The Dog Friendly Residence Standard (RDRS-01)

0. Purpose and Principle

This is the constitutional document for dog-friendly residence. It is the sibling of the Dog Friendly Standard (RDFS), which governs accommodation. RDFS certifies where a dog stays as a guest. RDRS certifies where a dog lives as a resident.

This standard exists to address an avoidable harm. Dogs are too often surrendered to shelters when a family has to move and cannot find a home that will take them. A residence built to this standard helps keep dogs and their families together.

The standard rests on one principle: a dog-friendly residence welcomes dogs, it does not merely permit them. Being allowed to stay is the baseline a home must clear, not the measure of a dog-friendly one. A residence that tolerates dogs through grudging exceptions, deterrent pricing, blanket breed or size bans, or rules that change with whoever is on duty is not dog friendly under this standard, however it describes itself.

The standard is written to hold in every jurisdiction. It states outcomes a resident can verify, not the law of any one place. Where local law requires more of a provider, the provider follows the law. Where local law permits less, meeting this standard means exceeding the local minimum.

This standard is published as an open reference. Anyone may read it, adopt it, design and operate a property to it, and cite it, free of charge. Certification against the standard, and use of the Roch certification mark, are controlled by Roch and can never be self-declared. Licensing and the mark are set out at section 7; the relationship to law at section 8.

1. Definition

Under this standard, a dog-friendly residence is a long-term residential provider that:

permits dogs to live in the home as a matter of published policy, not individual discretion;
applies its dog-related terms clearly, consistently, and without ad hoc exception;
does not exclude ordinary household dogs through blanket breed, size, or weight restrictions;
provides, or permits the resident to provide, the basic conditions a dog needs to live safely and well in the home and its common areas;
sets any dog-related charge fairly and transparently, disclosed before the resident commits; and
complies with, and openly discloses, any restriction imposed by applicable law.

"Dog friendly" under this standard means predictable access, transparent terms, consistent and criteria-based treatment, and provision for the dog's welfare. Temporary allowances, informal permissions, charges that exceed genuine cost, and arbitrary or inconsistent exceptions do not meet this definition.

2. Minimum Requirements

To be certified, a provider must meet all of the following. Assessment is binary: failure of any single requirement is a Not Certified outcome. There are no partial passes and no scores. Requirements are grouped under three pillars. This standard states the outcome each requirement must achieve; where a requirement turns on a measurable condition, the threshold by which it is assessed is set in the Certification and Assessment Framework, not in this standard.

Pillar A — Fair and Transparent Terms

A1. Published dog policy. A clear dog policy is publicly accessible before a prospective resident commits to the home, stating the terms on which dogs are kept.
A2. Dogs accepted on consistent, published criteria. Dogs are accepted as a normal part of residency. Decisions on a dog, whether approval, conditions, or refusal, are made against published criteria and applied consistently to comparable cases. The criteria must themselves be reasonable and proportionate, relevant to a dog's actual behaviour and suitability for the home; criteria set so as to exclude ordinary household dogs, however evenly they are applied, do not meet this requirement. Individual assessment of a dog is allowed; arbitrary or inconsistent treatment, or acceptance that turns on staff discretion or special pleading, is not.
A3. No blanket breed or size exclusion. A dog is assessed on its individual behaviour, not excluded by blanket breed, size, or weight rules. A breed or size restriction imposed by applicable law meets this requirement only where it is disclosed and its legal basis identified (see section 8); a restriction sought by a private insurance policy, head-lease term, or by-law is not a legal requirement for this purpose.
A4. Fair, transparent charges. Any dog-related charge is proportionate to genuine cost, disclosed in full before the resident commits, and refundable where it is held against damage. This covers every dog-related charge however labelled, including deposits, one-off fees, and any recurring pet rent: a non-refundable fee meets this requirement only where it corresponds to a real, stated cost, and a recurring charge only where it reflects an ongoing cost the dog actually creates. A charge or rent structured to deter dog ownership rather than to recover real cost does not meet this requirement.
A5. Transparent process. Any decision on whether a dog may be kept is made within a stated, reasonable timeframe, and any refusal permitted by law is given in writing with reasons. A provider may not avoid this requirement by handling dog requests informally or without a stated process.
A6. Stable terms. The terms in force when a resident commits are honoured for the duration of their residency. A change to the dog terms does not apply to an existing resident without their agreement, unless the law requires it; where the law permits a change without agreement, the resident is given reasonable notice and a genuine opportunity to respond, and no change forces the removal of a dog already kept in line with the terms in force when the resident committed.

