A young family with a one-year-old baby are facing eviction from their home because of their pet dogs.
Connor Sullivan and his partner Jordanna, both 18, live in a house in multiple occupation (HMO) in Birmingham with their daughter Lexi and their dogs, Birmingham Live reports. They now face homelessness after being told the pets are a 'safety hazard'.
Connor claimed that Everbright Housing had 'no problem' with him having pets when he first moved into the property in March, although the housing company refutes this. The family said the eviction notice came after the fire service was called out to the house three weeks ago, when Jordanna became stuck in the bathroom due to a jammed door lock.
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Everbright said that 14 dogs were reported to be living in the property - in Sparkhill in Birmingham - at the time, constituting a 'safety hazard', however Connor says there are just four dogs living with them - but said he was looking after six dogs belonging to friends at the time.
The family were given a final deadline to leave the property by August 18, but remained there eight days later as they said 'we have nowhere to go'. Connor said: "This will make us homeless.
"It's really playing on my mental health, which I already struggle with. I'm worried about my daughter, of course she comes first."
He added: "Two weeks ago, we had the fire service out, and they complained about the dogs in the property. Next thing, we're being told we have to be out by a certain date.
"I've been here since March and we told the company before we moved in that we had dogs and they said it's no problem. Then the property must have changed hands - we had a different person dealing with us - so we think the rules must have changed then.
"They said it's because of the dogs that we have to leave. I've got two Staffs and my partner has two husky puppies.
"I don't know what we'll do. I'm ringing round everywhere trying to find somewhere for us to stay. We haven't been offered any other housing - we've got no where to go."
Furqan Javaid, a support worker for Everbright Housing, said: "This is a HMO property so, by the guidelines, tenants are not allowed to keep dogs. It was not only one or two dogs, but 14 dogs reported by the fire department
"They called us to say the dogs were a safety hazard in the property. We served an eviction notice to move out, but they requested an extension and we said no problem.
"We're not forcing them to be homeless. The tenant broke the rules and we gave them official notice.
"We extended the deadline but we have an inspection due by the fire department soon." He added: "If they had removed the dogs and cleaned the property then yes, we would have allowed them stay."
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