Trying to find a rental property is rarely a walk in the park, but it's even harder if you have a pet.

In Hobart, where the rental market is already tight, landlords don't need a reason to exclude pets from their properties.

One of the ideas being floated by the state's peak real estate body is a pet bond.

What's the problem now, and will a pet bond provide a solution?

What's the problem with pets?

"Wholly and solely the damage to the property," Mark Berry from the Real Estate Institute of Tasmania (REIT) says.

And, he said, it wasn't always easy to predict which animals could pose the biggest threat.

"If we are talking about a budgie, the potential damage is next to nil," he said.

"With a goldfish, you have opened yourself up to somebody with, say, a 1,000-litre fish tank in the lounge room.

"If that were to crack, all of a sudden the landlord has 1,000L flowing through the lounge room."

People have been advertising their pets online and on social media. ( ABC News: Katri Uibu )

But according to the Tenants Union of Tasmania (TUT), a tenant with a pet is not always a liability.

"There is no evidence to suggest tenants with pets are worse tenants," TUT solicitor Ben Barlt said.

"The evidence shows that tenant with pets are more likely to stay in their existing property for longer, so there's actually financial incentive for more landlords to accept tenants with pets."

It may come as a surprise, but Mr Berry said real estate agents agreed.

"I think actually tenants with pets have the potential to be better tenants, because they are already showing a responsibility," he said.

How hard is it to get a rental with a pet?

A quick search of available properties in greater Hobart under $450 a week — the median rental price — showed 151 homes available.

When that was updated to only include pet-friendly properties, the number dropped to just 16.

Michael Sertori describes pet bonds as "abhorrent". ( ABC News: Katri Uibu )

The Dogs' Home of Tasmania has seen pet surrenders go up 50 per cent in the past 12 months, and says the tight rental market is one of the driving factors.

"We know many of those [pets] are from families where they've moved into rental accommodation and been unable to keep their pets," chief executive Michael Sertori said.

"It's cruel. There's a lot of emotion in surrendering a pet, particularly when you choose not to, and the sole reason is that you are unable to take that pet into rental accommodation, then it's particularly cruel.

"A pet is part of your life and to have to give up that love of your life is unfair, unreasonable."

Mr Bartl said people were leaving city suburbs and moving further out to keep their pets.

"Hobart is more expensive for renting than Melbourne. The trend is more and more tenants are having to give up their pets if they want to live in the inner-city of Hobart," Mr Bartl said.

Could a pet bond be the answer?

A pet bond is an amount you pay above your normal rental bond to keep a pet.

Western Australia is currently the only state where a landlord can legally ask for a pet bond.

"Desperate times call for desperate measures," TUT solicitor Ben Barlt says. ( ABC News )

Mr Berry said the Residential Tenancy Act should be amended to include pet bonds.

He said pet bonds would give landlords some assurance tenants were "doing the right thing".

Mr Bartl said some prospective renters in Hobart were so desperate, they were offering pet bonds voluntarily.

"Desperate times call for desperate measures," he said.

"If it is a choice between a pet bond or no pets, then the Tenants Union would support a pet bond as it may alleviate the situation for some tenants caught between putting a roof over their head and keeping their pet."

How much should a pet bond be?

In WA, a pet bond is capped at $260, unless the weekly rent is more than $1,200.

Mr Bartl said he would like any pet bond in Tasmania to be a maximum of two weeks' rent, but added that would still put a burden on renters.

Ben Bartl wants Tasmania to broaden the definition of an assistance animal behind guide dogs. ( ABC News: Brian Tegg )

The upfront cost of renting a property is usually six weeks' rent, including bond — and the cost of renting is higher than ever.

Median rental prices in Hobart have already surpassed those in Melbourne ($440), Brisbane ($410), Adelaide ($390) and Perth ($365).

"How is anyone going to pay for that?" Mr Bartl said.

Mr Berry said he accepted rents "are already exceptionally high".

"With a pet bond on top of that, we're starting to talk some serious money just to get into the rental arena."

Mr Sertori said the idea of a pet bond was "abhorrent".

"There is already a bond process and that protects the landlord from damage to the property caused, so I think that's adequate to cover the circumstances of pet inclusion."

Are there options other than surrendering my pet?

Amid Hobart's rental crisis, charities have sprung up to help pet owners caught in a bind.

A Paw Up fosters pets whose owners have no other options.

In Victoria, the onus is on the landlord to show why a pet should be refused. ( ABC News )

Organiser Deb Conley said most of the pets went back to their owners when their crisis has passed.

"It's heartbreaking. you're talking about people who are going to be made homeless. They have lost everything already, and so for many of them the only thing they have is their pet," she said.

"To have to give them up, for many of them, it can be the final straw for some people. It contributes to all sorts of issues on top of the homelessness."

In a recent case, A Paw Up looked after a family dog whose owners were forced out of a rental because the landlord wanted to put his property on Airbnb.

"They put their dogs into foster care with us and went into temporary emergency accommodation. Fortunately for them there was a positive outcome, but we have had a case where that took seven months," Ms Conley said.

What do other states do?

Victoria has set what some are viewing as the gold standard when it comes to renting a place with a four-legged member of the family.

From July 2020, Victoria landlords will not be able to unreasonably refuse a rental unless they get approval from the Victorian Civil Administrative Tribunal (VCAT).

Prospective tenants have to obtain written consent to keep a pet, but the landlord will not have the right to say no without the tribunal's approval.

"There's improvement to be made with the Victorian legislation, but it's certainly a step forward, and it's leading the way in Australia so we'd certainly like to mirror most of that legislation in Tasmania," Mr Sertori said.

"As I understand it, there's a bond requirement around the animal. There's also the possibility of exclusion under that legislation, and that process concerns me.

"I'd like to see the legislation more in favour of the tenant than it is in Victoria … but I would be happy to accept the Victorian legislation as a significant change in Tasmania."

Animal shelter volunteers often have console people giving up pets. ( ABC News: Katri Uibu )

The TUT wants to go even further.

It is illegal in Victoria and Tasmania to refuse assistance animals like guide dogs.

Mr Bartl wants Tasmania to outlaw discrimination for assistance pets belonging to people who have mental health issues and have an animal for companionship.

"The act says nothing about assistance animals other than guide dogs, and what we'd like to see is the act amended so that all assistance animals and companion animals are allowed to be on the property, with or without the landlords' consent," he said.