Pillar B — Welfare

This pillar is built on the Five Domains of animal welfare recognised in welfare science: nutrition, physical environment, health, behaviour, and mental state. A residence does not feed a dog or provide its veterinary care, which remain the resident's responsibility; it shapes the domains within its control, a safe physical environment, freedom from health hazards, and the conditions a dog needs to behave normally and stay mentally settled. The requirements below address those domains.

B1. Safe in-home conditions. The home provides, or the resident is permitted to provide, the conditions a dog needs to live safely, including protection from foreseeable temperature extremes and freedom from avoidable hazards.
B2. Daily relief and exercise. Residents with dogs have practical daily access to a suitable place for a dog to relieve itself and take exercise, whether through on-site provision or reasonable proximity to public open space.
B3. Safe movement. The shared routes a dog must use to enter, leave, and move about the home are navigable safely, with surfaces and circulation that do not place a dog at undue risk.
B4. Reasonable mitigation of chronic stressors. Conditions known to harm a dog's welfare in shared living, such as sustained noise transmission between units, are actively mitigated. Where a structural limitation genuinely prevents full mitigation, the provider takes the reasonable measures available to it and discloses the limitation to the resident before they commit. Taking no action, or citing the building's age or construction without taking the measures available, does not meet this requirement.
B5. Safe boundaries and containment. The home and any outdoor space a dog uses are arranged so that a dog cannot easily escape or fall, with attention to balconies, openable windows above ground level, and the boundaries of private or shared outdoor areas. Where a feature presents a foreseeable escape or fall risk, the provider addresses it or permits the resident to do so.

Pillar C — Provision

C1. Dog waste provision. Hygienic provision is made for the disposal of dog waste in common areas.
C2. Maintained shared facilities. Where the provider offers shared dog facilities, such as relief areas or washing points, they are hygienic, functional, and maintained.
C3. Clear common-area rules. Rules for dogs in common areas, such as leash, waste, and designated areas, are published and applied consistently as ordinary operating conditions, not as barriers that remove practical access.

3. Disqualifications

A claim to be dog friendly under this standard is disqualified where a provider:

permits dogs only by exception, prior request, or individual discretion rather than as published policy;
imposes blanket breed, size, or weight restrictions that exclude ordinary household dogs, other than a restriction required and disclosed under applicable law;
applies deterrent, undisclosed, or improperly non-refundable charges that penalise rather than recover genuine cost, other than a charge expressly permitted by applicable law and disclosed;
fails to publish a clear and current dog policy;
fails to provide or enable the basic welfare conditions in Pillar B;
makes dog-friendly claims in marketing that are contradicted by its published terms or its actual practice; or
applies its dog-related terms inconsistently, selectively, or at staff discretion.

4. Responsibility and Limitations

Roch Dog defines and publishes this standard and assesses providers against it on the basis of published terms, provider-supplied information, and observable practice at the time of assessment. Roch Dog does not control day-to-day operations, individual staff decisions, or the conduct, health, or welfare of any dog or resident. Certification, inclusion, or ranking is not a guarantee of access, experience, or suitability for any individual dog. Providers remain responsible for legal compliance and animal welfare; residents remain responsible for the care and supervision of their dogs. Where ambiguity arises, Roch Dog's interpretation of this standard prevails, informed by the intent of the definition and the welcomed-not-permitted principle.

