Pass the Ball–part 1

It’s been a week, one that i have been eagerly awaiting, since giving the council a sort of update.

Here is what i sent them.

Dear Sir / Madam.

On reflection of the situation, we wish to advise you of the current status.

1. We wish to appeal against your decision to keep 4 cats.

• We strongly believe, and uphold our rights to challenge your decision, given the fact that we were misled or forced to sign the tenancy agreement under duress. Therefore, legally, the whole contract of tenancy comes under Misrepresentation Act 1967. We enclose a copy of that exact law for your reference.

• We strongly believe that we had permissions to have 4 cats since 2003, based on Implied Terms. To establish what Implied Terms mean, I have enclosed the legal definition of what a court of law would interpret Implied Terms as.

• We feel that, your rules do not clearly identify, nor do they give reason as to why anyone cannot have animals / pets in a certain property. This could easily be interpreted at Misrepresentation, since it does not clearly identify what any older tenants under old tenancy rules can do regarding pets they already have or obtained permissions for. Plus, many tenants that may have the old rules may not be aware of the new rules and so they too are misled.

• We also feel the entire ruling in the tenancy agreement is not based on facts. Therefore it’s unreasonable and not justified. It can easily be interpreted in favour of Blackpool Coastal Housing at any time they see fit, and therefore any tenant does not properly understand the full rules.

• We feel they are discriminating against those decent, law abiding people that would love a few pets to keep them company, and as Blackpool Coastal Housing have made us aware, you have also told a lady that is disabled that she too must remove her dog because of the rules. This we find rather disturbing from any housing group.

2. To date, and despite the continuous bullying, we have contacted almost every cat charity organisation that is legally and responsibly owned, to establish if there is any possibility of re homing 2 of our cats that you requested.

• We have been told, on more than several occasions, the situation regarding cat charities, including RSPCA, is excessively overwhelmed. Due to the severe nature and sheer numbers involved, the RSPCA have advised us that they no longer take in any animals at this time.

• Media coverage has also indicated on the more wider problem of re homing, and as a result, focused on the point that some places have to put animals to sleep, even healthy ones, because there is no room.

• Considering the current situation with re homing, and even the attempts Blackpool coastal Housing have made, to no avail, we are not in a position to throw bureaucratic weight around.

• We have even tried Facebook, twitter, blogs and other online medium, including a list of websites. Again, all to no avail.

3. At no point during any appeal or challenge will any of our 4 cats be removed or re homed. Since we have a legal right to challenge your rules, and since this is ongoing (has been since July 2010), all 4 cats will remain at this property until such time that it's been resolved legally and reasonably. This is not negotiable

4. If, and only if, we do have to re home any of our 4 cats, they will

• be re homed in an appropriate environment (and with as much time as it will take to re home them),

• be given loving and caring home, where they will not be put to sleep out of convenience.

• Again, there will be no time limits involved, since we are aware of the situation that animal homes and other places are under; it could take months if not years. This is not negotiable.

5. We feel that Blackpool Coastal Housing have failed to asses the situation correctly, and in doing so, are acting incorrectly.

• Blackpool Coastal Housing failed to asses if any of our cats had or have been neutered. To clarify, we have neutered all our cats; they are incapable of having any litters. So this solves the problem of any more kittens in the property.

• Blackpool coastal Housing failed to inquire if the cats were all female, all male or a combination. Again, to clarify, we have all female cats, another reason that they won’t produce any kittens; it's impossible for them to breed being all female.

• Blackpool Coastal Housing failed to obtain any facts or figures if our cats go out anywhere, even in the communal area. To clarify, we do not let our cats out, nor do we let any other cats in to our property. Our cats are perfectly happy, as things are, no pressures, no stress, plenty of love and attention; they get fed well and looked after by vets quite regular.

• Blackpool Coastal Housing failed to ask if we planned on getting any more cats, or any other cats when one or all of our current cats pass away. To clarify, we do not wish to have any more animals of any sort once our current pets pass away. We simply wish to look after the ones we currently have, and be left alone to do so.

• Blackpool Coastal Housing failed to recognise that as far as we are concerned, we had permissions, these permissions were Implied Terms. We took these Implied Terms as good faith and out of respect for the Council at the time.

• Blackpool Coastal Housing failed to inform or negotiate any sort of rules regarding pets or animals, at any time during our entire tenancy at xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.

• Blackpool Coastal Housing along with social services deliberately forced my partner to sign the new tenancy agreement, without reading it or understanding it. As far as we are concerned, our old tenancy rules, including the new ones and the Implied Terms carried over to the new tenancy, and so this was agreed, that's the only reason my partner signed. Had we been aware of the impeding and ridiculous dispute, we would not have signed any agreement. This is a clear breach of the Misrepresentation Act 1967, in which we enclose for your guidance.

6. We do not accept the poor excuse of “ it's a shared entrance” to justify your rules. This is quite frankly ridiculous and we think made up on the spot. Our cats do not go outside our door, let alone into the communal area, so there no feasible way they use the shared entrance.

7. We also do not accept the excuse “it's too small” in regards to our property size and the amount of space a cat needs. Since we have had all 4 cats, there have been no problems with space for them to exercise and play. We are also looking into the legal requirements that a cat needs, so we request an adequate time to find such information.

8. Overall, we are very disgusted with Blackpool coastal housing and it's responses and how it's dealing with this issue, which in our eyes, and that of many other people, is quite frankly ridiculous and pathetic. We are considering moving home away from Blackpool coastal Housing, and Blackpool entirely.

9. The intolerable and unnecessary amount of stress, anger and upset this dispute is causing is beyond measure and having a detrimental effect on both our health and relationship. We are pretty sure Blackpool coastal Housing do not wish their tenants, in any area they have, to live in a miserable and unhappy home. By removing or re homing any of our cats, Blackpool coastal Housing is making our life a misery and difficult.

10. We have also set up a blog and on Facebook to ask the general public their opinions and thoughts. We have also contacted our local MP, and most national newspapers and TV channels. We want to get as many thoughts as possible.

Finally, I enclose the exact story, and up to date events that led up to this dispute, in an effort to show you and others where it all could have went wrong. The following has also been published to my blog at http://morethanyourjobsworth.blogspot.com and available at Facebook.

Blog post here http://morethanyourjobsworth.blogspot.com/2011/01/eviction-for-having-four-cats.html