The Dog Friendly Residence Standard

Your dog is family, and most landlords say they understand that. The listing says "pet friendly", then you read the small print: small dogs only, a deposit that costs more than the move, a rule that bends depending on who you ask. One of the biggest reasons dogs lose their homes is that the family had to move and could not find a place that would take them, and it is avoidable. The fix was never complicated, it just had not been written down, so we wrote it down.

Fair and transparent terms. Dogs allowed as a clear, published rule, not a maybe. No turning a dog away for its breed or its size. Any charge is fair, covers a real cost, and is told to you up front.

Welfare. Somewhere safe and comfortable to live, daily access to get out and stretch their legs, safe ways in and out, and a building that does not leave a dog on edge from constant noise.

Provision. Somewhere to deal with waste, shared facilities kept clean, and simple, fair rules for the common parts of the building.

See the requirements →

This is not kindness to dog owners at landlords' expense. It is the opposite. People with dogs stay put. They renew rather than move on, and turnover is the most expensive thing a landlord carries. The damage everyone worries about mostly does not happen. Welcoming dogs is simply a better way to run a building.

The standard is open to read. Anyone may read it, understand it, and cite it, free of charge, and we hope they do. The full text is here for you whenever you want it. But reading the standard is not adopting it: it confers no right to claim any association with it, and there is no self-declared tier.

A property is placed in relation to the standard only through Roch Dog. If you want your property certified or licensed, get in touch and we will assess it against the standard. Only a property Roch Dog has authorised may call itself Roch Dog Residence Certified or display the mark. No one may claim the standard, or use the mark, without that authorisation. Reading the standard is free and open; the mark is earned.

Get your property certified →

The law on dogs in housing differs in every country and keeps changing, so the standard is not tied to any one country's rules. It describes what good looks like, in plain terms you can check, and sits on top of whatever the local law is. Where the law gives your dog more, the law wins. Assistance and service dogs have their own legal rights, and nothing here touches those.