Keeping pets in your council home

In council homes, you can usually keep up to:

• 2 dogs in a house
• 1 dog in a flat
• 2 cats in a house
• 1 cat in a flat
• 2 small mammals or other caged pets, such as rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters or birds

If you want to keep more pets, you must get our permission.

Pet restrictions in your tenancy agreement

Your tenancy agreement or lease may say that you need permission to keep a pet, or that you cannot keep pets.

Some homes are in buildings where we do not own the freehold or manage the shared areas. In these cases, you must follow the freeholder's rules about pets.

Before getting a pet, check whether the freeholder allows pets in your building. If you do not, you may be told to rehome your pet.

Pets you cannot keep

Some animals can never be kept as pets in our homes. These include:

• dangerous wild animals (for example, big cats, primates and certain reptiles)
• dog breeds banned under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991
• livestock (for example, farm animals such as horses, cows, goats, sheep, pigs, alpacas, chickens, ducks and geese)
• endangered or protected species

If an animal cannot legally be kept as a pet in the UK, you cannot keep it in your home.

These rules are set out in our Pet Policy. Keeping any prohibited animal can breach your tenancy and may lead to enforcement action.

Assistance dogs

If you use a registered assistance dog because of a disability, you do not need our permission to keep it. This includes guide dogs, hearing dogs and other assistance dogs.

Assistance dogs are not classed as pets under our policy and are not subject to pet restrictions.

Tell us about an assistance dog

Let us know if you use an assistance dog. This helps us keep our records up to date.

We will make reasonable adjustments where needed and help keep the building safe and inclusive for all residents.

Telephone: 0300 373 0373
Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm (except public holidays)