{"id":41,"date":"2026-08-21T17:25:41","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T17:25:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hci.wp-host.team\/?page_id=41"},"modified":"2026-08-21T17:31:45","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T17:31:45","slug":"pets-the-28-day-rule-and-a-deposit-that-hasnt-grown","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/hci.wp-host.team\/?page_id=41","title":{"rendered":"Pets, the 28-Day Rule and a Deposit That Hasn&#8217;t Grown"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wpc-gutenberg-block wpc-widget-hcis_post_pets_28day_rule ewb-gutenberg-block ewb-widget-hcis_post_pets_28day_rule alignfull wp-block-wpcursor-ewb-hcis-post-pets-28day-rule\"><style type=\"text\/css\" data-ewb-widget=\"hcis_post_pets_28day_rule\">\n#ewb-block-1 .hcis-post__header {\n  background: var(--color-secondary);\n  padding: 56px 24px 48px;\n}\n\n#ewb-block-1 .hcis-post__header-inner {\n  max-width: 760px;\n  margin: 0 auto;\n}\n\n#ewb-block-1 .hcis-post__category {\n  display: inline-block;\n  font-family: 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var(--color-surface);\n  font-family: var(--font-heading);\n  font-weight: 700;\n}\n\n#ewb-block-1 .hcis-post__content a {\n  color: var(--color-primary);\n}\n\n#ewb-block-1 .hcis-post__content strong {\n  color: var(--color-text);\n}\n\n#ewb-block-1 .hcis-post__signoff {\n  max-width: 760px;\n  margin: 40px auto 0;\n  padding: 24px;\n  background: var(--color-surface);\n  border-radius: var(--radius-md);\n  font-family: var(--font-body);\n  font-size: 0.98rem;\n  line-height: 1.7;\n  color: var(--color-text-muted);\n}\n\n#ewb-block-1 .hcis-post__signoff a {\n  color: var(--color-primary);\n  font-weight: 600;\n}\n\n#ewb-block-1 .hcis-post__sources {\n  max-width: 760px;\n  margin: 32px auto 0;\n}\n\n#ewb-block-1 .hcis-post__sources h3 {\n  font-family: var(--font-heading);\n  font-weight: 700;\n  font-size: 1rem;\n  color: var(--color-text);\n  margin: 0 0 10px;\n}\n\n#ewb-block-1 .hcis-post__sources ul {\n  margin: 0;\n  padding-left: 20px;\n  font-family: var(--font-body);\n  font-size: 0.9rem;\n  color: var(--color-text-muted);\n}\n\n#ewb-block-1 .hcis-post__sources li {\n  margin-bottom: 6px;\n}\n\n#ewb-block-1 .hcis-post__back {\n  max-width: 760px;\n  margin: 24px auto 0;\n}\n\n#ewb-block-1 .hcis-post__back a {\n  font-family: var(--font-body);\n  font-size: 0.95rem;\n  color: var(--color-text-muted);\n  text-decoration: none;\n}\n\n#ewb-block-1 .hcis-post__back a:hover {\n  color: var(--color-primary);\n}\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"ewb-block-1\" class=\"wpc-widget wpc-widget-hcis_post_pets_28day_rule ewb-widget ewb-widget-hcis_post_pets_28day_rule\"><article class=\"hcis-post\">\n  <header class=\"hcis-post__header\">\n    <div class=\"hcis-post__header-inner\">\n      <span class=\"hcis-post__category\">Legislation<\/span>\n      <h1>Pets, the 28-Day Rule and a Deposit That Hasn&rsquo;t Grown<\/h1>\n      <div class=\"hcis-post__meta\">\n        <span>15 August 2026<\/span>\n        <span>By Joanne Minchella<\/span>\n      <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  <\/header>\n\n  <div class=\"hcis-post__body\">\n    <div class=\"hcis-post__content\">\n      <p>Since 1 May 2026, tenants have had a statutory right under the Renters&rsquo; Rights Act to request permission to keep a pet, and landlords must respond within 28 days &mdash; or within 28 days plus a further 7 if more information is reasonably requested. What hasn&rsquo;t changed is the deposit cap, and that gap is causing confusion.<\/p>\n\n      <h2>The 28-day rule &mdash; and the myth that comes with it<\/h2>\n      <p>A landlord who lets the 28-day window pass without responding is often assumed to have automatically granted consent by default. That is not correct. Missing the deadline does not create deemed consent &mdash; it simply puts the landlord in breach of their statutory obligation to respond, which is a different problem with different consequences. Reasonable grounds for refusal are narrow: the most clear-cut is where a superior lease (for a leasehold property) prohibits pets outright. Genuine unsuitability of the property, relevant licensing conditions, and legal restrictions on certain animals are also valid grounds. Assistance animals sit outside this framework entirely &mdash; they are governed by the Equality Act, not the pet request process.