5. Scope

This standard applies to long-term residential providers: the places where a dog lives as part of a resident's home. It covers rented housing, private and social, and owned housing governed by a community body such as a condominium, strata, co-operative, or homeowners association, in each case where the provider or governing body sets the terms on which dogs may be kept.

It does not apply to short-term or holiday lodging, hotels, or other accommodation where a dog stays as a guest; those fall under the Dog Friendly Standard (RDFS). The dividing line is the dog's relationship to the property: a guest passing through is assessed under RDFS, a dog living in its home is assessed under RDRS.

6. Meaning of Certification

Certification indicates that a residential provider met the minimum requirements of this standard at the time of assessment. It attests conformance with a baseline definitional standard. It is not a quality rating, a ranking, an endorsement of any individual experience, or a guarantee of suitability for every dog.

Certification is an act performed by Roch, not a status a provider may claim for itself. It is granted only by Roch, or by an assessor Roch has licensed, following an assessment, and it is never self-declared. No provider may describe itself as certified, or display the certification mark, without having been assessed and certified by Roch. Certification may be time-limited and may be withdrawn if the minimum requirements are no longer met.

7. Licensing and Use of the Standard and the Mark

This standard is open. The standard document is published free of charge for anyone to read, adopt, design and operate a property to, reference, and teach. Roch encourages its widest possible use. Roch remains the author and steward of the standard: the canonical text is maintained by Roch and may not be altered and re-published as the standard.

The certification mark is closed. The right to describe a property as Roch Dog Residence Certified, and to display the certification mark or badge, arises only from an assessment carried out by Roch, or by an assessor Roch has licensed. The mark is a trademark of Ranked by Roch Ltd and Roch Dog Inc.

Two claims, two rules:

Open to all. A provider may state that a property is built to, designed to, or aligned with the Roch Dog Residence Standard. This describes an intention to meet the standard, requires no permission, and is encouraged.
Roch only. A provider may describe a property as certified, or use the certification mark, only after Roch has assessed and certified it. Self-declaration of certified status is not permitted.

Using the word "certified" in connection with this standard, or displaying the mark, without a current Roch certification is a misrepresentation and an infringement of the Roch trademark, and will be enforced. Adopting the standard is free and open; claiming the certificate is earned and controlled.

8. Relationship to Applicable Law

This standard is a definitional minimum that operates above, and independently of, the law of any jurisdiction.

Law as a floor. Where applicable law requires more of a provider than this standard, the provider must meet the law. Meeting the law alone does not confer certification; the requirements of this standard must also be met.
Exceeding a weak floor. Where applicable law permits less than this standard, for example by allowing blanket bans or deterrent pricing, a provider meets this standard only by exceeding that local minimum.
Comply and disclose. A restriction a provider applies because the law requires it, such as a breed restriction under breed-specific legislation, a charge permitted by a local cap, or a statutory request process, meets this standard only where it is complied with and openly disclosed to residents, with the legal basis identified.
Assistance and service animals. The rights of assistance and service animals are governed by applicable law and sit outside and above this standard. Nothing here limits those rights. A provider must accommodate such animals as the law requires, free of the pet terms in this standard.

Because the standard states outcomes rather than legal rules, it does not require revision when a law changes. Jurisdiction-specific detail is maintained separately in the Roch Dog residential legal mapping, which is updated as the law develops and does not alter this standard.

9. Versioning and Governance

This document constitutes RDRS-01, the Roch Dog Residence Standard. Revisions are issued as new version numbers and are not applied retroactively. Roch Dog maintains stewardship, interpretation, and periodic review. Review or revision is undertaken only in response to a material change in the standard's intent, demonstrated ambiguity in application, or evidence of widespread misrepresentation. The supporting documents, the Certification and Assessment Framework, the defined terms, the residential legal mapping, and the public explainer, may evolve without altering this standard.

Technical thresholds (such as acoustic separation targets and relief-surface specifications) and jurisdiction-specific legal detail are deliberately held in the supporting documents, not in this constitutional standard, so that the standard remains stable while specifications and law evolve.