[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 24, Volume 1]
[Revised as of April 1, 2003]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 24CFR5.350]

[Page 58-59]
 
                 TITLE 24--HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
 
PART 5--GENERAL HUD PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS; WAIVERS--Table of Contents
 
  Subpart C--Pet Ownership for the Elderly or Persons With Disabilities
 
Sec. 5.350  Mandatory pet rules for housing programs.

    Mandatory rules. The project owner must prescribe the following pet 
rules:
    (a) Inoculations. The pet rules shall require pet owners to have 
their pets inoculated in accordance with State and local laws.
    (b) Sanitary standards. (1) The pet rules shall prescribe sanitary 
standards to govern the disposal of pet waste. These rules may:
    (i) Designate areas on the project premises for pet exercise and the 
deposit of pet waste;
    (ii) Forbid pet owners from exercising their pets or permitting 
their pets to deposit waste on the project premises outside the 
designated areas;
    (iii) Require pet owners to remove and properly dispose of all 
removable pet waste; and
    (iv) Require pet owners to remove pets from the premises to permit 
the pet to exercise or deposit waste, if no area in the project is 
designated for such purposes.
    (2) In the case of cats and other pets using litter boxes, the pet 
rules may require the pet owner to change the litter (but not more than 
twice each week), may require pet owners to separate pet waste from 
litter (but not more than once each day), and may prescribe methods for 
the disposal of pet waste and used litter.
    (c) Pet restraint. The pet rules shall require that all cats and 
dogs be appropriately and effectively restrained and under the control 
of a responsible individual while on the common areas of the project.
    (d) Registration. (1) The pet rules shall require pet owners to 
register their pets with the project owner. The pet owner must register 
the pet before it is brought onto the project premises, and must update 
the registration at least annually. The project owner may coordinate the 
annual update with the annual reexamination of tenant income, if 
applicable. The registration must include:
    (i) A certificate signed by a licensed veterinarian or a State or 
local authority empowered to inoculate animals (or designated agent of 
such an authority) stating that the pet has received all inoculations 
required by applicable State and local law;
    (ii) Information sufficient to identify the pet and to demonstrate 
that it is a common household pet; and
    (iii) The name, address, and phone number of one or more responsible 
parties who will care for the pet if the pet owner dies, is 
incapacitated, or is otherwise unable to care for the pet.

[[Page 59]]

    (2) The project owner may require the pet owner to provide 
additional information necessary to ensure compliance with any 
discretionary rules prescribed under Sec. 5.318, and shall require the 
pet owner to sign a statement indicating that he or she has read the pet 
rules and agrees to comply with them.
    (3) The pet rules shall permit the project owner to refuse to 
register a pet if:
    (i) The pet is not a common household pet;
    (ii) The keeping of the pet would violate any applicable house pet 
rule;
    (iii) The pet owner fails to provide complete pet registration 
information or fails annually to update the pet registration; or
    (iv) The project owner reasonably determines, based on the pet 
owner's habits and practices, that the pet owner will be unable to keep 
the pet in compliance with the pet rules and other lease obligations. 
The pet's temperament may be considered as a factor in determining the 
prospective pet owner's ability to comply with the pet rules and other 
lease obligations.
    (4) The project owner may not refuse to register a pet based on a 
determination that the pet owner is financially unable to care for the 
pet or that the pet is inappropriate, based on the therapeutic value to 
the pet owner or the interests of the property or existing tenants.
    (5) The pet rules shall require the project owner to notify the pet 
owner if the project owner refuses to register a pet. The notice shall 
state the basis for the project owner's action and shall be served on 
the pet owner in accordance with the requirements of Sec. 5.353(f)(1)(i) 
or (ii). The notice of refusal to register a pet may be combined with a 
notice of pet violation as required in Sec. 5.356.