A pet request letter your landlord has to answer
Since May 2026, a tenant in England can formally ask to keep a pet — and the landlord has to answer properly. This is the document that does the asking.
Before anything else
What the letter relies on
Section 11 of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 inserted section 16A into the Housing Act 1988, in force since 1 May 2026. Under it, a landlord must give or refuse consent to keep a pet in writing on or before the 28th day after the request, and consent must not be unreasonably refused.
Two things can extend that by seven days: a reasonable request from them for more information, or the need to get a superior landlord’s consent.
What the Act does not do is treat silence as agreement. If they miss the deadline that is a breach of their duty, not permission — and our letter does not claim otherwise, because a letter with one confident error in it undermines the parts that are right.
What you get
A finished letter with your details, your landlord’s, the property, and a response date 28 days out — laid out as a plain business letter, because anything that looks like marketing is easier to dismiss.
And a one-page summary of your pet: vaccinations, training, neutering and microchipping, your daytime routine, renting history and references. An agent can put it straight in a file, which is exactly what you want them to do with it.
What it will never say
It will not offer pet insurance or a larger deposit. The power to require pet insurance was removed from the Bill before it passed, and deposits are capped by the Tenant Fees Act 2019 with no pet exception. Volunteering either hands back something Parliament deliberately took away.
It will not mention your health, because the right belongs to every tenant regardless and we do not ask.
England only, and we check
The pet provisions extend to England. If your property is in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland the form stops before payment and tells you why, because a letter citing a right you do not have is worth nothing.
What there is to buy
A formal pet request letter built on the Renters’ Rights Act, plus a Pet CV. One payment, no renewals.
Not a legal document. UK ESA Register is a private service, not a government body, and no official UK register of emotional support animals exists.
Questions, answered plainly
- Is this legal advice?
- No. It is a template completed with your details. We are not a law firm. Shelter and Citizens Advice give free housing advice in England.
- Could I write this myself?
- Yes, and our template is free to copy with notes on what each paragraph is doing. The paid kit fills it in for you and adds the pet summary. £49 for an hour saved.
- What if my landlord ignores it?
- Missing the 28 days is a failure of their duty. Ask again in writing, escalate to the agent’s redress scheme, and get free advice from Shelter or Citizens Advice.
- Do I need the certificate too?
- No. They are separate, and the letter is the one with legal footing. The bundle exists because some people want both, not because the letter needs it.
UK ESA Register is a private service and is not a government body. No official register of emotional support animals exists in the United Kingdom, and emotional support animals have no special status in UK law. This certificate is a keepsake and a convenience credential for everyday conversations. It creates no right of access to housing, transport, shops or anywhere else, and nobody is obliged to accept it. In England, the right that actually helps renters is the right to request consent to keep a pet under section 11 of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025. UK ESA Register is not a law firm and this page is not legal advice.