Renting with a pet in Edmonton
The local picture
Edmonton brought in a new animal bylaw in May 2026. It is the Animal Care and Control Bylaw, and it is worth checking your pet’s paperwork against it even if you have lived here for years.
Tenancy law is provincial and the same as in Calgary: a landlord can refuse pets, and the lease decides. What varies from lease to lease is how the landlord charges for a pet, and that is worth reading closely.
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.
Pet fee or pet deposit: read which one it is
Alberta landlords may charge for pets, and the lease should say whether the charge is refundable. A refundable pet deposit is treated as part of the security deposit, so the two together cannot be more than one month’s rent, and the landlord must hold it in trust like the rest of the deposit.
A non-refundable pet fee is not a deposit. The province treats it as a term of the contract outside the one-month cap, and you will not get it back. Its guidance is that fees should reasonably reflect the landlord’s actual costs, and a tenant who thinks a fee is unreasonable can take it to the courts or the Residential Tenancy Dispute Resolution Service.
Practical notes for Edmonton
- Edmonton requires every cat and dog six months or older to be licensed, indoor pets included.
- Edmonton Community Legal Centre gives free legal help to low-income residents on landlord and tenant problems, and runs the Alberta Tenant Legal Advice Clinic.
- Get any pet charge in writing: the amount, whether it is refundable, and what it covers.
- If the unit is a condo, ask for the bylaws. Under Alberta law a condo corporation can end a tenancy over a bylaw breach.
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.