i recieved a letter this morning from my local council regarding a complaint of me having four dogs 1 of which is an old timer, & that i had a litter and was selling them on,they say i have no application to keeps dogs but i thought i had it written on my missive, but check i dont,the counicl are saying i am running a buisness from home, they say should it be that you dispute that you are selling pups from the tenancy i would advise your in breach of you tenancy agreement, tried call but he is off today, where do i stand? do i have to part with my babies? could i loose my house? i am a council tenant. many thanks

Many council properties only permit 1 dog!  I know my local council do.

Unfortunately it does depend on your council. My local office stated that I can have one dog (I have more than that ;-) ) Head office have stated they won't object if I have more, so long as I don't get any complaints. I have had complaints, but other neighbours have come into the office with me and backed me against the complainer (who wants me out, and a friend of theirs in :-( )

As to running a business. This is a tricky one. How often do you breed? Are any of your dogs neutered? If you can 'prove' that you don't make a profit from your breeding then most councils will turn a blind eye.

You really need to speak to the person in charge, and if no luck there go and see a solicitor. This might need legal advice.

Check your tenancy agreement/contract/whatever it is....

Mine only states that i have to keep my dogs from being a nuisance (ie noise, poo etc), it doesnt state any number, nor does it state anything about breeding though it DOES state i cannot run a business from my property.

However - there are local regulations on breeding, which vary from place to place but will consider you to be a business if you have a certain number of entire bitches and a certain number of litters per year (the details of which vary according to your local authority), which mean you require a licence.

So it might be that you are fine within your tenancy agreement, but on paper (or according to the person who has complained) it looks like you could fulfill the breeding as a business thing..

Generally speaking if you prove that certain animals are not, despite their entire status, breeding animals, and that you only have a litter once in a blue moon (if you do) then it should be regarded as a hobby and not a business.

It does depend on how 'by the book' your council are, and how vehement any complainers are and of course whether they have any real grounds for complaint also.

when i moved into this house im in at the moment i assumed the old policy for keeping dogs would carry through to this house how wrong i was, i got appointment on monday called today to speak to the one in charge he seemed really offish.i think what there getting at is i have nothing nin writing about have anydogs, they think im running a buisness,i have 3 schnauzers 4, 2 1/2 1 , and an old boxer at 12, im worried sick at the thought at loosing my home, and waiting to see if he will let me keep some of my babies then again maybe i wont get to keep any  if that the case .

A quick tip if you are afraid you might get emotional:  write down some of the things you want to say.  It always looks good to be prepared anyway and it can help to keep you calm if you have some facts at hand.

Good luck

I would have thought Grandfathers rights would apply, especially if you were not given anything in writing to show the terms of your tenancy changed when you moved.

It might help to print of these notes from the Inland revenue on differentiating between hobby and business from their perspective in proving that your not a business http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/bens/ben14.htm

Also go onto your council website and look up dog breeder licensing and see what their specific rules are.

Might be worth quoting the relevant parts of the Act that says what breeders have to have a license if they do not have specific additional rules http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1999/19990011.htm section 7 applies re definition

they had given me the tenency agreement and missives after my partner left 9 yrs ago ,i did not realise you had to re-apply  for permission for a  new dog to be brought into the family if an older one passed away i thought it would automatically go onto the new dog .after reading the missive the other day it says you need planning permission for a caravan in drive,satalite dish,ariel, list goes on .  ,i have prepared myself for having to part with 3 dogs as long as i can keep my old boxer im happy, tried speaking to the person i will be see tomorrow but he was really offish so that has rattled my cage a tad.the kids are all upset i dont hvae the answers i wish i had , but my 10am tomorrow morning i wil know 1 way or another..

Good luck x

Wishing you luck for this morning x

God what an awful situation to be in.  Good luck this morning. :)

just back from meeting he was not bothered i had 4 dogs , but that i had not put any on the missive i explained i thought it carried on from one house to the other he said no, also said  i was breeding litters every year, i said i had a litter 2009, 2008 & 2006,told him he is welcome to check,i have to put in writing how many dogs i have,where they are kept,how many litters a year i have,he was try to get me to admit i was running a buisness i told him it was hobby breeding,once i hand in the letter the enviromental health will visit, do you know what they will be looking for? what to expect? thanks agian for all your support and good wishes

all the enviromental heath people want to see is a clean tidy place
someone tried to cause trouble for someone i know
they just need to see dogs ok and a clean place and dogs area is clean
my mates are all house dogs
she had no trouble with them at all

What a load of stress they have caused you for little reason at all. Surely this could have been sorted out far more easily for you!

EHO will, asides from being annoyed at having their time wasted (not with you, with whoever has sent them out), be wanting to see that its clean and reasonably tidy (normal house... not show home!).

REALLY, whats going on is they still think you are breeding as a business but they cant prove it - they send the EHO out because as a breeding establishment that would require a licence the EHO has to see you fit all the necessary criteria. You dont because you are not a breeding business at all (and the fact they havent made you apply for a licence means you dont fit into their category for needing one so they are just being A-holes) so when the EHO turns up and you are a normal family with four lovely dogs and a nice normal house.... they will say 'hello' 'oh nice doggy' and trundle back off to their office cursing about time wasting 'jobsworths'.

Cant see ANY other reason to send an EHO out, unless theres been a complaint about dogmess/filthy house.... and believe me, Im a total troll at times and my house is NOT particularly clean an tidy (it gets cleaned and tidied LOL it gets muckied up again really fast), and my estate housing officer has only ONCE kicked my butt about it - and that was over my lodgers room which was DISGUSTING. No EHO out (if it was it would be to slap a 'filthy and verminous' notice on me ... but it isnt! lol), and I think at the time i had my own five dogs and a foster greyhound. So two entire males, two neutered males, an entire bitch and a spayed bitch...

Someone... is being a pillock. Take a deep breath.. have a glass of vino.. and ignore! When the EHO comes round welcome them in all smiles and all will be well.