This article about strata pet bans has been supplied by Amanda Farmer, Your Strata Property.
No more strata pet bans! NCAT has confirmed it will invalidate strata by-laws that place a blanket prohibition on the keeping of animals in a building.
In McCormick & McGinness v The Owners – Strata Plan No. 2371 decided on 9 October 2018, a Senior Member of the Tribunal recorded his view that: “a blanket prohibition on the keeping of animals in a strata scheme, especially when there is no possible discretion or capacity to consider the particular needs and desires of individual lot owners or occupiers, does not reflect a notion of fairness” and will be considered harsh, unconscionable and oppressive, contrary to applicable strata legislation.
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These comments follow an earlier Tribunal decision (Yardy), reported at the end of August, in which strata residents successfully challenged their building’s ban on pets.
The Senior Member in the McCormick case directly quoted Yardy as authority for his comments on pet bans.
Expert strata lawyer Amanda Farmer, of yourstrataproperty.com.au, says these recent cases are indicative of the approach that may be expected from the Tribunal in future similar matters: “In these recent cases, the Tribunal is sending a message that a blanket ban on the keeping of animals in strata schemes is very likely to be considered harsh, unconscionable or oppressive and therefore invalid, being a breach of section 139(1) of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015.”
Reveiwing Strata Pet Bans
Ms Farmer says she had been approached by a number of buildings in recent weeks who are seeking a review of their strata pet bans. “As the Tribunal makes its approach to pets in strata increasingly clear, concerned committee members fear protracted and expensive litigation brought by residents wanting to keep a pet.”
The guidance Ms Farmer is currently providing to buildings who approach her is that they are well placed to substitute their strata pet ban with a more considered “application” process, which permits pets to be kept with the approval of the strata committee.
“In my view, the appropriate way to regulate the keeping of animals within a strata building is to regulate the outcome of keeping the animal, not the fact of keeping the animal. Rather than impose a blanket ban, buildings should – by way of carefully drafted by-law – permit residents to make an application to the strata committee for approval to keep an animal, with the strata committee to assess each application on its own merits and not unreasonably withhold its approval. Animals approved by the strata committee are then kept on certain reasonable conditions, including conditions relevant to noise, mess and safety.”
“I believe we will begin to see more and more cases involving residents challenging their buildings’ pet bans, with success, as they rely on these earlier authorities and section 139(1) of the Act” Ms Farmer says.
“All strata committees should be carefully considering their by-laws to ensure that their approach to the keeping of animals in their building will withstand the scrutiny of the Tribunal”.
Read next:
- NSW: Q&A ‘No Animals Allowed’ – not even a companion animal
- NSW: Can I keep pets in a strata building?
This post appears in Strata News #214
Amanda Farmer
Your Strata Property
P: 0410 488 802
E: amanda@yourstrataproperty.com.au
Visit Strata Pets Living in Apartments OR NSW Strata Legislation
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Have a question about changes to strata pet bans or something to add to the article? Leave a comment below.
What does the law say about a companion cat (doctors letter available) in a retirement village? The village bylaws state no pets at all. The village also has a caravan section that allows pets. In fact the sign on entry says that the village is pet friendly without specifying that this rule – apparently – does not apply to permanent residents.
Hi Jeff
We cover companion animals (even cats) here: NSW: Q&A ‘No Animals Allowed’ – not even a companion animal
All the best with the situation.
Please sign this petition before the NSW Parliament: https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/la/Pages/ePetition-details.aspx?q=PHZWFHsTB0reNjn/ICcDZQ==
Also, the Lower House of the NSW Parliament is currently considering passing a bill to removed blanket bans on pets in Strata complexes: https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/bills/Pages/bill-details.aspx?pk=3761
I notice you do not answer all queries. Which is not fair. I see Lore, needs input immediately.
Hi there,
My partner and I recently purchased a unit in a strata plan and will be moving in shortly.
The strata by-law regarding keeping of pets states that we need to seek prior written approval by the strata committee, this approval cannot be refused based on unreasonable grounds.
The committee has given a simple ‘no’,without explanation or reasoning, via the strata manager to our request to keep our little dog of 5kg in our unit..
We bought her as a companion dog and she is very calm, well-behaved and docile. She is a toy cavoodle, a breed that is known for their nice nature and also good for people with allergies as they hardly shed.
We never received a reason for their refusal even though the by-law states they need reasonable grounds to base the refusal on.
We have tried again with a lengthy email explaining why our dog is so important to us, as she is a companion dog for me and has been part of our family for 2 years, and we still received a no.
