[chicken henry]

Hi all do not know if this has been posted before but having had a battle with our local council over keeping chickens thought this post may help any others that may have problems with any housing association /council ect

Under the allotment act you are allowed to keep chickens on any land that may be rented to you unless there is specific clause in your tenancy agreement with explanation why you cannot keep chicken for your own use only .this includes any land that is withing any boundry of your home which you pay rent for . the full act can be seen on line but here is the quote from that act


12 Abolition of contractual restrictions on keeping hens and rabbits.E+W.(1)Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in any lease or tenancy or in any covenant, contract or undertaking relating to the use to be made of any land, it shall be lawful for the occupier of any land to keep, otherwise than by way of trade or business, hens or rabbits in any place on the land and to erect or place and maintain such buildings or structures on the land as reasonably necessary for that purpose: .
Provided that nothing in this subsection shall authorise any hens or rabbits to be kept in such a place or in such a manner as to be prejudicial to health or a nuisance or affect the operation of any enactment.

hope this helps folks !

[ANHBUC]

It is a subject that pops up from time to time Henry.  I also understand that a Tenancy Agreement can not override the Allotment Act which is Law.  The problem people with a Tenancy have is that the Landlord could always not renew the Tenancy so it often has the same effect. 

[pepsi100]

I dont rent my house/garden, it belongs to me, Now I maybe wrong, but I assume as I own my property I cvan keep hens/chickens/cockerels in my garden as long as it has no affect on my neighbours, they are kept in clean sanitary conditions and looked after ?

I have always assumed anyone could keep hens/chicken in anything rented with the landlords permission (ie councils) and I have seen lots of allotments with hens on them, I never knew they had to have permission for that (I thought they could grow and keep whatever they wanted on there as long as it never affected other users

(I dont think I would want to keep my hens on an allotment unless it was 100% fox proof, I like to keep an eye on my birds)

[Beetroot queen]

Our tenancy agreement says no way but i do understand that someone has challenged this recently.

Personally i am glad we dont have chickens on site as we have a huge problem with foxes and this would just make it worse.

I do have chooks at home but i wouldnt consider them on the plot. Bet i am unpopular now 

[ANHBUC]

You are right pepsi100, it is only when they become a nuisance with noise, vermin etc. that it becomes a problem.  The Allotment Act does only cover hens though so I am not sure if you can have cockerels on an allotment without permission.

I have a cockerel at the moment and am constantly checking that he is not disturbing the neighbours, no problems so far so fingers crossed.  We did have a neighbour last year that let their dogs out barking for hours on end.  That would also be considered a noise nuisance if reported, luckily they moved so all is now quiet (apart from the occasional crowing!)   

[pepsi100]

mmmm, yes dogs they seem to make a lot more noise than my cockerel, the owners go to work, they either leave the dog in the garden or indooors and they do bark a lot at the slightest thing

My cockerel (at the moment) crows when he wakes up and welcomes a new day, then when he has scored with one of the ladies, people have even asked if I have got a cockerel (apperently they didnt know you dont ned a cockerel to get eggs) I dont think he is a noisy bird

I can see where a cockerel could be a nuisance, but dogs barking dont count (I know what I prefer)

I am sorry to heatr that some have problems keeping hens on their allotments

[Beetroot queen]

We have three barking dogs around here, all from one house. They work 12 hour days so the dogs yap that whole time long. Not even sure if they have shelter or sun shade. Didnt know they had three until a neighbour told me. I have never ever seen them being walked EVER

I'd swap for chook noise than dogs

[pepsi100]

Oh, people take their dogs out for 'walkies' I know they do, they leave 'landmines' all over the grass 

It does annoy me, the kids kick a ball around on the grass (I know the sign says' no ball games' but that is one of the goal posts  )

[chicken henry]

Just to clarify my agreement with our local council was that they could not prevent me from keeping hens but i did agree not to keep any cock birds on the understanding that i could have any number of chickens i wish within reason .

Yes you do have to abide by the enviromental rules on keeping chickens noise, vermin, and cleaning . ect but after saying that i agree with some posts that comment on dogs noise !

If you are a property owner you can have whatever you like on your own property but still have to abide by the enviroment rules.

thank you folks for all your replies 

[Prod]

I live in a very rural area, quite isolated really, and my cottage sides on to a 12thC Church where pheasants breed, believe me they can make more noise than a cockerel. As does the owl at night. There are no street lights, mobile phone or terrestrial TV reception, so it can be quite spooky at night when I walk down the lane to my field, you can hear the sheep and cows munching the grass and they both make other weird noises too!!!! When I bough the cottage it had a very small garden, which we extended into and the field was described as 'the garden' We thought we could just put a shed up but Oh No!!!  we had to get full planning permission from the Council for a change of use which cost more than the Planning Application for the extension!!!! We have since bought some land from the Church so we now have a lovely sized garden to the side  but it is going to take years to sort out.  We get all sorts of wild birds, some I'd never seen before, and mammals scurrying around.  At the moment we have a blackbird nesting in the shed and one in the woodpile. There is always noise from the hundreds of birds so I don't think my Cockerel makes much difference to be honest!!!

[Aunt Sally]

The section of law quoted above is quite clear.

Anyone on rented land may keep rabbits and hens (but not cockerels) even if their tenancy agreement or a local council bye-laws says that you may not.

It is a law given by parliament and no bye-law or tenancy agreement can overturn laws of the land !

That is a fact that many landlords, including councils, do not understand !

[pepsi100]

The section of law quoted above is quite clear.
Anyone on rented land may keep rabbits and hens (but not cockerels) even if their tenancy agreement or a local council bye-laws says that you may not.
It is a law given by parliament and no bye-law or tenancy agreement can overturn laws of the land !
That is a fact that many landlords, including councils, do not understand !

What's wrong with cockerels ?

[GrannieAnnie]

They make a noise that a lot of people don't like, and many allotment sites are at the back of houses!

[Aunt Sally]

The section of law quoted above is quite clear.
Anyone on rented land may keep rabbits and hens (but not cockerels) even if their tenancy agreement or a local council bye-laws says that you may not.
It is a law given by parliament and no bye-law or tenancy agreement can overturn laws of the land !
That is a fact that many landlords, including councils, do not understand !

What's wrong with cockerels ?

They are specifically excluded under the allotments acts.  The laws don't say why but GrannieAnnie is probably right - noise issues.

[ANHBUC]

The section of law quoted above is quite clear.
Anyone on rented land may keep rabbits and hens (but not cockerels) even if their tenancy agreement or a local council bye-laws says that you may not.
It is a law given by parliament and no bye-law or tenancy agreement can overturn laws of the land !
That is a fact that many landlords, including councils, do not understand !

What's wrong with cockerels ?

It is an old law but it doesn't mean you can not keep cockerels in your own garden if as you have said "as long as it never affected other users".  It would be a noise issue that would be the problem, I don't want to be woken at 4:30 by a cockerel crowing, even though I have one.