New pet policy for local authority apartments in Kilkenny

A new policy has been agreed by members of Kilkenny County Council which will allow for pets in some local authority apartments.

The matter was raised at the Animal Welfare Committee and the Housing Strategic Policy Committee in December and was also discussed at the subsequent meeting of Kilkenny County Council.

Senior Executive Officer in Housing at Kilkenny County Council, Michael Leahy explained to members that the previous policy was not to allow pets in local authority apartments.

“In the future there will be more apartments and at the Animal Welfare Committee meeting we were asked to look at our policy. While we recognise the importance of pets our experience is that a lot of our calls would be about managing our pets in social housing. We also have to consider the welfare of the animal when they is little outdoor space,” he said.

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Mr Leahy outlined to members that it had been agreed that the policy would now allow for certain apartments which would be designated as pet friendly and added that access to outdoor space would be a consideration in determining what apartments would be pet friendly.

Cllr Maria Dollard said that she welcomed the policy and stressed that people who have service animals should always be prioritised.

“A service dog allows someone with sensory difficulties or autism or a disability live as independent a life as possible. A person with a service animal should always be prioritised,” she added.
Cllr Fidelis Doherty asked if the policy extended to other types of pets,

Mr Leahy said that the policy relates to domestic pets such as cats and dogs and added that priority will be given where there is a medical need or the animal is for emotional support.

Director of Services, Mary Mulholland also informed members of the council that as part of the Housing Capital Delivery Programme of Kilkenny County Council and in keeping with national policy on housing densities, the local authority has increased the provision of apartment type accommodation in the county. To date no pets have been accepted into apartments allocated by Kilkenny County Council and tenancy agreement prohibit the keeping of pets in apartments due to lack of space and difficulties in managing tenancies.

Ms Mulholland said that the Housing SPC had sought a review of the position in relation to the keeping of pets in apartments due to the number of cases where persons being offered accommodation had refused it due to the fact that they could not take their pets.

Following much discussions at the Housing SPC in December it was agreed to provide a policy on pets in local authority social housing apartment accommodation which makes provision for the keeping of pets at a limited number of apartments where adequate space is provided and where potential disruption to other tenants is minimised.

Priority will be given to support pets where applicants provide details of a medical need with their housing need assessment information. The policy also states that tenants shall not keep any agricultural animals such as poultry, pigs, birds or horses and that only two domestic pets can be allowed per household. No type of dog defined as a controlled breed are allowed in any council property. These dogs are defined under the Control of Dogs Regulations 1988.