Calgary’s lack of pet-friendly, affordable rental units is contributing to the rising number of residents surrendering their furry friends — something that a local animal shelter and the City of Calgary are trying to change.

The Calgary Humane Society (CHS) and representatives from the city announced on the morning of May 27 that they have teamed up to raise awareness and reverse landlord restrictions to increase the number of available pet-friendly rentals.

According to shelter data and research from the University of Calgary, more than 500 animals are abandoned or surrendered to the CHS every year, with housing insecurity being listed as the main reason.

“Every single day, we see families coming in, and making that impossible choice,” said CHS executive director Carrie Fritz. 

“They are choosing between a place to live or keeping their companion animal.”

Fritz said that the demand has prompted the shelter to expand its emergency boarding program, but after seeing a total of 1,600 surrenders just last year, she said that their services have stretched beyond being the primary answer.

“We know that we’re not going to be able to force landlords to become inclusive of pets,” she said. 

“However, we are here to support them in opening up to that possibility.”

Partnership proposes an educational toolkit as a solution

To alleviate this influx, the shelter has launched a citywide initiative to narrow the gap between rising pet ownership and the limited availability of pet-friendly rental options. 

“This problem is solvable, and thanks to all of the work of the teams that are here, we have created a toolkit,” said Fritz. 

“What this does is start the conversation between landlords and tenants, so landlords now feel confident in renting to potential pet families.”

The toolkit is available online and offers resources for all parties involved with a rental unit. She explained that this includes checklists outlining what landlords can expect, written agreement templates, tenant-screening tools, and behaviour-correction guides.

“There’s a lot of policy work around the housing policy within Calgary and with the province, but this is such an important first step,” said Fritz.

“We’re hoping that this is creating momentum to really open up that conversation between the broader community, so that we can all work towards a sustainable solution.”

While fewer than 10 per cent of low-cost rentals and five per cent of apartment buildings are pet-friendly, research from Leger and the University of Calgary found that 53 per cent of residents are pet owners.

Chief housing officer at the City of Calgary, Reid Hendry, said that upwards of 9,000 purpose-built rentals — professionally owned and managed buildings that are designed for long-term tenancy — were built last year. 

Despite their intention to ensure increased access to affordable, inclusive housing, he said, there is an obvious disconnect regarding pet ownership. 

“There is a very clear mismatch,” said Hendry. 

“We’re hopeful and optimistic that through a campaign like this, through collaboration like this, we will see landlords become educated, we will see tenants become educated, and we will see more Calgarians successfully housed with themselves and their pets.”

Pet-owning tenants are an unjustifiable peril to landlords, says Fritz

Fritz said that many of the barriers stem from rules set by landlords, who view welcoming tenants with pets as a risk, due to the likelihood of property damage and noise complaints. She said that the toolkit directly addresses those concerns. 

“Landlords aren’t necessarily pet adverse — they’re risk-averse,” said Fritz. 

“If we can manage those risks, I think that they would be more willing.”

People with zero tolerance for pets are just part of the exclusivity, she said. Often, landlords will be technically pet-friendly but impose breed and weight restrictions that allow only small dogs or cats to live in a unit. 

In March 2020, large breeds, such as mixes, German shepherds, Labrador retrievers, and golden retrievers, dominated the list of the most popular breeds owned by residents. Fritz called these one-size-fits-all rules discriminatory. 

“What we would love to see is no more blanket policy, but actually an educated, well-informed decision based upon the animal,” she said. 

Despite feeling optimistic, Fritz said that their initiative is not the end-all, be-all solution, and that pet-inclusive funding and policies should be enacted at the municipal level. 

On Wednesday afternoon, Mayor Jeromy Farkas told reporters that he fully supports improving the city’s housing inclusivity and plans to pressure the private sector and major providers to better accommodate residents with pets. 

“I think it is so critical for Calgarians to have housing options, regardless of where you are in your life,” he said. 

“Housing is supposed to be about home, and we don’t want to pit families against each other.”

In Fritz’s experience as a former landlord, she said that pet owners are the “best tenants,” describing them as being grateful to be living on that property because of the challenge of finding another place to live. Hendry agreed.

“The message that I would like to get out ot landlords is you’re doing yourself a disservice by excluding that large portion, the majority of Calgarians, who own pets, from renting,” he said.