Potential home buyers who were mistakenly told their pet dog would be welcome in their future home have been awarded over £1,000 in compensation.

The Property Ombudsman stepped in after an agent stated that a developer would allow the buyers to keep their dog at their new £550,000 home – prompting a £2,000 reservation fee.

However, two weeks later the buyers were then told they would need to apply for a dog permit after completion, leaving them with no certainty that their pet would be able to live with them.

Only £1,500 of the reservation fee was returned. However, TPO ordered that the full amount should be paid plus an additional £540 for other financial losses associated with the property.

The case is published on the Chartered Trading Standards Institute’s website as part of a drive to urge more businesses to sign up to its Consumer Codes Approval Scheme (CCAS).

TPO is the only residential property redress scheme that belongs to the CTSI scheme.