Home for Life terms and conditions

These Terms and Conditions (Terms) take effect on the date your application to join RSPCA Home for Life (The Scheme) has been accepted, with confirmation via post.

1. RSPCA Home for Life is owned and run by the national RSPCA (Registered charity no. 219099) and operated with the support of a network of RSPCA charities (separately registered and volunteer run). The RSPCA operates in England and Wales only. References in these Terms to “RSPCA”, “we”, “us” or “our” refer to the national RSPCA and its support network of separately registered RSPCA charities.

2. All rehoming decisions are based on the RSPCA’s rehoming policy which can be found at: www.rspca.org.uk/findapet/rehomeapet/process. Key aspects are outlined in clause 13 and 14 of these Terms for ease of reference.

3. For the purposes of these Terms, any person who has applied to join The Scheme is known as ‘The Applicant.’ References in these Terms to ‘you’ refer to you as ‘The Applicant.’ Any person whose application has been accepted onto The Scheme is known as ‘The Scheme Member’. Any references to ‘Pet’ relate to The Scheme Member’s pet.

4. For the purposes of these Terms, any person who has been assigned responsibility to manage The Applicant’s affairs in the event of their death is referred to as ‘The Responsible Person.’ This covers any individual who has legal responsibility for the Applicant’s assets / estate post death so that arrangements can be made on behalf of and in accordance with the wishes of The Applicant.

5. The RSPCA reserves the right to modify these Terms at any time. In the event that any changes are made, the Scheme Member can access these Terms directly at: www.rspca.org.uk/homeforlife.

Eligibility for RSPCA Home for Life

6. Home for Life is a service for pets and their owners. For the purposes of the Scheme, the definition of a pet animal covers any animal sharing The Applicant’s life as a companion pet. While an assistance pet, such as a guide dog, is classed as a primarily working animal, they may still be accepted, where applicable. Excluded from the definition is, for instance, animals kept for the production of food, wool, skin or fur or for other farming purposes; those kept in zoos and circuses for exhibition; those kept for hunting or sporting purposes and those kept for experimental or other scientific purposes.

7. The RSPCA operates in England and Wales only, and as such The Scheme is available to pet owners in England and Wales only. Should there be any change in The Scheme Member’s circumstances where they or their Pet no longer resides within England or Wales, Home for Life registration will cease.

8. As Home for Life is a post-death service, The Scheme does not rehome Pets during The Scheme Member’s lifetime i.e. cases where The Scheme Member is unable to look after them due to illness or capacity issues.

Collection of an RSPCA Home for Life Pet

9. By registering with Home for Life, The Scheme Member gives permission for the RSPCA to take full responsibility of their Pet. Legal ownership of their Pet will take effect on completion of a ‘Transfer of Ownership’ form.

10. On completion of the transfer of ownership, Pet(s) will be rehomed through a national RSPCA Animal Centre or one of the separately registered and volunteer run local RSPCA charities.

11. The Responsible Person and the RSPCA should work together to make prior arrangements for the interim care and collection of the Pet. While every effort will be made to ensure minimal waiting time, we ask that The Scheme Member considers making arrangements with The Responsible Person to look after the Pet whilst preparations are being made to bring the Pet into the RSPCA.

12. If there is any equipment to be used for the welfare of the Pet at the time of The Scheme Member’s death, these should be included in the Will and passed over to the RSPCA for the care of that Pet. For instance, a dog bed, collar, vivarium etc.

Rehoming an RSPCA Home for Life Pet

13. As per the RSPCA rehoming policy, the Pet’s health, behaviour and welfare will be assessed on arrival.

14. As per the rehoming policy, no Pet may be rehomed without reasonable steps to make sure they will have a good quality of life. Once a right match has been found for a Pet in our care, a home visit will usually be carried out by a trained volunteer. This will also apply to friends or family members applying to adopt the Pet, where ownership has been transferred to the RSPCA.

15. While we do everything we can to find a new home for Pets as quickly as possible, some Pets may take longer to rehome. Where a Pet is not coping well, we will try to find them a place in foster care. For Pets that are proving more challenging to rehome, we may carry out special appeals. In some instances, we may work with other animal welfare charities to help with rehoming of the Pet.