<\/p>\n\n      <h2>The financial gap nobody has closed<\/h2>\n      <p>This is where landlords often assume protection exists that simply doesn&rsquo;t. There is no such thing as a pet deposit under current law &mdash; the Tenant Fees Act 2019 prohibits it, and the standard deposit cap has not moved: five weeks&rsquo; rent where annual rent is under \u00a350,000, or six weeks where it is above. Landlords also cannot require tenants to take out pet damage insurance as a condition of granting consent &mdash; that requirement was explicitly withdrawn from the Renters&rsquo; Rights Bill before its Report Stage in the Lords. Propertymark continues to campaign for a separate, permitted pet damage deposit, but as things stand this is not law and there is no announced timetable for it to become one.<\/p>\n      <p>In practice, this means the standard deposit is the only financial protection a landlord has against pet-related damage &mdash; which makes the quality of the check-in and check-out inventory the real safeguard, not the deposit cap.<\/p>\n\n      <h2>What to record differently when a pet is present<\/h2>\n      <p>A standard inventory checklist doesn&rsquo;t go far enough where pets are concerned. For any tenancy involving an approved pet, the inventory should pay particular attention to:<\/p>\n      <ul>\n        <li>Flooring, in detail &mdash; carpets, hard flooring and any transitions between rooms<\/li>\n        <li>Doors, door frames and skirting boards, which take the brunt of scratching and chewing<\/li>\n        <li>Staircases and banisters<\/li>\n        <li>Garden and outside spaces, including fencing and lawn condition<\/li>\n        <li>General odour and condition of the property as a whole<\/li>\n        <li>Window sills and soft furnishings<\/li>\n      <\/ul>\n      <p>None of this replaces the need for a fair, evidence-based approach at check-out &mdash; ordinary wear from a well-behaved pet is no more deductible than wear from children or normal daily life. But a thorough, pet-specific check-in report gives both landlord and tenant a clear, agreed starting point, which is exactly what prevents a dispute from happening in the first place.<\/p>\n    <\/div>\n\n    <div class=\"hcis-post__signoff\">\n      <p>Home County Inventory Services provides independent inventories, mid-term inspections and check-out reports to letting agents and landlords across Ashford, Folkestone and Canterbury. For a price list and current availability, call Joanne on <a href=\"tel:07940508934\">07940 508934<\/a> or email <a href=\"mailto:joanne@homecountyinventories.com\">joanne@homecountyinventories.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n    <\/div>\n\n    <div class=\"hcis-post__sources\">\n      <h3>Sources<\/h3>\n      <ul>\n        <li>Renters&rsquo; Rights Act 2025<\/li>\n        <li>Tenant Fees Act 2019<\/li>\n        <li>Propertymark<\/li>\n      <\/ul>\n    <\/div>\n\n    <div class=\"hcis-post__back\">\n      <a href=\"https:\/\/hci.wp-host.team\/?page_id=38\">&larr; Back to the blog<\/a>\n    <\/div>\n  <\/div>\n<\/article><\/div>\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-ewb-widget=\"hcis_post_pets_28day_rule\">\n(function() {\n  'use strict';\n  \n  const widgetId = 'ewb-block-1';\n  const widget = document.getElementById(widgetId);\n  \n  if (!widget) {\n    console.warn('EWB Widget element not found:', widgetId);\n    return;\n  }\n  \n  try {\n    \/\/ Widget: Blog: Pets, the 28-Day Rule\n\/\/ Add your JavaScript here\n  } catch (error) {\n    console.error('EWB Widget Error [' + widgetId + ']:', error);\n    \n    \/\/ Show error in widget if debug mode enabled\n    if (widget.dataset.debug === 'true') {\n      const errorDiv = document.createElement('div');\n      errorDiv.className = 'ewb-error';\n      errorDiv.style.cssText = 'background: #fee; border: 1px solid #fcc; padding: 10px; margin: 10px; color: #c33; font-family: monospace; font-size: 12px;';\n      errorDiv.textContent = 'JavaScript Error: ' + error.message;\n      widget.appendChild(errorDiv);\n    }\n  }\n})();\n<\/script>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"wpcursor-fullwidth","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-41","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hci.wp-host.team\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/41","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hci.wp-host.team\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hci.wp-host.team\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hci.wp-host.team\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=41"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/hci.wp-host.team\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/41\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46,"href":"https:\/\/hci.wp-host.team\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/41\/revisions\/46"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hci.wp-host.team\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=41"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}