Consider Making Your Rental Property Pet Friendly Now for the Growing Population of Lonely One-Person Households & Single Parents

Posted on March 17, 2022

With single households and single parent households on the rise, granny flats and studios have become a massive drawcard. The Australian Bureau of Statistics Estimates that single-person households are projected to make up 24 to 27% of all Australian households by 2041. A recurring phenomenon of these single households is that they often have a pet for company, and why we recommend owners keep this in mind when building their granny flats.

What Our Clients Want

Daily, we get many calls or email enquiries for granny flats or studios that will accommodate a beloved pet. Currently 58% of our enquirers are looking for a rental that will allow their pet to reside with them, and many more prospect tenants that don’t have a pet yet but are hoping to soon are proactively looking for a pet friendly rental to move into. One of the reasons I looked for a granny flat myself, and a large reason GrannyFlat Rental was founded, was the need for our dog, Yoshi, to stay with my daughter and I whilst settling her into a new school. Speaking from direct experience and as a reliable tenant, I needed my little Maltese Shicoh-Tzu to be housed with us. The main hesitations for landlords is the worry that a pet will cause damage or make too much noise, however, in my short stay letting experience as a holiday host, my pet owner guests and short stay tenants have often been more responsible and caring with our property than others because they are so grateful they can have their pet stay too. There are also measures you can take as a landlord to ensure that your generosity won’t come at a loss, that we outline further in this article.

Benefit of allowing a pet to be housed with their family

Regardless of what type of tenant you’re seeking, granny flats, tiny homes and duplexes are smaller homes made for fewer residents, and the best tenants may need a little loving companion to make their small household a bit less lonely. You can often trust that the people who are responsible to take care of their pet are those who will do the same for your property. Our founder allows pets in the property she holiday lets and has found they are so appreciative of their pet travelling too they often leave the home spotless.

Single Women Need to be Housed with their pets

Many of the calls we receive are from single ladies of all ages who either feel safer with their dog with them, or just want the companionship of a beloved dog, cat or bird rather than living alone. It’s not just single women, often single men have a pet for companionship or simply a tradies mate also looking for a small home for them and their pet.

Separated Families Seek Pet Friendly Homes

The other requests for pets to be accommodated in a rental we receive are from newly separated parents looking for a rental for stability for their child whilst they navigate through a trying time. There is often a beloved family pet amongst the break up that needs accommodating. Being able to include the pet in their new home offers a sense of calm and continuity needed for them and their child to gain stability again.

Grannies and Grandpa’s

The name granny flat came about for a reason - to house the ageing population. Their offspring are well and truely out of the house, and often need a little bundle of love to direct their care and time towards, especially in the case of widows. The target audience for secondary dwellings are greatly suited to pet friendly properties, and if you’re not one you may be missing out on the perfect tenant for you.

GrannyFlat Rental Partner up with Puppi Lovers

We feel so strongly about the need to try and make your granny flat or studio pet friendly, so we have partnered with the startup Puppi Lovers. Puppi Lovers is a clever emerging dating app for singles with a dog. The members can meet over a cuppa at a pet friendly cafe or take a casual walk at a dog friendly park or beach, providing a perfect way to safely meet other singles. Due to the growing portfolio of pet-friendly properties on our site and showing a bit of appreciation to those who can house us and our fur-friends, Puppli Lovers are offering our members and advertisers, granny flat owners or tenants, a special deal. If you list or rent a pet friendly location that has been advertised on Granny Flat Rental, you will receive a one-year free subscription with Puppi Lovers. Just confirm your name and email address by emailing us at service@grannyflatrental.com to get this offer through Puppi Lovers, and Puppi Lovers will activate your subscription.

What Allowing a Pet in Your Property Could Do for the Community

Not just opening your applications to dozens more eligible tenants, when allowing a pet in your granny flat for rent you are also enabling people struggling to find accommodation to not have to give up their family pet in order to have a roof over their head. Your humane act will help alleviate pounds and great organisations rehousing pets such as Monika’s Doggie Rescue and the RSPCA. It can help make sure the people who call us living from their cars because they can’t find a home for themselves and their pet will have a safe place to live. Sadly some people have even chosen homelessness over given up their beloved companion. This just seems senseless and avoidable.  

Helpful Hints on Allowing Pets in Your Rental

You can have additional pet clauses added to your lease agreement to make sure any damage directly caused by the pet needs to be rectified. Other clauses may be carpets cleaned professionally upon the tenant’s vacate, and garden cleaned up after the pet by each inspection. 

Make sure you gain pet references from a previous landlord, or the pets vet or groomer to help with any concerns you may have. Stay tuned for our next article guiding how to ease your worries regarding renting to tenants with pets.

Author Lisa de Ruyter

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Disclaimer: Any information is of general help & not deemed as legal or financial advice. GrannyFlatRental.com.au Pty Ltd is not held responsible for any compensation from this general help.