Asheville, NC Animal Ordinances: Pet Limits (2026)

Sec. 3-9(a)(9) of the Asheville City Code lists the keeping of seven or more animals per household or lot, regardless of the lot's size, as a public nuisance unless a permit under Sec. 3-10 has been obtained. The cap doesn't count offspring under 16 weeks old or animals kept at a state- or department-of-agriculture-licensed kennel, pet shop or veterinary facility. To keep more than six animals lawfully, an owner applies to the animal control administrator, pays the fee set in the city's fees and charges manual, and discloses the lot size, enclosure size, breeds, number and purpose of the animals, whether they're kept short-term or long-term, indoors or outdoors, and whether they're spayed or neutered.

An animal control officer then inspects the property and may solicit input from neighbors before the administrator decides whether the animals threaten the health, safety or welfare of nearby residents. Any permit issued expires within 12 months, and the permittee must consent in writing to further inspections. The administrator can refuse or revoke a permit for a material misrepresentation on the application, a willful violation of Chapter 3 or the state Animal Welfare Act, a breach of the permit's own terms, or a violation of other zoning, nuisance or property-condition law.

If a permit is revoked, expires, or is never issued, the excess animals must leave the lot within seven days, and holding a permit is never a defense to citations for the other nuisance violations listed in Sec. 3-9.