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Local requirements and standards

All three types of boarding are licensed under the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018. The council's register of current licences is at bromley.gov.uk/animal-welfare/search-animal-welfare-licences. Choose licences rather than applications, then search by postcode or address. The register lists every animal activity under one heading, so it shows that a business is licensed and its star rating, but not whether the licence is for home boarding, kennels or a cattery. Ask the provider for their licence number and what it covers, then check it on the register.

Star ratings work in the same way as for other animal activities. One star means a 1 year licence and more unannounced inspections. Three stars means a 2 year licence, and five stars means 3 years. Licences lasting more than a year also need a vet inspection partway through. Bromley does not set any local conditions beyond the national ones.

The licence conditions most relevant to owners:

Boarded dogs must not usually be left alone for more than 3 hours in any 24 hour period, and for less than that if a dog's health or welfare needs it.

The licence sets the maximum number of dogs at the premises, and the boarder's own dogs count towards it.

Each dog, or each group of dogs from the same household, must have its own room where it can be kept apart from other dogs.

Dogs from different households can only be boarded together with written consent from every owner. There must first be a trial session, which is recorded and includes the boarder's own dogs.

Dogs must sleep inside the house. Outside kennels and cages are not allowed for home boarding, and the garden must be secure and used only by the licence holder's household.

If anyone under 16 lives in the house, there must be written procedures for how they and the boarded dogs interact. Anyone over 16 in the household who handles the dogs must be competent to do so.

Kennels and catteries have their own conditions. These include individual housing with minimum space standards, enrichment, isolation areas for animals that are ill or newly arrived, and regular exercise for dogs outside their kennel. Cats need a separate unit for each cat or household group, with proper ventilation and temperature control.

The licence holder must have written procedures for illness, injury and out of hours vet care. Ask what these are and which practice they use.

Vaccination requirements are set by the provider's vet, not the council. Kennels normally require dogs to be vaccinated against kennel cough as well as the core diseases, and vaccinations need to be given early enough to work, commonly 7 to 14 days before boarding. Check this early, because a last minute booking can fall through because of vaccination timing alone.

If a boarder walks dogs in public, anyone walking four or more dogs at once needs a separate dog walking licence from the council.