When a tenant asks to keep a pet you are notified, and the request appears under Pet requests with the date an answer is due.
Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords.
A pet request: the dates and the evidence emails.
What you are deciding
Whether to approve, refuse, or ask for more before you decide.
Your options
- Approve. Written consent is stored with the request and the tenant is told.
- Refuse. You enter the reason in writing. The tenant receives it and it is kept with the request.
- Request information. Say what you still need. The tenant is emailed, and the due date moves to 7 days after they reply if that is later.
- Do nothing. The request is shown as overdue once the due date has passed.
How to do it
- Open Pet requests and find the request. Select Open file to read what the tenant wrote.
- Choose to approve, refuse or request information.
- For a refusal, enter the reason in writing.
- Confirm. The tenant is told by email and in their portal.
A worked example
A request for a small dog arrives on Monday 9 November 2026, due by Monday 7 December 2026. The flat is leasehold and the head lease needs the freeholder's consent, so the agent records that on the request and writes to the freeholder the same day. The freeholder agrees on Wednesday 25 November. The agent approves the request on Thursday 26 November 2026, eleven days inside the deadline, and the tenant's portal shows the written consent.
What Abide.Rent does for you
- Lists every open request with its due date, soonest first.
- Keeps the wording of the answer and the time it was sent.
- Lets you record that a head lease needs someone else's consent.
If something goes wrong
- “Only the landlord or the appointed agent decides a pet request.”
What to do: Ask the landlord or appointed agent. - “Write what you still need before sending.”
What to do: Say what information you need. - “Choose approved or refused.”
What to do: Pick a decision.
Common mistakes
- Refusing without a written reason.
- Waiting for a third party without recording why. Note it on the request.
- Replying by email outside Abide.Rent. The request stays open and becomes overdue.
What to do next
Keep reading
All help articlesMore in The Act
Pet requests and the 28-day deadlineA tenant can ask in writing to keep a pet. Abide.Rent counts 28 days from the request and shows who is to answer.
Repairs and incidents: what to record and who deals with themWho handles a repair depends on the service level for the property. Keep a dated note of each report and what was done.
A tenant's notice to quit, and withdrawing oneA tenant ends a tenancy by giving notice in writing. Abide.Rent records it, checks the end date and records a withdrawal both sides agree.