Mother taken to court by housing association for keeping pet rabbit in shared garden

By JAKE HOLDEN, UK NEWS REPORTER Published: 09:52, 6 July 2026 | Updated: 09:56, 6 July 2026 A mother-of-two felt 'ambushed' as she was taken to court by a housing association for keeping a pet rabbit in her shared garden. Storm Tapp-Grant, 33, kept her little bunny Nibbles in a hutch on the communal plot, where her two young children could care for it and grow vegetables. But Aster housing association discovered the resident rabbit and decided to take legal action against the family to evict Nibbles from the garden outside their block of flats in Southampton, Hampshire. Ms Tapp-Grant said: 'Our rabbit - Nibbles - was given to my daughter Everest by her grandad as a present for Easter two years ago, who has now passed away. 'The kids all love the garden and the vegetable patch which we built and paid for with our own money.' The family has called the flat home since 2021 and created this bunny haven and veggie patch around two years ago so Ms Tapp-Grant could teach her daughters Everest, 6, and Arizona, 2, about growing healthy food. Everest said that Nibbles is the 'best pet ever' and added: 'If they took her away, I would be so so sad, I wouldn't even bother coming into the garden. 'Don't take Nibbles away, she's my pet, not yours.' Daughters Everest, 6,(right) and Arizon, 2, say Nibbles is the 'best pet ever'. Everest added: 'Don't take Nibbles away, she's my pet, not yours' Storm Tapp-Grant, 33, said she felt 'ambushed' when she was taken to court by Aster housing association over keeping the rabbit - given to Everest by her late grandfather - in the shared garden Ms Tapp-Grant said she was 'ambushed' by Aster after the housing association took her to Southampton County Court on June 18 in a dispute over the rabbit, the hutch and vegetable patch. She said: 'I felt so powerless and scared. 'I was overpowered completely; it was an open and shut case and they didn't even listen to what I had to say. 'It's so unfair, as a group, they are disgusting with how they've dealt with this.' The family had used the vegetable patch to grow lettuce, runner beans and cabbages, while this year they planted carrots, parsnips and sunflowers, and that they also care for the rabbit there. However, Aster has now secured an injunction, meaning that Ms Tapp-Grant will have to remove the rabbit and the decking from the communal garden. A spokesperson for Aster said they had asked Ms Tapp-Grant to remove the rabbit, hutch and vegetable patch in line with her tenancy agreement. They said the dispute over the rabbit had lasted informally over a long period of time so finally took her to court. The injunction requires Ms Tapp-Grant to remove Nibbles, the raised beds for the vegetable patches and the decking from the communal gardens within 14 days of the order being issued. The spokesperson said: 'We understand how important it is for our customers to enjoy their homes and shared spaces, and we always aim to balance individual needs with those of the wider community. 'We were made aware of concerns about a rabbit, hutch, decking and raised beds installed on communal land without the required permission. Other customers have raised concerns including about the animal's welfare. The family had added decking, a hutch and a vegetable patch, which 'the kids all love' and was paid for by Ms Tapp-Grant. But the court issued an injunction for it to be removed Aster said other customers had 'raised concerns' about the family's use of the shared garden and the rabbit's welfare 'Despite our efforts, the customer has refused to remove the items, so we had to take the difficult decision to pursue legal action. 'The court has since ordered that the items are removed. 'We are looking to work with the family to explore keeping the rabbit inside their home, where appropriate and in line with their tenancy agreement. 'We want to ensure communal areas remain safe, accessible and are shared fairly with all customers.' No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.