Keeping pets in buildings - the changing landscape

Whilst most Body Corporate By-laws still state that owners can only keep pets with ‘approval of the Body Corporate’ or ‘no pets are to be kept on the property’ the reality is indeed quite different.

Landmark decisions from early back as 2010 changed the ability of the Body Corporate to prevent owners from keeping pets as a general rule and have provided a new benchmark where each application for a pet has to be considered on its own merits.

This also means they cannot enforce blanket rules like ‘the animal must be under 10kgs’. They can, however, impose reasonable conditions to protect the other residents of the complex including ‘the animal must be vaccinated, kept on a leash in common areas, kept quiet and rules for the disposal of any waste’ etc. If these conditions are not complied with the owner can be asked to remove their animal.

Living in close proximity can cause problems with neighbours (and not just disputes over the keeping of pets!). But in actual fact we are not seeing a lot of disputes arising from pets in buildings. Some neighbours will be resolutely against anyone keeping pets in the building and others are more understanding as long as they are not impacted.

With an ever-increasing percentage of the population choosing to live in community title property more and more Body Corporates are adjusting their thinking and taking these changes into account.

It is our understanding the law is a little slower to catch up with these changes but the precedent has been set and makes it difficult for body corporates to refuse.

We are seeing sales contingent upon the buyer receiving approval from the Body Corporate to keep their pet on the premises. We are also experiencing an increasing number of tenants requesting pet friendly rentals (although individual owners are still able to refuse pets in their property).

Many Body Corporates have already changed their Community Management Statement to reflect this new precedent.

Please seek your own advice before relying on this information because we are only relaying our experiences and are not lawyers!

We are familiar with many of the By-laws around pets in Main Beach and Paradise Point buildings and would be happy to assist with this information.

EMAIL : [email protected]

PHONE : 0408 00 00 88

Posted By Shelley Fuller

Updated : 11th October 2021 | Words : 375 | Views : 1845