The 1st May 2026 saw many of the provisions of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 take effect, including the much anticipated ‘right’ to keep a pet. It is therefore timely for this Legal Update to consider an issue we are often advising on, and that is the right to keep an emotional support animal.

The ‘right’ to keep a pet

It is important to stress that the new ‘right’ to keep a pet applies to assured tenancies only and does not affect the terms of any long leases, which will continue to apply. Indeed, the new provisions envisage that where a tenancy is subject to a superior lease (e.g. a head lease), the landlord under that agreement might refuse consent irrespective of the apparent new ‘right’ renters have to keep a pet.

Section 11 of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 (“RRA”) introduced a new Section 16A to be inserted in the Housing Act 1988 ("HA 1988"), which created an implied term of every assured tenancy that :-

• A tenant may keep a pet if the tenant makes a request in accordance with the new statutory provisions and the landlord consents;

• Such consent is not to be unreasonably withheld by the landlord; and

• The landlord is to grant or refuse consent in writing on or before 28 days after the date of the request, unless any of the exceptions apply.

The new Section 16B(4) provides that the circumstances in which it is reasonable for the landlord to refuse consent include those in which :-

• The pet would cause the landlord to be in breach of an agreement (e.g. the head lease) with a superior landlord;

• An agreement between the landlord and superior landlord (e.g. the head lease) prohibits the keeping of pets without the consent of the superior landlord and the landlord has taken reasonable steps to obtain consent but the superior landlord has not given it.

Again, it is notable that these circumstances are a non-exhaustive list and merely include those listed circumstances, meaning that there may be other circumstances in which it would be reasonable to refuse consent.

‘Right’ for long leaseholders to keep pets

There is no free-standing right for long-leaseholders to keep pets. The terms of the lease will dictate whether pets are permitted, whether they are prohibited (an absolute prohibition) or only permitted with the landlord or management company’s consent (qualified covenants).

 The lease may refer to a specific list of animals which are prohibited or permitted (whether or not consent is required), or it may refer generically to the terms ‘animal’ or ‘pet’. Interestingly, the new Section 45(1) of the HA 1988 specifically defines the term “pet” as “an animal kept by a person mainly for—

(a)    personal interest,

(b)    companionship,

(c)     ornamental purposes, or

(d)    any combination of paragraphs (a) to (c)”

Whilst this is not directly applicable to long leases as the RRA only applies to assured tenancies, this may carry some weight going forward in the event of a dispute as to whether or not an animal is a “pet”, where that is the terminology referred to in the lease.

Emotional support animals

Guide or assistance dogs are seen as mobility aids rather than pets, and as such would not be caught by any term in a lease prohibiting or requiring consent for ‘pets’. It is generally accepted that this also applies if the term in the lease is against the keeping of ‘animals’, which is wider than the term ‘pets’, given the  disability discrimination under the Equality Act 2010 (“EA”).

But what is the position for emotional support animals, which are not formally assistance or service animals with specific training, but often provide an element of therapeutic value and/or emotional support?

What is a disability?

Disability is a protected characteristic under Schedule 4 of the EA. Under Section 6 and Schedule 1 of the EA, a personal has a disability if :-

• they have a physical or mental impairment, and

• the impairment has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to perform normal day-to-day activities.

 - 'substantial' means more than minor or trivial

- 'long-term' means that the effect of the impairment has lasted or is likely to last for at least 12 months (there are special rules covering recurring or fluctuating conditions), and

- 'normal day-to-day activities' include eating, washing, walking and going shopping.

What is discrimination of a disability?

The EA prohibits discrimination arising from disability, which is defined in Section 15 as, a person (A) discriminates against a disabled person (B) if:

• A treats B unfavourably because of something arising in consequence of B's disability, and

• A cannot show that the treatment is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.

A has a defence to this if they did not know, and could not reasonably have been expected to know, that B had the disability.

Reasonable adjustments?

Additionally, a landlord has a duty to make reasonable adjustments for a disabled person where :-

• A provision, criterion or practice (which includes a term of a lease) puts a disabled person at a substantial disadvantage in relation to:

  • the enjoyment of the premises, and

  • the use of a benefit or facility, entitlement to which arises as a result of the letting, in comparison with persons who are not disabled.

    The duty is to take such steps as it is reasonable to take to avoid the disadvantage.

• A disabled person would, but for the provision of an auxiliary aid, be put at a substantial disadvantage in relation to:

  • the enjoyment of the premises, and

  • the use of a benefit or facility, entitlement to which arises as a result of the letting, in comparison with persons who are not disabled.

    The duty is to take such steps as it is reasonable to take to provide the auxiliary aid.

 Application of the Equality Act (in relation to leases/keeping of an animal)

Whilst the EA superseded a swath of earlier anti-discrimination legislation, earlier cases including those decided under the old Disability Discrimination Act 1995 are often still relevant as the EA was simply a consolidating piece of legislation bringing together the law on discrimination in all different areas. The following old cases decided under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 are relevant here :-

• In Drum Housing Association -v- Ashley [2010], the Court found that the landlord was not in breach of the duty to make reasonable adjustments when refusing consent for the tenant (who had bipolar disorder) to keep a dog, as (amongst other things) the Court found the tenant could still enjoy the premises without a dog;

• In the case of Beedles -v- Guinness Northern Counties [2011], the Court found that the duty to make reasonable adjustments did not extend to the landlord having to carry out repairs and decorations that the tenant (who had epilepsy, amongst other conditions) was otherwise obliged to carry out under the terms of the tenancy. The Court decided that the word “enjoy” meant to be able to use the full benefit of the premises as any other tenant, rather than to derive any pleasure from it.

Conclusion

Of course, these cases were decided in the specific context of these tenants and their respective medical conditions in question. However, they serve to demonstrate that there is no free-standing right for a leaseholder (or tenant) to have an emotional support animal where the lease otherwise prohibits animals/pets or requires consent for such, and a refusal of consent would not automatically be discriminatory or violate a landlord’s obligation to make reasonable adjustments for a disabled person. The matter needs to be considered on a case by case basis.

With the new ‘right’ to keep a pet introduced by the RRA, we’ll expect to see more cases coming through the Courts challenging landlords’ decisions to refuse consent for the keeping of pets, and inevitably we expect that to include where the pets are said to provide some form of emotional support. It remains to be seen whether the Courts will follow these earlier cases or distinguish them, to change the landscape when it comes to emotional support animals in the wider context of the new ‘right’ to keep a pet. Watch this space!

Disclaimer

This Legal Update describes the position in law as at the date of this article and care should be taken to note any subsequent amendments to the position as set out above.  The Legal Update is provided free of charge for information purposes only; it does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied on as such. No responsibility for the accuracy and/or correctness of the information and commentary set out in the article, or for any consequences of relying on it, is assumed or accepted by any member of KDL Law or by KDL Law as a whole.