Renting with a pet in Calgary
The local picture
In Calgary, whether you can keep a pet is a matter for the lease. Alberta has no rule like Ontario’s voiding no-pets clauses, so a lease that says no pets means no pets, and a landlord can allow cats but not dogs, or small dogs but not large ones.
If the unit is in a condominium there is a second layer, the condominium corporation’s bylaws, and in Alberta that layer has real force. The City adds a third, smaller one: its own rules for keeping cats and dogs.
The law, which is the same everywhere in Alberta
In Alberta, the lease decides
Alberta’s Residential Tenancies Act leaves pets to the tenancy agreement. A landlord can refuse pets altogether, or allow some kinds and not others, without giving reasons. A tenant who brings in a pet against a no-pets term is in breach of the agreement, and the tenancy can be ended for it.
Section 43 caps the security deposit at one month’s rent. The province’s guidance is that a refundable pet deposit becomes part of the security deposit, so the total still cannot exceed one month’s rent. A non-refundable pet fee agreed in the lease is different: it is not a deposit, it is not subject to that cap, and you will not get it back, though a fee that does not reflect the landlord’s real costs can be challenged.
In a condominium, the Condominium Property Act makes obeying the condo’s bylaws a condition of every tenancy, whatever the lease says (section 53). Pets and tenancy law, province by province.
Disputes go to the Residential Tenancy Dispute Resolution Service.
A condo board can end a tenancy
Under Alberta’s Condominium Property Act, it is a condition of every tenancy in a condo unit, whatever the lease says, that the people living there do not break the bylaws. If they do, the corporation can give the tenant notice to give up possession, and the tenancy ends on the last day of the following month, despite the Residential Tenancies Act.
So in a condo a landlord’s written permission is not enough on its own. Ask for the bylaws before you sign and check the pet provisions. If a board ever challenges your pet, the Centre for Public Legal Education Alberta suggests going in with your lease, vet and vaccination records, and references from a vet or a previous landlord.
Practical notes for Calgary
- Calgary requires every cat and dog three months or older to have a City licence, and cats must be kept on their owner’s property.
- Calgary Legal Guidance runs free legal advice clinics for low-income Calgarians and publishes landlord and tenant information.
- The Alberta Tenant Legal Advice Clinic, run by Edmonton Community Legal Centre, offers free legal coaching to renters anywhere in Alberta.
- CPLEA’s landlordandtenant.org explains Alberta renting law, condo rentals included, in plain language.
What there is to buy
A letter, if you would like help with one. We write the pet request letter from your answers, for Alberta, with a one-page pet resume to go with it: $35 on its own, or $55 with the certificate. Or copy the free letter template and write it yourself: it is the same kind of letter. Neither obliges a landlord to agree. We would rather you sent a good letter than no letter.
One payment, delivered by email. With the certificate and card, $55 for both. Prices are in US dollars. Any sales tax is calculated by Creem and shown at checkout before you pay.
Not a legal document. Canada ESA Register is a private service, not a government body, and no official register of emotional support animals exists in Canada. It does not give you a legal right to keep a pet, to housing, or to access with your animal.
Other cities
Not a legal document. Canada ESA Register is a private service, not a government body, and no official register of emotional support animals exists in Canada. This page is general information about renting in Alberta, not legal advice.