"It's hard enough getting a rental property in Canberra," Mr Rae said.

"When you've got a dog, you're definitely not as appealing as a bunch of young professionals."

Mr Rae would like to see similar changes made to the ACT's tenancy laws like the ones recently adopted in Victoria which, among other things, make it easier for renters to have pets.

He said after a friend of his couldn't find inner-city rental in Canberra allowing her to have a pet, she sent her dog home to her family in Adelaide.

"It was very challenging to find a place that would accommodate her price range without moving to the suburbs," Mr Rae said.

RSPCA ACT chief executive Tammy Ven Dange said making it easier to have pets in rental properties would be a win for animal welfare.

"We have way too many animals surrendered to us each year because owners are moving house and can't take animals with them," she said.

In the 2016/2017 financial year, 12.7 per cent of animals surrendered to RSPCA ACT were because the owners were moving house and/or weren't allowed pets.

According to Tenants Union ACT executive Deb Pippen, there's nothing in the Residential Tenancies Act which explicitly bans pets at rentals.

"The reality for a lot of people in the ACT is there are those clauses that have been added to the standard terms that say you can't have pets and that's what most people think," Ms Pippen said.

"The reasons that they give to say 'no pets' on the whole is because of damage, but the tenant's liable for damage anyway."

Ms Pippen said there needs to be more clarity in the capital's tenancy laws allowing renters to keep their pets.

But she said this may require a legal precedent or a challenge in the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal (ACAT).

Another change in Victoria was the axing of "no-cause" evictions; Canberra allows "no-cause" evictions with 26-weeks notice.

"Just the existence of them means people don't have security in their homes," Ms Pippen said.

"I think that they [Victoria] have some things that the ACT should definitely pick up on."

Mr Rae said challenging landlords or agents through the court-like process in ACAT could be time consuming.

"No one's got the emotional or the physical energy," he said.

Mr Rae said Ted has helped him and his girlfriend Silvie Eckhardt make friends in his neighbourhood.

"We've met most of the dog owners in the four block radius."