A Queensland tenant who has rented the same property since early 2021 has described a pet dispute that began the day after a new managing agency's first inspection. Posting to r/AusRenters, the tenant said they submitted the required form and obtained written approval before buying a dog in early 2023. Early this year they took in several family cats that had been in and out of the house for medical reasons; the agent and owner of the day gave verbal approval, aware one would likely stay. Nothing was put in writing. The property was later sold and a new agency took over two months ago. After last week's inspection, the tenant was emailed and told the animals were not permitted. The agency then confirmed the dog's approval with the outgoing agency but could verify none for the cat, and advised the new owner did not want the dog kept indoors or on carpet. The dog and three cats were present during the owner's walk-throughs without comment, the tenant said; the lease runs to March.
Queensland has had a statutory pet consent framework since October 2022, administered by the Residential Tenancies Authority. Tenants must seek approval using the RTA's Form 21, and keeping an animal without consent is a significant breach. The property manager or owner must respond in writing within 14 days, stating approval or refusal and either the conditions attached or the specific reason. If no valid response arrives in that window, the request is taken to be approved. Refusal is available only on grounds set out in the Act: an unreasonable number of animals, inadequate fencing or open space, likely damage costing more than the bond to repair, an unacceptable safety risk, or a contravention of a law or by-law. A general statement that pets are not permitted does not qualify.
Contributors to the thread, one identifying as a Queensland property manager, said the outdoor-only condition would need to form part of the original approval or the lease to be enforceable now, and was more likely to appear at renewal; another warned the tenancy may simply not be renewed. The case turns on records rather than animals. A sale does not reset a tenancy, but administration passes to an agency working from whatever documentation it inherits, and the gaps surface at the first inspection. The written approval survived the handover; the verbal one left nothing to check. Tenants in the same position can lodge a Form 21 now, starting the 14-day clock and the deemed approval that follows if it is missed. The RTA takes enquiries on 1300 366 311, and QSTARS provides free tenant advice. Other states have equivalent bodies, though the pet rules differ.
Note - Any advice given herein is general in nature. Please contact relevant authorities before making any decision.