People in social housing will soon need to ask for permission before getting a dog as Woking Borough Council looks to adopt a formal pet policy.

The new nine-page list of rules regarding pet ownership is being drawn up to give the council greater enforcement powers should people’s pooches start to play up.

These include clear guidelines spelling out that residents  in social housing  must notify the council when they get a dog and complete the dog registration form, that dogs must be kept on a lead in all communal areas, and that they must not defecate on balconies or any shared spaces.

Guidance on how to keep pets will also be updated to help mitigate noise problems. 

In private housing,  renting with pets is at the landlord’s discretion. However, when the Renters’ Rights Bill becomes effective, tenants will have stronger rights. Landlords must consider each pet request fairly, and if they refuse them, there needs to be a reasonable justification.

Officers told the Monday, July 14 communities and housing scrutiny committee it has been an on-going challenge dealing with cases of nuisance pets and that the new policy should strengthen the council’s hand.

Committee chair Councillor Tom Bonsundy-O’Bryan, said: “Noise nuisance from dogs barking (is a problem) and a real high percentage of those came from dogs being left outside at night time.

“You can see why the noise of barking at night time is more of a pain.

“The RSPCA  also advises against letting dogs sleep outside, the vast majority of time it’s bad as they are social animals.

“Its just really bad to let dogs sleep outdoors overnight.”

The council says it understands the benefits of keeping a pet, particularly on  people’s mental and physical wellbeing, but that it needed to ensure animals  do not cause nuisance to other residents or damage property. 

Households will generally be given permission to keep up to two dogs and two cats  in a council-owned or managed house, and either one dog or cat in a flat.

Anyone who wishes to have additional pets will need  written permission.