Melville allows all tenants to keep pets as long as they are legal breeds and don’t cause a nuisance, however it is now a criminal offence to own an unregistered XL Bully dog, and the date for applying for an exemption certificate has now passed. This is the law across the UK, including Scotland.

If you own an XL Bully, and have an exemption certificate (or applied for one before the 31 July deadline), then you must follow new safeguarding regulations introduced by the Scottish Government in February. These regulations are for the safety of the public and make it an offence to:

• have an XL Bully in public without a lead and muzzle, this includes in a car
• breed from an XL Bully
• rehome, sell, buy or transfer ownership of an XL Bully
• abandon an XL Bully or let it stray
• give away an XL Bully

The penalty for anyone convicted of these offences is up to 6 months in prison and/or a fine of up to £5,000.

If you have an XL Bully type dog, please make sure your dog is muzzled in an appropriate secure area before a member of Melville staff or anyone working on our behalf (such as a repairs contractor) enters your home.

What should I do if I haven’t exempted my XL Bully or am unsure if my dog is an XL Bully?

If you think your dog might be an XL Bully but haven’t gone through the exemption process then you will need to contact Police Scotland. You might also want to contact the SSPCA for guidance and advice.

Use this conformation standard to see if it's likely your dog is an XL Bully.

Can I report an XL Bully dog to you?

If you are worried about any dog behaving dangerously then you should report it to Police Scotland in the first instance. You can then choose to report it to Melville (if you believe the owner to be a Melville tenant) but you will need to have a police incident number. There is no need to report an XL bully type dog to Melville or to the police unless you are concerned about its behaviour.