We have now applied for mediation and have not yet heard back from them…
We have nowhere for our dog to go and we are moving in soon. We cannot live without her! I would sincerely suffer from lots of anxiety without her.
What to do…? Can we take her as we never got a reason for the refusal?
My state is NSW!
I am a Committee member of Strata Plan of SEPP5 Building for the over 55s and the disabled in a boutique block of only four. One owner has her daughter’s dog living with them without the permission of the Body Corporate. There is a By-law on title of no animals.
One owner in particular is very frightened of dogs and the reason why she bought into our building was because of the “no animals” by law.
Our Managing Agent has issued a formal notice to them to remove the dog, but they refuse.
Our visitors now being quite elderly, walking sticks, walking frames and quite frail.
Mum is almost 96. My neighbour who is frightened has to access her unit through the garage srea and cannot enter the common property gate and path for fear of the dog.
We would very much welcome your opinion.
Hi, I’m looking to buy an apartment and currently the contract of sale includes a clause “An owner or occupier of a lot is not permitted to keep any animal on the lot or on common property” Do you this falls under the definition of being unreasonable or oppressive and may be overruled? Or how easy is it to change such by-laws once I am in the building? Thanks
Hi Fiona
The NCAT decision in this article relates to whether certain by-laws adopted by the owners corporation are enforceable. The Georges River Council’s power is not derived from the by-laws and therefore will not be bound by the NCAT decision.
There are a number of legislation that empowers a council to implement the restrictions on keeping of animals in any property. Most notably, under section 124 of the Local Government Act 1993, a council may make orders requiring premises be used or not used in specified ways.
That said, one could query whether it is the best approach for the Georges River council to differentiate people’s rights to keep their pets based on the type of dwellings (eg. a house as opposed to an apartment), or even the area of the dwelling. There may well be properties that just miss out on the threshold.
As the draft policy is still open for consultation – we encourage people who live in the Georges River area to have a say!
Kind regards
Sophia
I think it’s ridiculous to suggest large dogs are a nuisance. I cringe when I come across such by-laws that put a weight limit on approving a dog. Small dogs can be yappy and far more problematic to neighbours than a large dog that is well trained. Owners don’t seem to realise that they are shooting themselves in the foot by creating strict by-laws that have can have an emormous impact on a person’s life style, because it rules out a big chunk of the market and thereby reduces the value of their individual lots, when they want to sell.
Australia is far behind other countries on their view of keeping animals in apartments. The days of keeping the dog in the back yard and giving it scraps and little attention are gone.
Good on Fair Trading for finally stepping in!
Donna – Georges River Council (GRC) has a draft policy out for comment now which will ban dogs above 11kgs in apartments – yoursay.georgesriver.nsw.gov.au/public-exhibition-draft-keeping-of-animals-policy?fb_page_type=project&fb-tool-id=47235 Does this mean GRC will be able to ignore NCAT precedents? – cheers, Fiona.
Hello, do you have a link to the McCormick & McGinness v The Owners decision that i can view?
Hi Leanne
We have uploaded the doc and it can now be accessed via the link in the article.
Thanks to Amanda Farmer for suppling the resource.
Hi there,
I live in NSW, and in appartment where they have restricted dogs to no more than 15kg however I have seen much larger dogs kept on the property.
I don’t have a pet as yet but I have a specific breed in mind, which says there weight range from 14-18kg. But as Im looking to get a puppy how will I know how heavy the puppy may get and is it harsh if the committee has already turned down the breed as they said there is too much of a risk it can weight more? As they have not factor in the gender of the dog could also effect the weight. I just wrote in a generic weight as I wanted to go by the rules in ensuring the breed is ok prior to contacting the breeder. But it seems I have to wait every 3months or so for the next committee meeting for approval .. so I just wanted to know if there are more nsw by laws with pet weight restrictions?
thank you so much for replying. i live in tweed heads ,and my dog is a jug half jack russell amd pug. he weighs approx 12 kilos, placid loving amd quiet
Hi Donna can you please confirm in which state or territory you live in with your dog and what kind of dog you have if you don’t mind me asking?
hi, i am a owner in a complex that has a no pet rule, i have lived in my complex for 5 yrs, now new tenants have moved next door and reported my little dog. and i have been threatened with a huge fine and told i must get rid of him immediately , i have letters from all neighbors in my vicinity, and i hold a letter from a doctor stating i need him for my depression. could you please help us .
Hi donna
Have you had a chance to read this post? It should assist with your question: Can I keep pets in a strata building?
Thanks
Nikki