For many homeless people, pets are a lifeline. They are a main source of companionship and stability for some of the most vulnerable people in society.
Many Council’s operate a housing and homelessness policy that both sanctions people for refusing offers of permanent accommodation, and accepts housing providers having ‘no pets policies’. In practice this means many people are forced to choose between giving up their pets or receiving a sanction and losing their priority in accommodation offers.
In 2017 a resident of Maidenhead called John Chadwick tragically took his own life when he was forced to give up his pets in order to move to safe, secure accommodation. Following that incident Maidenhead Council introduced a ‘John Chadwick Policy’ which amended their housing policy to give people the right to refuse an accommodation offer if the housing provider does not accept pets, without facing sanctions for doing so.
The Council Motion below has been produced in consultation with the Dogs Trust. It calls upon your Council to trial the introduction of a ‘John Chadwick Policy’ – so the needs of homeless people and their connection to their pets are taken into account in housing allocations.
You can read more about the John Chadwick Policy here.
The Council Motion can be copied and pasted below. Check with your council whether your housing policy allows for refusals if accommodation offers do not allow pets before moving.
For many people who are homeless, pets are a lifeline and a main source of companionship and comfort. However, homeless people are often forced to give up their pets to accept a permanent accommodation offer – as the housing offered is either not suitable for pets or the housing provider has a no pet policy.
COUNCIL NAME’s housing policy currently allows for ‘no pet policies’ amongst housing providers offering permanent accommodation to those currently in temporary accommodation. This often forces pet owners into the upsetting decision of having to either give up their pets or refuse an accommodation offer and face possible sanctions.
Council notes the case of John Chadwick, a resident placed in temporary accommodation in Maidstone who was forced to give up his pets to accept a permanent accommodation offer. He tragically took his own life in 2017 within 10 days of losing his pets.
Maidstone Council has since adopted a ‘John Chadwick Policy’ that allows people to decline an offer of permanent accommodation if it is unsuitable for, or simply will not allow, any pets they own. Since the introduction of this policy Maidstone Council has not experienced any noticeable increase in demand, or costs for temporary accommodation.
Council believes it is cruel and unfair to force people to separate from their pets to accept an offer of accommodation. Council resolves to introduce a John Chadwick Policy into our homelessness and allocations policies. Council will do this by;
- Introducing a one year trial to amend our allocations policy and allow pet owners to refuse an accommodation offer that does not accept their pets, without suffering any sanctions for doing so.
- Bringing monitoring reports to SCRUTINY NAME after both six months and twelve months, following the introduction of the policy, to assess any impacts it has had on temporary accommodation use and costs. There will be a presumption that the policy will be made permanent if no significant impacts are identified.
- Set the expectation with housing associations and other private housing providers that Council expects permanent accommodation offers to be both suitable for, and accepting of, people’s pets.