Q Our tenants keep chickens — probably eight in total — in a pen very close to a neighbour’s fence. Occasionally the chickens escape into the neighbour’s garden, which no one really minds. However, the tenants have acquired a cockerel. I would like to know the laws on keeping cockerels in rental properties.
A It is worth checking your title deeds in the first instance, as it is possible that they may include a restriction on the keeping of animals in the garden. It is also worth checking what the lease with your tenants says, as standard residential leases usually contain prohibitions on keeping animals in the property without the landlord’s consent.
If there is nothing in your title deeds or the lease there is, strictly speaking, nothing preventing your tenants from keeping a cockerel on the property. Your tenants do, however, still have legal obligations to use the property in such a way as not to cause substantial interference with their neighbour’s use and enjoyment of their own property, or to give their neighbour reasonable cause for annoyance. Early morning crowing from cockerels could, for example, lead to such interference or annoyance if the noise levels are more than reasonably tolerable.
Their neighbour may, as a result, have a right to go to court to seek an order to stop your tenants from keeping the cockerel. Their neighbour could, alternatively, complain to their local authority, which has statutory powers in certain circumstances to serve notices on tenants requiring them to take steps to stop the noise. A failure to comply could amount to a criminal offence and result in financial penalties.
If a neighbour complains to your tenants about the cockerel, there are likely to be some practical steps that could be taken to try to minimise disruption and alleviate the risk of them going to court or to their local authority. The cockerel could, for example, be put into a coop at night to minimise early morning crowing, or it could be agreed with their neighbour that the tenants limit the cockerel’s time outside to specific times throughout the day. Trying to challenge local authority notices or defend court proceedings can be costly, so it is always best for your tenants to try to resolve matters with their neighbour first if they can.
Chloe Postlethwaite is a senior solicitor at Brodies LLP