTY ADDRESS]

I am writing to ask for your consent to keep a [BREED] [dog/cat], [PET NAME], at [PROPERTY ADDRESS].

I am making this request under section 16A of the Housing Act 1988, which was inserted by section 11 of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 and came into force on 1 May 2026. Under those provisions, you are required to give or refuse consent in writing on or before the 28th day after the date of this request, and consent must not be unreasonably refused. If you need further information in order to decide, please ask me and I will provide it promptly.

[PET NAME] is [AGE] and has lived with me since [WHEN]. [TWO OR THREE SENTENCES ABOUT THEM: temperament, what they are like indoors, anything a landlord would find reassuring.]

[WHY THE PROPERTY SUITS THEM: your working pattern, walks, whether anyone is home in the day, outside space, how you would handle noise or neighbours.]

[PET NAME] is house-trained, neutered and microchipped. Vaccinations are up to date and I can send the records. I will of course put right any damage they cause, as I would with anything else in the property.

[IF APPLICABLE: [PET NAME] lived with me at [PREVIOUS ADDRESS] for [HOW LONG] with no complaints, and [PREVIOUS LANDLORD NAME] is happy to confirm that.]

If keeping a pet here would require the consent of a superior landlord, or if you need to ask me for further information, I understand the Act allows you a short extension beyond the 28 days in those circumstances. Please let me know if either applies.

I would be grateful for your written response by [DATE 28 DAYS FROM TODAY]. I would be glad to discuss any concerns you have, and I am happy to answer questions or arrange for you to meet them.

Yours sincerely,

[YOUR NAME]

Why it is in that order

The request first, the law second. Opening with legislation reads as a threat and puts a person on the defensive before they have understood what you are asking for. One plain sentence saying what you want, then the basis for it.

The law once, accurately, and then never again. One paragraph. It does not need repeating, and repeating it makes the rest of the letter sound like a legal notice rather than a request from a tenant they have to keep dealing with.

The pet in the middle. This is the part that actually persuades. A landlord’s real question is “is this going to cost me money or hassle”, and the answer to that is a specific, unexciting description of a specific, unexciting animal.

Commitments near the end, and only real ones. Only write what you genuinely mean. These are undertakings in your name.

A date, not a deadline. “By 29 September 2026” is a note in a diary. “Within 28 days or else” is a fight.

Three things to leave out

Do not offer pet insurance. A clause letting landlords require it was removed from the Bill before it passed, so they cannot demand it. Volunteering it as the price of consent hands back something Parliament deliberately took away, and sets a precedent for the next tenant too. If you already have insurance, mention it as a fact about you — not as an offer.

Do not offer a bigger deposit. They cannot take one. Deposits are capped by the Tenant Fees Act 2019 and there is no pet exception.

Do not claim silence means yes. You will read online that a missed 28-day deadline means automatic permission. The Act does not say that. Putting it in your letter means the one factual error in the whole thing is yours, in writing, and it undermines the parts you got right.

After you send it

Diary the date. If they ask for more information, send it the same day if you can — a fast reply is persuasive in itself, and it restarts only a short clock. If they refuse, ask for the reason in writing.

If it stalls or the refusal looks unreasonable, Shelter and Citizens Advice both give free housing advice in England.

If you would rather not do it yourself

Our Landlord Pet Request Kit produces this letter with your details filled in, plus a one-page summary of your pet that an agent can file. The legal wording is fixed and checked; the parts about your pet are written from what you tell us.

It costs £49 and it saves you an hour. The template above is the same letter, and it is free. Use whichever suits you.