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Rabbit boarding in Herts

jewels26301

Young Bun
Just a quick query, i need to pick some brains...

How would i go about doing a mini rabbit boarding from my home? i have a 2 level hutch sitting here empty (mine are in a shed)...

I know myself how hard it is to find good holiday homes at short notice too....

Is there anything legally i'd need to do?

Thanks in advance

Julie
 
Not sure what you would need to do to set up.....but let me know if you do as I am in Hertfordshire and would be useful to know of somewhere my two could go for a little holiday if I was stuck for a house/bunny sitter.
 
Hi Julie

to set up a bunny boarding place however small, you need to do the following
1) register with your local Council as a boarding establishment. Even though you do not need a license as such, you can get into trouble if you are not registered.
2) You need full insurance, Pet Plan do a Pet Hotel one which covers you for up to 10 rabbits. It is not enough that your Clients have their own Pet Plan Insurance YOU need to protect yourself against vet costs, but also against any claims for people injuring themselves just while visiting you to view the set up
3) You must have a legally written contract of the service you will provide for your Clients, and what happens if a rabbit should become ill, or even Die whilst in your care.
4)Speak to your neighbours about your plans first, as traffic etc will increase and many boarding places have been closed down by neighbours complaining.
5) Arrange with the Council for a proper wheelie Bin waste collection, as you are not supposed to burn rubbish or put it into ordinary bins.
6)do not fall fowl of building regulations re sheds etc, if you only have one two tier hutch and run to rent out you will be fine.

It is not easy to set up a boarding establishment properly, and we find all the money that comes in goes straight back out again on maintaining the rabbit housing, Insurance and equipment.
We only do boarding to supplement the Charities income, we could not live off the income from rabbit boarding as such, we would need to provide cat/ and or dog boarding facilities as well.

It is a lovely way to help bunnies in your area though, and If I can help further at all, please PM me.

Best wishes, and good luck with your new venture.

Adele
 
Thank you both heaps for your replies, esp Adele...that information was fantastic..

I'm not sure i want to be a "big" set up, as i do only have 1 hutch free, 2 if i block stair way on the 2 level hutch...if you know what i mean...

My run is currently attached to the shed so mine now come and go as they want in complete saftey..

I hope to get my plans into action by next summer, i love rabbits but can't afford more then the 2 i have...what better way of being with rabbits, then being able to hand them back :lol:

I'm not expecting to become rich doing it, i'm having whatever profit i make as a rabbit fund for my 2..jabs etc...

Even if i kept it small would i still need to do the things you mention?

Thanks again Adele xxx
 
One other thing, you need to declare any money you receive to the tax man. Usually on a self assessment form. You can of set any out going costs like advertising and equipment (only for the boarding buns not your own).

Tam
 
Tamsin said:
One other thing, you need to declare any money you receive to the tax man. Usually on a self assessment form. You can of set any out going costs like advertising and equipment (only for the boarding buns not your own).

Tam

Yes thats right Tamsin. :D
If you have a Charity/ Organisation set up then as long as you notify the tax man of your intentions and keep a book of oncomings and outgoings that is normaly enough.

A Business set up is a bit different though, so you need to visit or phone your local Tax office for advice.
With your small scale plans, you will probably be below the minimum level where tax needs to start being collected , taking into account your outgoings for expenses. So keeping a book of incomings and outgoings should be fine :D
 
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