Pilot allows high-rise tenants to keep dogs

Readers' comments (27)

• Melvin Bone | 03/03/2010 9:45 am

  I can think of one English tenant that might want to consider a mutual exchange to Scotland...
  
  A tower block full of Pit Bulls, that sounds like the seventh circle of hell to me.
  
  Maybe they should limit the number of dogs and their size in the tenancy...For example you can have one Alsatian or three Jack Russels...

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• karen | 03/03/2010 10:20 am

  ‘While some dogs are suitable to live in a flat, others simply will not enjoy this environment, which can result in problems not only for the owner, but for neighbours and the local community.’
  
  and the dog itself.

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• stephen west | 03/03/2010 10:32 am

  Fantastic at least our barmy RSL is not the only one to adopt this daft policy, now Edinburgh high-rise residents can expect dog mess in their lifts and communal ares like we put up with in the South. This is only because landlords despite their residents tenancy agreements not to keep dogs, state that the courts will not evict tenants from keeping dogs in high-rise blocks. We pointed out that its not necessarily the dog owners that needed to be evicted though would be preferable, just the dog removed from the premises by means of a court order.
  
  So does this mean that when a residents dog bites a child or adult in a lift or communal area does this make the landlord culpable and liable to be sued by the resident who has been bitten because they the landlord have condoned the keeping of dogs in flats.
  
  Oh and by the way, our landlords have had to admit fairly recently that a lift car in a high-rise block has been our of action for nearly three months because urine has eroded parts of the lift mechanism, the whole lift car now has to be replaced, and yes we know some unsociable tenants alleviate themselves in lifts, but so do dogs kept locked up in flats for the whole night through who cant wait to get out of the block the next morning before alleviating themselves in the lift cars and communal areas.
  
  What next horses and pigs will be allowed to be kept in high-rise flats and don't laugh as I know of one case where a donkey was kept on a small balcony in a high-rise block.
  
  Stephen West
  Chairman
  OBHA Independent Leaseholders Group

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• Harry Lime | 03/03/2010 11:05 am

  How are they going to verify who's dog is doing the fouling should any occur? Are they going to have any doggy DNA testing???

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• simon stokes | 03/03/2010 11:19 am

  I think "piloting" is the right word when the dogs go flying off the balconies! You really couldnt make some of these policies up.

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• kass | 03/03/2010 11:38 am

  The Scottish RPCA are fully involved and they are not going to allow anything harmful to any pets. Also this pilot seems to have a high educational purpose for social tenants as far as keeping dogs goes, which will both benefit those who already have dogs and those who wish to have one. Hopefully those residents who have a breed of dog the RPCA advises not to keep in a flat will give it away or sell it or excahnge for one more suitable. So all in all it is an opportunity to learn and improve our relationship with our best four legged friends, especially in times like these when two legged friends have become an endagered species.

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• john souray | 03/03/2010 12:20 pm

  Where on earth does Inside Housing get the idea that "Council tenants are not usually allowed to keep pets "?
  
  As a quick lunchtime survey, I had a look at the boroughs near me (S London). The two neighbouring both publish their tenants' handbooks, or codes of conduct, and the third I looked at doesn't seem to have an equivalent on the net.
  
  Here's Greenwich:
  
  "Pets
  • You are responsible for any pets that you,
  members of your household or visitors
  bring into your home or communal
  areas.
  • You must not let the pet cause any
  nuisance, annoyance or danger to
  neighbours or visitors to the property
  (including Council officers), or any
  damage to the property.
  • You must ensure the pet is not harmed
  or neglected in any way.
  • You must ensure that dogs are
  accompanied by a responsible person
  and kept on a lead in communal areas.
  • If your pet fouls any Council property,
  including communal areas, you must
  clean up the mess promptly."
  
  And here's Southwark:
  
  "Your responsibilities
  As a tenant, you are responsible for
  Your behaviour
  The behaviour of any person who lives in your home (occupants)
  The behaviour of any person who comes to visit you (visitors), and
  The behaviour of any pets belonging to you, or to occupants or visitors
  Your tenancy agreement says that you must not
  Do anything which causes nuisance, annoyance, offence, distress or alarm to other tenants or their
  family, lodgers or visitors; or
  Damage any property, fixtures or fittings belonging to us or to our tenants and their families.
  If you break any conditions of your tenancy agreement, you risk losing your home. We will usually consider antisocial behaviour as seriously breaking your tenancy agreement. "
  
  That's two out of three boroughs I looked at, with the third just an unknown, treating their tenants as responsible citizens in a modern world. About time some (memo to K Dupree: "some" means not necessarily all) of the contributors here caught up, and unfortunately on this occasion, the author of the article as well. The management of social housing is not like poor law administration.

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• The Reaper | 03/03/2010 1:08 pm

  ......seems on the surface to be a sensible approach. I expect to hear the usual "arrest the landlord" comments when one of these "mans best friends" savages someone. Just one more thing for housing staff to manage and deal with....ho hum.

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• Kev Dupree | 03/03/2010 1:59 pm

  Thanks for the clarification John, would have been useful last time you branded everyone with the same stick.

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• kass | 03/03/2010 2:30 pm

  "The Reaper | Wed, 3 Mar 2010 13:08 GMT...
  
  ...Just one more thing for housing staff to manage and deal with....ho hum."
  
  
  Another typical example of anti-tenant bias in the sector.
  
  So readfing this article it has not even crossed your mind that this pilot is trying to help more than anybody else the housing staff as obvioulsy they have dismally failed to deal with dogs there so far?...

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