A lot of prospective owners rule themselves out of getting a dog at all on the assumption that a flat with no garden isn't a fair place to keep one. That's not quite right, and it means the wrong question is usually being asked — the real one isn't "is my flat big enough," it's "is this particular dog's energy and noise level a match for how I actually live."

Size is the least useful predictor

A large, genuinely low-energy breed can suit a flat better than a small, highly-strung one — a bigger dog that's content lying around most of the day takes up more floor space but asks for less from an owner than a small dog bred to be constantly busy. Choosing by size alone tends to get this backwards.

What actually predicts a good fit

Energy level, matched honestly against how much exercise you'll actually give, not how much you intend to in theory. Noise tendency — some breeds and individual dogs are considerably more vocal than others, which matters more in a building with shared walls than it would in a detached house. Independence versus velcro-ness — a dog that struggles badly with being left alone needs a very different daily routine than one that settles easily, and that's often more about the individual dog than the breed label on paper.

A few illustrative examples, not a checklist

Worth treating as examples of the pattern rather than a definitive list — every breed has real variation between individual dogs, and any breed's specific needs are worth researching properly rather than taking a single label at face value. Greyhounds are a commonly cited surprise here: built as sprinters rather than endurance runners, plenty are genuinely content with a couple of good walks and a lot of sofa time in between, which doesn't match their size-based reputation at all. On the other end, several small terrier breeds carry far more energy and vocal instinct than their size suggests, and can be a harder flat fit than a much bigger, calmer dog.

What matters more than the breed decision

Exercise commitment, honestly assessed. A flat with no garden means every single toilet break and stretch of the legs is a proper trip out, not a door left open onto a lawn — worth being realistic about before choosing, not after.

Neighbours and noise, practically. Thin shared walls mean barking at the door or during the day is a bigger deal than it would be elsewhere — worth thinking about training for this specifically if it's likely to be an issue.

The tenancy itself. None of this matters if the lease doesn't allow a dog at all — worth reading what actually goes into renting with a dog in London before falling for a specific breed that then can't come home with you.

The honest version of this advice is less exciting than a tidy list of recommended breeds, but it holds up better: match energy and noise to your actual life, not your flat's square footage, and the size question mostly takes care of itself.