VIC Tenant asking permission to bring dog in the house - what are my rights?

My tenant has a friend coming to stay for a few months and the friend has a dog and is asking permission to have the dog at the property during that time, stating they would have the dog inside when they are home.
I would prefer to avoid this.
It's no problem for me if the result is that the tenant leaves at the end of the lease.
Could anyone tell me what my rights are here?
Cheers.

 

I'm on the road now so will be brief.
You said is a house so I presume theres no Body Corp concern.
I'd say as an Owner you have to right to refuse.
But if you think its worthwhile to consider, that'd be a different story.

 

You are lucky the tenant asked.
Most don’t.

 

Adding to what @The Y-man said, the key issue I suppose will be is that "the friend" will not be on the lease and therefore "the friend" will not be liable. Not sure how you'd go claiming pet damage by a visitor's dog. Perhaps explore adding the friend to the lease in addition to adding a pet clause to the lease. Chat to your property manager about it.

 

The Tenants are ultimately responsible for the actions of their visitors so far as damage etc in the property re: accountability under their tenancy agreement to the Lessor. If the LL insurer leaves you in the lurch that only leaves compensation claim through tribunal and/or enforcement through the magistrates court.

 

Is it a family pet or an assistance dog ?

 

@Michael Mitchell - yep, tho check the PDS of the insurance policy carefully. Some will not cover events caused by visitors to the premises.

 

I'm afraid in Victoria currently, pets are not specifically covered by the legislation and part of the residential tenancy act is that you can't contract out of the residential tenancy act (which effectively makes a no pet clause in the lease worthless). As mentioned above, you can only breach a tenant for damage or failure to maintain premises.

July 2020 however, pets will come into the residential tenancy act - in that owners will not be able to refuse pets unless they have a VCAT order. The exact wording around this hasn't been finalised but we're expecting VCAT orders would be granted over reasons like 'It's a house I want to live in one day and I'm allergic to cats...' or 'It's against my religious beliefs to have pets'... will be interesting to see how the precedent is set once it comes in anyway.

My opinion for what it's worth is that it's good they asked - it shows a level of care / concern towards the property / owner that is rarely seen nowadays.

 

Why not say pets are ok outside, def not inside.

Like others say, at least they asked, most dont and are discovered accidentally...

 

Just had this issue
- asked for dogs outside only.
- i went there, smelt slight dog smell and also found dog hair over the carpets and also the floor boards.

Tenants *have* had this professional steam cleaned (even though - they didn't need to). However speaking to the cleaning services, dog hair cannot be removed unless manually by a brush on your own knees!

I am stuck if i should try to fight this in the tribunal, they've steam cleaned, smell is slight however dog hair over the entire house (its not masses and masses of hair, i only saw it, as a fluff ball was rolled in the corner)
- What would you guys do?

I need to check my conditions if we get them to sanitise/ odour etc.

 

Hi Yman - Because the tenant didn't tell anyone the dog was inside - hence finding tell-tale signs of hair all over the floors.
> Nor did they tell the professional cleaners there was a dog inside and required to do any type of 'sanitisation' . As said, the smell was slight - if you don't have a pet, you'd notice the smell.
> Carpets are 4yrs - so i'd like to ride it out to at least 10..

Hence back to the OP, if you can,
- keep special conditions for sanitisation (whether dog is inside or outside), prof cleaning + dog hair!
- like other's said... at least they told you.


Our other tenant in the city, we ripped out the entire carpets - even 3 deodorising sessions and multiple cleans could not remove the hair....

 

Unbeleiveable that you are even considering this. Don't you know the keeping of pets inside is an inalienable human right. It should be ratified by the UN.

The sheer audacity of some people to think that just because they own a property and will be left with the cleanup/trashed carpets/dog stink that somehow gives them the right to have a say in where their tennants Saint Bernard marks it's territory!

Fortunately the progressive thinking folks at the Vic RTA are protecting this vital tennant need from landlords like yourself who think they have a say in regards to the preservation of their investment.