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A shortage of pet-friendly rentals is contributing to tens of thousands of pets being surrendered each year, but one researcher is looking to shed more light on it from a tenant and property managers’ perspective.
Dr Emma Power, lecturer in the School of Social Sciences and Psychology at the University of Western Australia, has been conducting research (funded by MarsPetscare) on the experience of tenants with pets in the Sydney metropolitan area over the past 12 months.
“Sixty per cent of Australian households include pets but there’s very strong anecdotal evidence that there’s a limited supply of pet-friendly rentals so there’s a concern that we hear in the media from pet owners that are renters that have difficulty finding and successfully applying for pet-friendly properties,” she told Residential Property Manager.
“There’s research from all around the world that shows moving house and difficulties finding pet-friendly properties is one of the key reasons people relinquish pets and many of those pets will end up being euthanased.”
Having interviewed over 700 tenants, Dr Power now wants property managers to tell her their side of the story by completing an online survey.
“We’re trying to understand the property manager’s perspective on this, so what are the decisions that they go through before deciding to make a property pet-friendly or to lease a property to a pet owner and what are the risks that they perceive and how do they try and manage those risks?
“Understanding the property manager perspective is really vital in actually bringing some balance to this issue and potentially looking at a pathway forward that can work for property managers and landlords.”
In addition to the survey, Dr Power is also looking for 10 property managers to interview for extended responses.
Property managers can click here to complete the 10 minute survey.
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