There is no doubt, we are a nation of animal lovers.

Alas, the headlines recently have reported the negative side of pet owning, demonstrating when things go wrong, with quite a few high-profile cases recently featuring vicious dog attacks.

The headline grabbing news has predominantly referred to the XL Bully type dog.

The Prime Minister branded XL bully dogs a ‘danger to our communities’ and is bring in rules in England and Wales under the Dangerous Dogs Act to ban them, although, it is worth noting any pet can potentially cause harm.

It is with this in mind we remind our residents of the rules within their tenancy agreement in relation to keeping pets within our properties.

If your house is within a multi-storey block (a tenement or block of flats more than four storeys in height) no pets are permitted without our written approval.

If your house is not in a multi-story block you may keep up to two pets. Any more than two pets will require our written approval. Permitted pets include dogs, cats and other domestic animals commonly kept as household pets.

Wild animals, reptiles or farm animals are not permitted as pets. You are responsible for the behaviour of any pets owned by you or anyone living with you. If your pet is causing nuisance damage or annoyance, then the Association is entitled to require removal of the pet.

Additionally, you must ensure that:

Keeping your pet is not prohibited by the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, or by any other law and that any cat is spayed or neutered.

You take all reasonable steps to supervise and keep such pets under control.You take all reasonable steps to prevent such pets causing nuisance, annoyance, or danger to your neighbours including fouling or excessive noise or smell.

You take reasonable care to see that such pets do not foul or cause damage to the house, your neighbour’s property, anything belonging to us or anything we are responsible for, such as the common parts and you clean up your pet’s faeces. Being aware of the above excerpt from your tenancy agreement may help prevent any situation occurring, which could result in you losing your beloved pet.