It’s time to face facts: most of us aren’t going to be able to own properties for a long, long time. It’s not enough to say Sydney’s property market is a little hostile right now. Indeed, it’s downright inhospitable.
Rich boomers who have had a silver spoon in their mouth since the moment they popped onto the planet are locking younger generations out of the property market, leaving us to pay an absurd amount of our annual income on rent.
Watch a video explaining discrimination against pet owners here:
We have precious little rental rights as it is. Our rents can be changed on us with only limited notice; our bonds can become mini-sacrifices, offered up without any chance of getting our money back.
And, to add insult to injury, most of us aren’t allowed to own pets.
What harm do animals do anyway?
Most landlords and real estate agents justify their lack of lenience when it comes to their tenants owning pets with the excuse that animals can cause “significant property damage.”
And sure, unsupervised, poorly-kept animals can indeed cause a degree of damage: dogs can scratch floors; cats can chew curtains; hell, pet mice can ruin skirting boards.
Properties can and do sustain a little bit of damage constantly.
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But you know what else can cause damage to property: tenants. The weather. Time itself.
Properties can and do sustain a little bit of damage constantly. Landlords already take a bond as a way of protecting themselves against property destruction: the minimal amount of damage that pets might do can easily be covered by that bond as well.
Watch a guide to renting with pets here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vj3lGtjDNR0
The ‘damage’ excuse simply does not hold water anymore. Landlords should own up to their hypocrisies, and admit that their bias against animals is simply unjust.
Animals can change lives
Tenants don’t just want animals for the hell of it. It has already been proven in many, many reports that owning animals can actively and positively impact on people’s lives. Owning a dog makes you happier, healthier, and more productive. In short, it makes you a better tenant.
For too long, an archaic and misguided attitude has stopped renters from caring for the animals that they have every right to own.
What right do landlords have in taking away a simple, uncomplicated source of joy in the lives of their tenants?
Landlords are fighting a losing battle
Simply put: the tide is changing against anti-animal bias. The lawmakers in Melbourne have already made the right step towards true rental rights, and have now decreed that landlords can no longer turn down the desire of tenants to own pets.
For too long, an archaic and misguided attitude has stopped renters from caring for the animals that they have every right to own. It is high time that Sydney follows Melbourne’s lead, and make real changes towards a positive, pet-owning future.
For more real estate stories on the BRAG, read our story on the Australian Catholic Church’s property concerns here.
