Responsible Dog Owner Agreement

Last updated: 14 May 2025

We allow tenants to keep dogs in their home as long as they are well cared for, responsibly kept, and do not cause a nuisance to other residents. This agreement sets out your commitment to responsible dog ownership.

We know owning a dog can bring physical, social and emotional benefits. We also appreciate that not everyone likes dogs, or wants to share communal spaces with them. This means that we need to strike a balance to allow all residents to enjoy their environment. We are asking all dog owners to sign this voluntary agreement. This will help us to manage dog ownership for the benefit of all residents and the environment.

Care of your dog

Dog fouling

It is an offence to allow your dog to mess in a public area. All dog fouling must be cleared up immediately and disposed of safely and hygienically.
Dog owners with private gardens must regularly clean their garden and keep it free of any dog fouling so that it does not cause a nuisance for neighbours.
Dog owners with a communal garden must not allow their dog to foul in any communal garden or area as it can cause a nuisance for neighbours and make an area unhygienic for children to play.

Keep your dog under control

All dogs must be kept on a lead in all public places on our estates, including communal gardens and greenspaces, footpaths and car parks.
Dogs must always be under the control and supervision of a responsible person over the age of 16 years.
Dogs must not be allowed to damage any council property, including trees. You will be responsible for paying for any repairs.
All dogs must wear a collar and tag with the owner’s name, address and postcode when in a public space, including communal areas.

Breach of tenancy and your dog

Dogs must not cause a nuisance or annoyance to neighbours or their pets. This includes excessive barking or other noise and damage to other people's property.
You must make sure that your garden is suitably fenced to prevent your dog going into your neighbours' gardens.
You must not run a dog-sitting or kennelling service at your home without our written permission.
You must not breed any dogs at your home without our written permission.
Your dog must not injure another person.

Keeping to this agreement

If you don't keep to this agreement, we will ask you to improve how you care for your dog and will work with other agencies where appropriate.
If there is no improvement or serious problems, we may withdraw our permission for you to keep a dog, ask you to re-home your dog, and/or take legal action to enforce your tenancy conditions.

Last updated: 14 May 2025