Keeping pets
in your home
We understand that keeping
pets can offer significant
benefits to our residents.
This policy summarises the
conditions you must meet
if you want to keep a pet.
This is not a full list. A member
of the neighbourhoods team
will decide whether to give
you permission.
It is important that we
maintain high-quality homes
and estates. We must make
sure that any pets you keep do
not have a negative effect on
this. If we give you permission
to keep a pet, you must keep
to the conditions in this leaflet
by looking after your pet
properly and making sure that
it does not cause a nuisance to
your neighbours and local
residents. If you do not do this,
we will take action against
you, which may include legal
action. This may result in you
losing your home.
Our service
standards
What you can expect from us.
• We will produce and maintain a policy
that makes sure we take a fair and
consistent approach to allowing our
tenants to keep pets.
• We will explain what pets you are allowed
to keep, when you need to ask for
permission to keep pets, and how our pet
contract works.
• We will encourage you to look after
your pet in line with the Animal Welfare
Act 2006.
• We may withdraw permission for you to
keep a pet if there is evidence to show
that it is causing a nuisance. If you refuse
to take notice of this, we may take
further enforcement action against you.
This may result in you losing your home.
Being a
responsible
owner
Before deciding to keep a pet,
please consider the following.
➤
Does the pet fit in with your lifestyle
and family circumstances? Are you out a
lot of the time? Do you have young children
in the household?
Is your home suitable? Do you have easy
access to garden areas? Do you live near a
busy road? If you live in a flat, is this suitable
for the type of pet you want to keep?
How much is it going cost? You can
budget for some costs (for example, the initial
cost of the pet, equipment and ongoing costs
such as food and bedding), but what about
unexpected costs such as vet’s bills?
Are you going to insure your pet?
You will have to pay to do this, but it may
prevent expensive vet’s bills.
What will happen to the pet if you
are away from home, for example,
on holiday?
Health issues – is there a local vet who
can care for your animal? This is
particularly important if you have a more
unusual or exotic pet. Will your pet need
regular vaccinations?
Health risks to the public − toxocariasis
is a disease caused by the eggs of the
roundworm toxocara which can be passed
from dogs to humans through contact with
Keeping pets
dog mess and soil that has been near dog
mess. Children and pregnant women are
particularly at risk and infection can lead to
serious illness and even permanent loss of
sight. This health risk can be prevented if dog
owners clean up after their pets.
Population control – if you are planning to
keep a dog or cat, you will need to have it
neutered to reduce the number of unwanted
pets. Small rodents such as hamsters can have
14 to 20 babies in each litter, so you can have
a population explosion on your hands if you
don't keep males and females apart!
Is your choice of pet likely to cause a
nuisance to your neighbours? Most of us
want to get on with our neighbours and it
may be worth having a chat with them
before you make the final decision. Often, it
is not the type of pet that may cause a
nuisance to your neighbours, but the way you
plan to care for it and control it.
How committed are you? You cannot allow
dogs to roam freely on shared areas, and you
must walk them on a lead. You cannot leave
dogs barking in your home or garden all day
as this will cause a noise nuisance.
Please think through these issues
carefully before taking on a pet or
agreeing to look after someone
else’s pet.
Animal Welfare
Act 2006
You are responsible for the health and
welfare of the pets you keep in your home.
Under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, this is
called a duty of care. You must make sure
that your pets have a proper diet (food and
water) and are kept free from pain, suffering,
injury and disease by making sure they get
regular medical treatment and any
vaccinations they need.
If you believe that one of our tenants is
responsible for animal cruelty or neglect, you
should report this to us and to the RSPCA
cruelty line on 0300 1234 555. If you have
not actually seen someone being cruel, it is
important to tell the RSPCA that you have not
seen the incident and are reporting on behalf
of someone else.
Keeping pets
Application to
keep a pet
Your tenancy agreement is a legal
contract between you and us. It includes
responsibilities you must keep to if you have
a pet. Before you get a pet, you must fill in
an application form and agree to keep to
our pet contract.
We will consider the following when
assessing your application to keep a pet.
• Is the pet likely to cause disturbance,
nuisance or distress to your neighbours?
• The size and type of property you would
keep the pet in.
• The number and type of pets you already
have in the property.
• Any history of pet-related problems in the
property or in the local area.
• The welfare of the animal.
• Whether you have ever broken the terms
of your tenancy agreement with us.
In all cases, we will consider your right to
keep a pet against the right of other people
not to be disturbed, distressed or annoyed by
your pet. If we give you permission to keep a
Keeping pets
pet, you must sign a pet contract, which
gives a list of conditions you must keep to.
