Keeping a pet

If you want to keep a pet, it must be suitable for your home and lifestyle and you must get written permission from the housing office beforehand.

The housing office will refuse permission for any dog covered by the Dangerous Dogs act 1991, such as a Pit Bull Terrier, Japanese Tosa, Dogo Argentino , Fila Brasileiro or any other dog listed under the law.

You will not be granted permission to have more than two dogs, except in very exceptional cases. You are not allowed to breed dogs commercially or sell any animals from your home. Permission will be refused if the housing office thinks your pet will be a nuisance or danger to other residents.

The housing office can withdraw permission for you to keep domestic pets at any time, so it is important to be a responsible owner.

You are responsible for your pets and those owned by your visitors, sub-tenants or lodgers. A dog must wear a collar and tag showing the owners name and address at all times while in public and must be kept on a lead when on Loughbourough Emb estates. If they cause damage or mess, the housing office will charge you for clearing it up and take any action they think is necessary to resolve the problem.

For more information on how to become a more responsible pet owner contact Battersea Dogs and Cats home:

Telephone: 02076223626

Visit: www.battersea.org.uk

 

Owning a Dog

Dog ownership appears to be on the rise on our estates. As a  nation of    dog lovers that could be a good thing but we’re also seeing an increase in reports of dog nuisance.

We’ve recently been alerted to cases of animal cruelty, dogs barking at unsocial hours, dog fouling in communal areas and, occasionally, dogs having frightened our residents.

The Dogs Trust explains: “The way that a dog behaves is more to do with how it is brought up than anything else, including its breed.”

It’s clear then that we can’t blame our dogs if they’re misbehaving – it’s all down to us! But Tenancy Enforcement believe that some problems are due to lack of knowledge. We, therefore, produced a pets and dogs policy. We recently reviewed this policy and received the RSPCA’s 2013 Bronze Footprint Award and a Silver in 2012 for our proactive approach to managing dogs on our estates. This policy includes clear guidelines on dog ownership and sets out requirements that include dog micro-chipping and a dog audit to encourage responsible dog ownership.

 

Setting out the rules

Our 2012 Tenancy conditions includes detailed rules relating specifically to pet ownership. A resident must get permission from Lambeth Council to keep a dog and this will only be granted by us if the property is suitable.

All dogs must be micro-chipped and we require your up-to-date details.

Dog ownership permission can be withdraw at any time if you do not follow the guidelines for responsible dog ownership

 

Get your dog micro-chipped for free

From April 2016 all dogs in England must be micro-chipped.

So, to give you a helping we’re working with the Dogs Trust to offer all our residents free dog micro-chipping, a saving of between £15 and £30.

 

Dog chipping involves a microchip the size of a grain of rice injected under  the skin of the dog between the shoulder blades. The chip contains a unique code number, the dog’s name, age, breed and health as well as the owner’s name, address and phone number. When the chip is "read" by a handheld scanner the code number is revealed and the details can be checked on a national database.

Cllr Rachel Heywood, Lambeth Council Cabinet Member for Communities, said:

"I would urge all cat and dog owners to take advantage of this free service. It gives pet owners piece of mind knowing that if their beloved animal goes missing that there is an extremely good chance they will be re-united."

If you have concerns regarding an animal’s welfare or suspect animal cruelty contact Lambeth Animal Welfare services on 020 7926 8860 or email animalwelfare@lambeth.gov.uk  Alternatively contact the RSPCA on 0300 1234 999 or LEMB to report any anti-social behaviour or harassment relating to dogs on 0207 926 8800.

If your pet is already micro chipped it is important that your details are kept up to date. Contact Petlog on 0870 606 6751 to update your details.