Flat owner with share of freehold, wanting a dog to visit.

SarahFlint

I am having some confusion as to where I stand with this issue. I own a flat with share of the freehold and I have friends who own a little dog and when they come over I like for them to be able to bring her with them. In the deeds its states “No dog, bird, cat or other animal or reptile shall be kept in the [Property] without the written consent of [the Management Company].” however I am not keeping a pet nor am I planning on keeping one. They come over every other week for max 4 hours. Someone from the building has stuck a 'No Dogs' sign on the door but not sure how legitimate that is as I thought it had to be from the council? She doesn't ever bark and is very well trained and it was only mentioned to me as one of the managers of the building saw her coming in, I haven't had a complaint from anyone else. I didn't know what my rights were as a share of the freehold owner and the fact she doesn't live there, only comes to visit? I am not interested in dog hating responses or ones that tell me they should leave the dog at home, I am after some real advice on this issue. Thanks!

davidmcn

I doubt a visitor counts as "keeping" a dog.

Comms69

Well how many owners are there? Because ultimately the freeholders set the rules

SarahFlint

Comms69 wrote: »

Well how many owners are there? Because ultimately the freeholders set the rules

There are 64 flats and we all have share of the freehold.

Comms69

SarahFlint wrote: »

There are 64 flats and we all have share of the freehold.

So you'll need 32 others to agree a change to the rules.


I doubt much action will be taken, but it could be, if the lease allows.

davidmcn

I would consider the risk of someone taking the time/trouble/expense of going legal about an inoffensive dog which isn't there 99% of the time...

SarahFlint

davidmcn wrote: »

I doubt a visitor counts as "keeping" a dog.

This is my logic, I know, as I have been reading up on this, that if you keep a pet without permission they can ask you to get rid of it but as it's not mine and not living there it's not really something they can do? This is where the confusion is.

hb2

I also live in flat and wouldn't think twice about having someone visit with their dog (well, I would but that's because my cats wouldn't like it!). If the dog were to be causing a nuisance, than it would be reasonable to ask you to stop these visits in future.

gardner1

"She doesn't ever bark and is very well trained".....isn't that what all dog owners say
Its a bit like mothers declaring their little darlings are perfect oblivious to the little g1ts causing havoc

Rosemary7391

hb2 wrote: »

I also live in flat and wouldn't think twice about having someone visit with their dog (well, I would but that's because my cats wouldn't like it!). If the dog were to be causing a nuisance, than it would be reasonable to ask you to stop these visits in future.

Even if they were a pain, it's once a fortnight... unless they're allergic or the visits are in the middle of the night, I can't see how this is causing enough disruption to be worth the sign on the door even!

eddddy

Comms69 wrote: »

So you'll need 32 others to agree a change to the rules.


I doubt much action will be taken, but it could be, if the lease allows.

Just to mention - that's a bit misleading.

Typically, leases are structured so that the freeholder(s) can't change any covenants in a lease (e.g. relating to pets) unless every single leaseholder agrees to have their lease changed.

So if just one leaseholder out of 64 refuses to let their lease be changed to allow pets, nobody else's lease can be changed to allow pets either.