Apartment Pets: Noise, Smell, Space and Lease Ratings

This page is for renters and flat owners choosing or keeping a small mammal, bird, reptile or fish. It rates common species on the four things that cause trouble in shared buildings (noise through walls, smell, floor space and lease risk) and covers the landlord conversation and evacuation.

How common pets rate for apartment life

The ratings (Low, Medium, High) are this site’s summary of the sourced facts in each cell. Lease risk reflects how likely a pet is to fall under a “no pets”, “no birds” or “no exotics” clause or to need landlord consent.

Species	Noise	Smell	Floor space	Lease risk
Budgie	Low: “suitable for apartment living because they’re not usually loud” (MSD)	Low with regular cleaning	Medium: cage plus daily free-flight room	Medium: bird clauses
Canary	Low to medium: males sing; “suitable for most apartments” (MSD)	Low	Low to medium	Medium
Cockatiel	Medium: “vocal, but relatively quiet” next to macaws or cockatoos (MSD)	Low	Medium	Medium
Larger conures	High: “voice is piercing when they scream” (MSD)	Low	Medium	High
Macaws, cockatoos	High: macaw screams have “potential to irritate neighbors” (MSD)	Low	High	High
Rats	Medium: “can be quite noisy during the evenings and at night” (PDSA)	Medium to high: urine is high in ammonia (PDSA)	Medium: large multi-level cage	Medium: rodent clauses
Hamster	Medium at night: wheel running and cage chewing (Humane World)	Low to medium	Low	Low
Gerbils	Low	Low	Low	Low
Guinea pigs	Medium: 11 distinct sounds, including the loud “wheek” (RSPCA)	Medium	High for a group	Medium
Rabbits, indoor pair	Low	Low to medium if litter-trained (RSPCA)	High: 9 ft 10 in × 6 ft 7 in (3 × 2 m) minimum for two (RSPCA)	High: chewing and floor space
Leopard gecko	Low	Low if spot-cleaned as waste appears (RSPCA)	Low: 24 × 16 × 12 in (60 × 40 × 30 cm) minimum (RSPCA)	Medium: exotic clauses
Fish	Low (pump hum)	Low	Low to medium; weight of large tanks	Medium: tank size clauses

Controlling noise and smell

Noise travels both ways. Rats, hamsters and gerbils are sensitive to sounds you can’t hear. The RSPCA advises keeping rat cages away from alarms, doorbells, vacuum cleaners and speakers, and keeping hamster and gerbil homes away from televisions, computer screens and running water, which can produce ultrasound (RSPCA). In a small flat that rules out the shelf next to the TV.

For pets that make the noise:

• Put rat and hamster cages in a room no one sleeps in, not against a party wall. PDSA says to pick the location with rats’ evening and night activity in mind.
• Choose a silent-running wheel for a hamster and fit it securely, since the noise Humane World describes comes from the wheel and bar-chewing.
• For birds, choose by species before buying. No layout makes a macaw quiet enough for a thin-walled flat (MSD).

Smell comes from urine, not the animal. PDSA says rat urine is high in ammonia, which also causes respiratory illness in rats. The fix is routine:

• Spot-clean through the week and deep clean once a week (RSPCA; PDSA). Keep back a handful of clean used nesting so the cage still smells familiar.
• Litter-train rats and rabbits. The RSPCA recommends paper-based, non-clumping litter or hay for rabbit trays, with a hay rack over the tray.
• Do not mask smell with air fresheners. The RSPCA warns that rats should be kept away from strong artificial smells.
• For reptiles, remove waste as soon as it appears and fully clean the vivarium once a month (RSPCA).

Talking to your landlord

England (private tenants). From 1 May 2026 a private assured tenant can ask in writing to keep a pet, and the landlord must not unreasonably refuse (Shelter England). The landlord usually has 28 days to reply in writing (Shelter England). Refusal might be reasonable if someone in a shared house is allergic, the property is too small for the pet, or the pet is illegal to own. It is normally unreasonable if the landlord simply dislikes pets or worries about future damage (Shelter England). A leasehold flat whose head lease bans pets can be a reasonable refusal.

US (and elsewhere). Pet rules are whatever the lease says. HUD tells voucher tenants to review the landlord’s pet policy before moving in, expect possible pet deposits or monthly pet rent, and get a pet agreement into the lease (HUD).

Whichever country you are in, a written request that works:

1. Name the species, number of animals and adult size.
2. State the enclosure, where it sits and that the animal stays in it or in one pet-proofed room.
3. Say how you handle cleaning and smell, and for birds, how noisy the species is (quote MSD’s description).
4. Confirm the species is legal locally. See the exotic pet legality guide.
5. Get the approval in writing.

Evacuation from an upper floor

Ready.gov says that if officials order an evacuation, your pet should leave too, and that many public shelters and hotels do not take pets, so arrange somewhere to go in advance. Its kit list includes several days’ food and water in airtight containers, a sturdy carrier for each pet, a first aid kit, and copies of your pet’s documents in a waterproof container and online (Ready.gov).

In a flat, lifts may be out of service, so keep carriers where you can reach them quickly and practise carrying them down the stairs. Reptiles also need heat: the RSPCA says a leopard gecko needs supplementary heat if the room falls below 64°F (18°C), so pack insulated wrapping and a heat pack suitable for reptiles. More detail is in pet emergency preparedness.

Mistakes that cost renters their pet or deposit

• Buying a loud parrot for a shared-wall flat. Complaints from neighbours can turn into a lease breach, and parrots live for decades.
• Getting the pet first and asking later. In England a landlord must consider a written request (Shelter England), but an animal kept without consent can still breach the tenancy.
• Letting rabbits roam unsupervised. Chewed skirting boards and cables can come out of your deposit; rabbit-proof one room.
• Covering smell instead of cleaning. Ammonia build-up harms rats’ lungs (PDSA) and still reaches the hallway.
• No carrier for each animal. Ready.gov advises one per pet, and you can’t fetch a second one from a smoke-filled flat.