Pets play a key role

TENANTS with furry friends, rad reptiles and feathered fledglings should consider living in the Gold Coast’s northern suburbs.

Latest realestate.com.au data shows landlords with rental properties in Pimpama were most accepting of animals, with 63 listings in the past year that included “pet friendly” or “pet negotiable” in their descriptions.

The suburb was trailed by Hope Island with 39 listings followed closely by Arundel (28), Southport (24) and Bundall (19). There were 537 petfriendly listings across the Gold Coast in the past year.

Kollosche property management director Blake Farquhar said educating landlords about their rights often helped dispel the fear of having pets in their properties.

“I think it’s just out of fear that if something happens, they’re not protected,” he said.

He said people with pets would have been knocked back when applying for rentals five years ago but it was more widely accepted today.

“Pets are considered an additional family member so more people are becoming more accepting of it,” he said.

Real Estate Institute of Queensland Gold Coast zone chairman Andrew Henderson said Pimpama was most likely a pet-friendly hot spot because it had so many rentals.

“Competition is probably the main driver behind that,” he said.

“There are a lot of new houses being built, a lot of those being built by investors.”

Proposed rental reforms, which were announced last month, would prevent Queensland property owners from refusing pet applications.

Mr Henderson said it was a dangerous move considering pets could cause “considerable damage” that often far outweighed a property’s bond.

“It should be an owner’s choice,” he said.

REIQ chief operating officer Josh Callaghan said it was important landlords had a choice.

“Clearly there’s nothing wrong with pets, they’re important parts of family units,” he said.

“We think it’s important that (landlords) at least get a say though.”

He said there were pros and cons to the argument.

“Often it can be a win-win for a landlord to accept people with pets,” he said.

“It gives you a wider choice to work out who is right for your property.

“Some pets are just not appropriate for some buildings though.”

Chief economist at realestate.com.au Nerida Conisbee said landlords in Melbourne were not allowed to refuse an applicant with pets and it hadn’t caused major problems.

However, she said “pet friendly” was a more common search in Queensland.