Pets in a Rental Home: What Can Your Landlord Decide?
Short answer: Your lease and house rules decide whether you may keep pets – in Typeformular A, the standard lease, it's section 10. The Danish Rent Act (lejeloven) decides what happens if a pet is a nuisance or kept in breach of the lease: first a reminder from the landlord, then possibly a warning or conditional tenancy from huslejenævnet (the rent tribunal).
Can your landlord simply say no to you getting a cat? Can she change her mind after saying yes? And what happens if a neighbour complains about the dog? Here are the rules.
Who decides whether you may have pets?
You and the landlord agree on it when you sign the lease. Section 10 of Typeformular A has a box to tick for whether pets are allowed, and room for special conditions – such as "one cat" or "no dogs". If the lease says nothing, read the house rules and ask the landlord before you sign. If neither the lease nor the house rules ban pets, you may generally keep them – but the nuisance rules still apply. Get any permission written into the lease – a verbal yes is hard to prove later.
Can the landlord withdraw a permission?
If your lease says you may keep pets, the landlord generally can't change that unilaterally afterwards. New house rules typically don't override a permission written into your own lease. If you only have a verbal yes, your position is weaker.
When can a pet have consequences?
The Rent Act mentions pets in its rules on good order and conduct (section 153 of the Rent Act). You can face a sanction:
- when your pet is a significant nuisance to others in the building because of noise, smell, uncleanliness, or because it creates danger or fear
- when your keeping of pets is otherwise a nuisance to others
- when you keep a pet in breach of the lease or the house rules – even if the animal doesn't bother anyone (section 153(2)).
How does a pet case work?
It's a process, not instant eviction:
- The landlord must first give you a reminder. Without it, the rent tribunal can't impose a sanction on you (section 154(2)).
- If you don't put things right, the landlord can take the case to the rent tribunal. Only the landlord can do this – not the neighbour (section 155).
- The rent tribunal can give you a warning or make your tenancy conditional for 1 year. If you breach the conditions during that period, the tenancy can be terminated with notice or immediately (section 154).
If a pet is a significant nuisance, and it's so serious that your moving out is necessary, the landlord can also terminate the tenancy directly (sections 171 and 182). That is reserved for serious cases, though.
What if it's the neighbour's animal that bothers you?
Then complain to the landlord – you can't take the case to the rent tribunal yourself. The landlord has a duty to keep good order in the building (section 152 of the Rent Act). Write your complaint down with dates and concrete examples, so the landlord has something to act on.
What about small animals, deposits and damage?
- Small animals: Common practice distinguishes between pets (husdyr) and small animals (smådyr) such as fish, caged birds and hamsters. A pet ban typically doesn't automatically cover small animals – but check the wording of your own lease.
- Deposit: The deposit may be no more than 3 months' rent in total (section 59(1) of the Rent Act). An extra "pet deposit" on top of that isn't lawful.
- Damage: Scratches in floors and doors from a pet are typically not ordinary wear and tear, and the landlord can require them repaired when you move out.
How this fits with LejLet.nu
On LejLet.nu you can filter your search to show only homes where the landlord has stated that pets are allowed. That is the landlord's own statement in the listing – it's the lease that counts, so make sure the permission is also in section 10 before you sign.