We're proud to be pet friendly

At Phoenix, we recognise the value that pet ownership can bring to owners, animals and our broader community. That's why we're proud to support 'Pet Friendly Properties' a new campaign from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home to encourage landlords and housing providers to promote pet ownership.

Battersea's report 'Pet Friendly Properties: Bringing people and pets together for happier homes' highlights the health and social benefits of pet ownership and explores the barriers to pet ownership that social housing residents can sometimes face.

Our pet friendly approach is featured as a case study in the report. Because we recognise the benefits that pets can have in our residents' lives, all of our tenants in general needs housing are allowed to keep a dog or cat, so long as their animals do not cause nuisance to other people or cause damage to property and communal areas. 

Since 2015, we've partnered with Battersea and other animal welfare charities to offer free microchipping and general pet ownership advice at our community events. 

In 2017-18 we received just eight complaints about pets. When complaints are received, we will work with our residents and other partners to promote responsible pet ownership. There are two to three cases a year where permission to keep a pet is revoked.

We believe our approach is more manageable and flexible than if we were to require our tenants to obtain formal written permission to keep a pet, and hope that Battersea's research will encourage more landlords and housing associations to implement more flexible policies. 

To find out more about our approach, read out latest blog from Phoenix Housing Officers Veronica and Jeffrey.