Keeping a pet in a HDB flat: What you need to know

Many of us can’t imagine life without our furry friends - but if you’re living in an HDB flat, and not private property, you might just be illegally housing your pet without realising it. How many dogs can you keep in HDB flats? Are cats allowed? Can you keep pets in rental units? In this article, we tell you all you need to know about keeping pets in HDB flats!

KEEPING DOGS IN AN HDB FLAT

Dog lovers, take note: you’re strictly limited to keep only one dog in your HDB flat; on top of that, your dog has to be of an acceptable breed or cross-breed.

If it’s a cross-breed, your dog should be 40 cm or less at the shoulders, and weigh 10 kg or less. In addition to this, once your dog is 3 months or older, you’ll have to bring it to the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) to get it licensed. Breaching any of the these regulations can get you fined up to $4,000 - yikes!

Dog breeds approved by HDB

Affenpinscher	Australian Silky Terrier	Australian Terrier
Bichon Frise	Bohemian Terrier	Bolognese
Brussels Griffon (Griffon Bruxaellois)	Bichon Havanese	Border Terrier
Boston Terrier (a) Lightweight (b) Middleweight	Cairn Terrier	Cavalier King Charles Spaniel
Chihuahua	Chinese Crested Dog	Chinese Imperial Chin
Chinese Temple Dog (Classic and Miniature)	Coton de tulear	Czech Terrier
Dachshund (Light and Miniature)	Dandie Dinmont Terrier	English Toy Spaniel
Griffon Belge	German Hunting Terrier	Griffon Brabancon
Hairless Dog	Italian Greyhound	Jack Russell Terrier
Japanese Spaniel (Chin)	Japanese Spitz	Lhasa Apso
Little Lion Dog	Lakeland Terrier	Maltese
Manchester Terrier	Miniature Pinscher	Miniature Schnauzer
Norfolk Terrier	Norwich Terrier	Papillon
Pekinese	Pomeranian	Poodle
Pug	Poodle (Miniature)	Schipperkee
Scottish Terrier	Sealyham Terrier	Shetland Sheep dog
Shih Tzu	Silky Terrier	Small Continental Spaniel
Small English Terrier	Small Spitz	Smooth Fox Terrier
Toy Fox Terrier	Toy Terrier	Tibetan Spaniel
Volpino Italiano	West Highland Terrier	Wire-Haired Fox Terrier
Welsh Terrier	Yorkshire Terrier

KEEPING CATS IN HDB FLATS

Cats, as a general rule of thumb, are not allowed in HDB flats. According to HDB, the rationale behind this is because cats are “generally difficult to contain within the flat”; HDB also notes that when allowed to roam indiscriminately, cats tend to inconvenience neighbours by “shedding fur, defecating or urinating in public areas, and making caterwauling sounds”.

That having been said, there is an exception to the rule - residents of certain HDB blocks in Chong Pang, Yishun, have been allowed to keep cats since October 2012. This ruling falls under a pilot scheme called Love Cats, which is managed by Cat Welfare Society with the support of government agencies like HDB and the Ministry of National Development.

Amongst those who are backing the scheme are Law Minister K. Shanmugam, as well as MP for Nee Soon GRC Louis Ng. MP Ng, who’s also the founder of the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres), has stated that he intends to bring the issue of nationalizing the Love Cats scheme up to the Parliament soon.

A final word on cats in HDB flats: it’s worthy to note that whilst legislation bans cats from HDB flats, HDB generally tends to let sleeping ‘cats’ lie (pun intended), unless they receive a serious complaint.

Keeping other pets in HDB flats

Want to keep other pets in your HDB flat? Your options include small animals such as fish, hamsters, rabbits and birds, which do not inconvenience neighbours or the environment.

This article was first published in Hipvan.

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