In Australia, finding and securing a pet-friendly rental property is competitive. This January, Pet Owning tenants in the thousands across Australia will have leases ending and will be facing the prospect of having to find a suitable Pet Friendly Rental Property.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) records state that 2.16 million renting Australian families are Pet Owners. Now thanks to PetCloud, Australia’s most trusted Pet Services booking website, Australian Pet-Owning Tenants can breathe a sigh of relief that the process has been made much easier through their FREE Digital Pet Resume. So we sat down with PetCloud’s CEO, Deb Morrison to find out more.
Hi Deb, why did the Pet Resume come about? “Our mission is all about making responsible pet care easy, so enabling Pet Owners to create their very own Pet Resume to include in their Property Applications to Landlords and Property Managers has been added value we have wanted to provide for a while now. By being proactive, and sharing their Pet’s resume – we believe Pet Owners have a better chance at securing their dream rental property.”
Is surrendering your pet a solution? “It’s a less than ideal solution. People have a strong emotional bond with their pets. It’s not the same as giving away a piece of furniture.” Is finding a Pet Friendly Property really that difficult? “Yes. Years ago, before PetCloud existed, I struggled to find anyone to look after my pets, I’d had a change in living circumstances, and couldn’t find any rentals that were pet friendly. It got to the stage where I too had to give my little dog Charlie away. I had no choice. Pets are family. They help keep you accountable with daily exercise, they are great company, and are beneficial for mental health.”
What would you say to Landlords who are scared of their investment property being devalued through destroyed fixtures and noise complaints? “I too, have been a landlord of an unhygienic pet-owning tenant. I believe the solution is to 1) introduce a Pet Bond to cater for potential damage to fixtures and carpet cleaning and 2) Screen for Pet Owner Lease Applicants who can prove they have attended a Council or Dog Obedience course with their pet so they take responsibility and understand how to train, exercise, clean & enrich their pets. PetCloud’s Pet Resume will help them with this.”
Where can renting Pet Owners go to create their Pet Resume? “Thousands of Pet Owners have already created their pet’s profile -head to https://www.petcloud.com.au/signup and then create a Profile for themselves and one for their Pet. In their Pet’s profile they will see there is a link saying “Pet Resume”. They can share their link with their Landlord or Property Manager in their rental application.”