16. While every effort is made to accommodate Scheme Member requests, there may be some instances where this is not possible. For instance, where the request to rehome Pets together is preventing them from being placed in a new home which could subsequently impact the health or quality of life of one or both Pets.

17. RSPCA Home for Life is a rehoming scheme and the RSPCA cannot accept requests for indefinite care of a Pet by the RSPCA.

18. Under the Home for Life promise, the RSPCA will do everything possible to rehome a Pet providing they are rehomeable and coping well. A Pet may not be considered rehomeable where any of the following scenarios exist:
a. Their quality of life is or may become affected by issues stemming from severe or unmanageable health and/or behavioural problems.
b. They have mental health and behavioural problems that mean rehoming the Pet would create undue risks to humans or other animals.
c. They have a disease that is transmissible to humans or other animals.
d. It is a type of dog prohibited by The Dangerous Dogs Act (1991).
e. It is prohibited by The Dangerous Wild Animals Act (1976).

19. Where there are concerns about a Pet’s rehomeability, an initial assessment would be required at the point of application, and also on future collection of the animal if relevant. Additional steps may also need to be fulfilled before registration can be confirmed.

20. RSPCA Home for Life will arrange for Pets with terminal illnesses and long-term conditions to be taken in and rehomed or fostered, providing the conditions are manageable with treatment and subject to veterinary advice.

21. Pets with a minor disease transmissible to humans or other animals may still be rehomed to any home where it does not place others at risk and only on veterinary advice. In general this means that Pets with an infectious disease can only be rehomed to a single animal household.

Care of an RSPCA Home for Life Pet

22. The welfare interests of Pets within the Scheme are always our foremost priority. Where the Scheme Member has a reasonable request that falls outside of the standard Home for Life registration, the RSPCA will endeavour to do everything it can to honour these within the framework of the law and our organisational policies, in particular our Policies on Animal Welfare: www.rspca.org.uk/utilities/aboutus/policies

23. Providing friends/family have not taken ownership of the Pet and ownership has been officially transferred to the RSPCA, all decisions regarding the welfare of the Pet lies with the RSPCA. Any final decisions regarding the welfare of the Pet whilst under the care of the RSPCA are at the sole discretion of the RSPCA.

24. In some circumstances, and in the interests of the Pet’s welfare or if the Pet is not rehomeable as per clause 17 of these Terms, euthanasia will be considered. These decisions are subject to veterinary, and in some cases behaviourist, advice and are based on health, behaviour and current legislative guidance (where relevant).

25. Applicants cannot specify Pet euthanasia as a request on their death; we will not comply unless it is in the interests of the Pet’s welfare (based on veterinary, and in some cases behaviourist, advice concerning the Pet’s health and/or behaviour, and current legislative guidance) or if the Pet is not rehomeable as per clause 17 of these Terms.

26. It may be possible for The Scheme Member’s friends or family to visit the Pet within the Scheme whilst it is in RSPCA care, although this will be at the sole discretion of RSPCA staff based on the best interests of the Pet.

RSPCA Home for Life applications

27. Where applicable, the Scheme Member should ensure that legal requirements are complied with including, but not limited to, microchipping and tagging/ringing of Pets and providing the relevant species Article 10 certificate if necessary (*Article 10 certificate is required for protected species falling under Appendix A of CITES regulations.

For more information visit the gov.uk website: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/cites-imports-and-exports). It is a legal requirement for dogs in England and Wales to be microchipped and registered on a database by the time they are
8 weeks old. It is a legal requirement for owned cats in England to be microchipped and registered on a database by the time they are 20 weeks. For more information visit the gov.uk website: www.gov.uk/get-your-dog-cat-microchipped

28. Upon registration, The Scheme Member should keep any ID documents and legal proof of ownership including, but not limited to, microchip and tag/ring numbers, and an Article 10 certificate if necessary; with their registration pack. They should consider including any photos that will help with identification of their Pet on collection.

Privacy - what we do with your information

29. Information on how we use your personal data is set out in our Privacy Notice, published at www.rspca.org.uk/privacy. Alternatively you can find out more by contacting our Customer Engagement Team on 0300 123 0346.