GHA, which owns and manages properties across Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and Moray, has been working closely with Dogs Trust over the past year to review and improve how it supports tenants with pets.

As a result, the organisation has committed to updating its pet policy to give tenants more freedom to own pets responsibly including offering automatic permission to keep at least one pet in their home.

Tenants have also been given Pet Information Packs with information on how to meet their pets’ welfare needs and where to seek support if required.

Staff across the organisation have also taken part in training delivered by Dogs Trust, helping them feel more confident and better equipped to interact safely with dogs when visiting homes and communities.

Thanks to this commitment to becoming more pet friendly, Grampian Housing Association has now achieved Dogs Trust’s official pet friendly housing accreditation. The charity believes this will positively impact not just pet-owning tenants, but also those living nearby who may not own pets themselves.

Dogs Trust hopes this work will serve as a blueprint for other social landlords and help more become pet friendly. The charity’s Pet Friendly Housing Pilot has been made possible thanks to funds raised by players of People’s Postcode Lottery and aims to improve the experience of anyone trying to access or maintain social housing with a pet.

The need for more pet friendly housing has never been greater. Dogs Trust continues to receive a high number of enquiries from people who are being forced to give up their dogs due to restrictive housing policies. Around one in ten handover enquiries received by the charity from owners in Scotland cite housing issues as the main reason for needing to rehome their pet. This includes people having to move or downsize due to rising rental costs, only to find a lack of pet friendly options available.

Jennifer Leonard from Dogs Trust’s Pet friendly Housing Team, said: “Every day, we hear from desperate owners who are sadly forced to rehome their much-loved dogs due to the lack of pet friendly housing. To address this, we have been working with Grampian Housing Association over the last few months to review their pet friendly policies, and we are delighted to be able to accredit them for this.

“We hope that other social landlords, and those in the private sector, too, can learn from the work that’s been done and continue to remove barriers that prevent tenants from having pets. Dogs bring a huge amount of joy into people’s lives, and for many owners, being separated from their pet is no different from being separated from a family member, so we hope this work will go a long way in helping to keep more owners and their pets together.”

Keara Robison, neighbourhood manager, Grampian Housing Association, added: “We’ve always recognised how important pets are to many of our tenants, but we wanted to go further and ensure our policies reflect best practice.

“With the new Housing (Scotland) Act 2025 permission to keep a pet cannot be unreasonably withheld so we are well prepared in advance of these changes.

“Working with Dogs Trust has helped us create a more pet friendly approach that works for everyone - tenants with pets, and neighbours too. We’re proud to be recognised for our efforts.”