Our new next door neighbours have been complaining about dogs barking smell and squeaking toys etc, they also are saying they have been in touch with planning department and they have said that you need planning permission for more than 4 dogs!!! Is she just trying to scare us or is there such a thing?
If there is such a thing we have decided were moving home even though we like the area we love the dogs more.

One council tried to impose a 6 dog rule on a JP He asked them what change of use he should apply for as he didn't breed or board & only showed a couple of his dogs he is still waiting over a year later to be told & from their silence it would appear the Council realised their mistake

If you own your own home & do not need a breeders licence unless your dogs are causing a nusiance by barking excessively or are being kept in poor conditions( I not am suggesting yours do or are)then there is nothing the council can do

Hi there.  Is your house bought?  The only reason I ask this is because one of the terms on the deed of conditions in my last house was that you couldn't keep any more than 2 dogs.  However, in a previous flat I lived in on the estate I had terrible trouble with a downstairs neighbour who constantly played loud music (and I mean my floors shaking loud!).  In the deed of conditions it said that no residents were to cause nuisance etc., or they could be evicted.  It got so bad that I had to go and see a lawyer.  To cut a long story short, I was given £500 hush money because the builders couldn't do anything about it.  It would be very difficult to envoke a deed of conditions.  Re planning permission - sorry I don't know about that just about deeds of conditions.  Hope this helps!!

Annie

Its a bought house, the environmental health have been out and said theres no issue. But now she reakons theres a planning law on how many dogs you can keep.

correct me if im wrong someone pls.... but i thought planning permissions were only needed if you are to be doing any kind of building work ie extensions large sheds/garages that sort of thing.
logically how can a planning permission/department dictate as to how many dogs you can keep ... surely animals come under enviromental dept.
If i am right ( which i think i am :-) ) i would just ignore them as they are talking a load of hot air :D

We have 8 they reakon theres a limit of 4 for cannock area, when we spoke to the council they said it was a grey area thats all we got out of them. Are thinking was they are not a permanant fixture as such so why planning department.

maybe each dog is built into the ground as buildings!!!...Therefore need planning permission! ;)

Howeve rI comehow don't think bodercollielover would do that (nor would anyone else on here) :D

hmm wouldnt i lol, its one way of keeping them still and out from under my feet, then i can send a pic to the council and next door and say do garden knowm(sp) dogs need planning permission lol.

I'm a conveyancer so maybe can shed some light. 

The planning approval the person was referring to was probably a change of use but like the previous poster said if you are not breeding or boarding this is unlikely to help.  As to the deeds, there could be a covenant on your property that says only a certain amount of animals maybe kept, some even stop you from keeping animals altogether (although this is very rare).  The covenants are normally drafted on the first time the property is sold by the original builder so if your house has been built for a long period of time it is even less likely that someone could claim that they have the benefit of the covenant. 

Best thing to do is see if you can get a copy of title to your property and this will tell you what covenants etc affect your property.  You can get this from the Land Registry.  Otherwise I would maybe contact the Council and see what they say. 

Hope this helps.  If you do want to get a copy of your title I can point you in the right direction.

Claire

There were articles in OD last year in Jan 2004 & 24th Decmber 2004 having read it again the council dropped the requirement for the JP to apply for planning permissiion for change of use as there was no change in use basically

I take it they knew about the dogs before they bought the house?  If, as they say, your dogs are that noisy and smelly (and I'm not suggesting for one minute that they are!!!) then surely this is something they would have noticed before they put in an offer.  Some people just like to have something to complain about I'm afraid.  It must be quite worrying though and its something that I often worry about because I have 4 dogs and wonder if anybody could make me get rid of any of them.  Like you, I would rather move than give up the dogs.  Don't know what to suggest but there seems to be some good suggestions here and some people with real knowledge.  Hope it all works out for you.

Annie

Our house was one of the old minners houses so i cant see there being anything like that on it, they were alright with us when we first moved in and then they put up a 9ft fence and then the reports started.

Maybe you ought to complain about the 9ft fence then!  Certainly down here you have to have planning permission for any fence over 6 foot.

Good point!

We asked the coucil they said they could tell them to take it down but if they didnt theres nothing they could do about it.

I feel for you I really do.Nothing worse than a moaning next door neighbour.Mine really used to get me down,but are moving in a few weeks.They never complained about the dogs just were really ignorant people.When I needed help i joined the Neighbours From Hell forum which was fantastic,the help and advice on there was amazing.Might be worth a try.

Actually you do have to have planning permission for fences/walls on boundaries over 6 feet high My boundary wall is 6 feet high it would have been higher but didn't want to have to wait for PP. So it is not a case of asking them to take it down but making them apply for retrospective PP & if they don't get it it has to come down

One of my near neighbours, who is a bit of an oddball :) was forced to take down her over 6 foot fence she had put up at the front of her property she replaced it with leylandei :rolleyes: which for the time being is not covered by planning laws.   I'm not sure if, when the new rules about that come in it will be back dated.

If something has been erected without planning permission the Council only has four years to take action against it or 10 years if it has changed the use of a property.  It is also ten years if say an extension has been built that was in breach of a planning condition for the original construction of the property.  The Council could take enforcement action against the neighbours if they dont take it down but are unlikely to do this unless someone kicks up a fuss.