Pet friendly homes

Anchor understand that pets provide companionship, comfort and love, and offer a way of making contact with others.

We recognise the benefits of owning a pet and therefore have a ‘pet friendly’ policy that covers our rented retirement housing, care homes and leasehold developments. 

Our pet policy was written with the help of our residents and with reference to the good practice guidance produced by the RSPCA, The Dogs Trust and Age UK. We are very proud to be the first national housing provider to received Platinum in the RSPCA’s PawPrints awards for recognition of our continued support for pet-owning residents. As of 2024 we have received a Platinum PawPrint award for the second consecutive year.

Keeping a pet at an Anchor property

If you want to get a new pet or bring your existing pet to one of our properties the first thing you need to do is let us know. Our on site manager is the best person to speak to about this. They will be able to help you with the process, explain pet ownership conditions and discuss any lease restrictions with you.

We will need to know some basic details about the pet, such as type, breed and size. This will help us both to work out if the property/building is suitable for your pet.

We look at a range of things when deciding if your home will be suitable for your pet:

• The size and positioning of your accommodation
• Your ability to care for your pet and meet its welfare needs
• Any lease restrictions or conditions that do not allow certain pets

It is important we take these factors into consideration, as we have to respect the views of other residents living in our properties and to make sure we are both fully satisfied that the welfare needs of your pet are met.

Anchor only allow domestic pets and do not allow pets that are listed under current legislation as prohibited, and where we find a property is not suitable for your pet, we do what we can to put you in contact with organisations who may be able to assist you with re-homing.

If we are happy that the property is suitable for your pet we will confirm our agreement with you in writing.

Ensuring your pet’s wellbeing

The welfare of the pets that live with our residents is important to us and we expect the following things from responsible pet owners:

• Ensuring the conduct of your pet does not cause a nuisance or disturbance to others
• Registration at a vets
• Pet identification / microchipping
• Neutering / spaying 
• Alternative arrangements should you go on holiday or into hospital
• We highly recommend pet insurance to help with unexpected, and often significant costs

There are a range of organisations that can offer further advice about pet welfare and answer questions including your local vets, the RSPCA and the PDSA.

We also offer online training from the PDSA through our resident e-learning portal. You can find out more and to gain access on the Be Skilled page of our website.