As mentioned earlier, when considering your
application, we will assess the size and type
of property you live in, the type of pet you
are asking permission for and how many pets
you already have. We will also consider
whether the pet is likely to cause a nuisance
to your neighbours.
If you live in a house or bungalow:
We may give you permission to keep a
maximum of either two dogs, two cats, or
one dog and one cat. We may also allow you
to keep other, smaller pets such as hamsters,
gerbils, rabbits and so on.
If you live in a ground-floor
flat with your own access (not a
shared garden):
We may give you permission to keep a
maximum of two pets and will consider
requests individually.
If you live in a flat without it's
own access or own garden:
We will not normally give you permission to
keep pets in a flat where there is a shared
entrance and where you do not have your
own garden.
Guide dogs and
hearing dogs
We will not normally refuse permission to
keep pets that you need to help you to live
independently, for example an assistance dog
if you are blind, hard of hearing or disabled.
Microchipping
and neutering
If you ask for permission to keep a dog or a
cat, we would require you to have your pet
neutered to reduce the number of unwanted
pets. You will also need to have your pet
microchipped so that it is easier to identify if
it goes missing. We work closely with the
RSPCA, who may be able to offer our
residents a microchipping service at a reduced
rate. By law, all dogs must wear a collar with
an ID tag.
Restrictions on
keeping pets
We will not allow you to keep a dangerous
animal in any of our properties. This includes
any animal listed under the Dangerous Dogs
Act 2007, including:
Keeping pets
• pit bull terrier;
• Japanese tosa;
• dogo Argentino; and
• fila Brazilero.
We will also not allow any dangerous wild
animals to be kept in any of our properties.
These are listed under the Dangerous Wild
Animals Act 1976 at www.defra.gov.uk
We would also not grant permission for
livestock such as pigs or goats.
Pet nuisance
and breaking the
pet contract
We consider the following as animal or pet
nuisance (this is not a full list).
• Roaming or unattended pets, including
visitors’ pets (for example, dogs not on
leads when in shared areas).
• Animals that are out of control or
dangerous.
• Bites from animals.
➤
• Not clearing up after your pets immediately
if they make a mess in shared areas, shared
gardens, hallways, neighbouring gardens or
any other public space.
• Loud noise (for example, barking dogs,
noise from birds).
• Unpleasant smells (for example,
animal urine).
• Damage to our property (including shared
areas and gardens).
• Flea and vermin (rats, mice and so
on) infestations.
Enforcement action
If someone tells us that your pet is causing a
nuisance, we will investigate the complaint
and may give you a warning about breaking
your pet contract and tenancy agreement.
We will ask you to put the problem right
immediately to avoid breaking your tenancy
agreement again. If you do not put the
problem right, we will take formal action
against you and withdraw permission for you
to keep a pet.
We could take legal action against you if
you do not keep to the terms of your
tenancy. If we do this we will aim to recover
all legal costs. We may work with local police
teams and other agencies to do this.
Keeping pets
We work with the RSPCA who investigate
any animal welfare concerns reported to
them and also offer advice on how to be a
responsible pet owner. We also work with the
local authority’s environmental health
department and local dog wardens who can
issue fixed penalty fines, noise abatement
notices and environmental protection notices
to deal with nuisance.
Useful contacts
RSPCA
RSPCA Advice Team
Wilberforce Way
Southwater
Horsham
West Sussex
RH13 9RS
Phone: 0300 123 4999
Website: www.rspca.org.uk
pdsa
National Customer Service Centre
Prospect House
North Hylton Road
Sunderland
SR5 3AD
Phone: 0800 731 2502
Website: www.pdsa.org.uk
➤
CATS Protection
National Cat Centre
Chelwood Gate
Haywards Heath
Sussex
RH17 7TT
Phone: 03000 12 12 12
Website: www.cats.org.uk
Dogs Trust
17 Wakley Street
London
EC1V 7RQ
Phone: 0207 837 0006
Website: www.dogstrust.org.uk
Keeping pets
If you would like to have any part of
this explained or translated, or in a
different format such as in larger
print, or on audio tape, please contact
us using the contact details below to
discuss your needs.
Methuen Park
Chippenham SN14 0GU
tel 01249 465465
[email protected]
WILTSHIRE & SWINDON
244 Barns Road
Oxford OX4 3RW
Freephone 0800 980 9272
tel 01865 773000
[email protected]
9 Pullman Court
Great Western Road
Gloucester GL1 3ND
tel 01452 505359
[email protected]
GLOUCESTERSHIRE
greensquaregroup.com
ISSUED: MAY 2015
OXFORDSHIRE