PET ownership is on the rise due to Covid lockdowns, and so is apartment living due to the relentless increase in property prices. A recent NSW Supreme Court of Appeal decision now makes it easier for property owners to take their kitty or pooch into strata apartment living.
The Court ruled that any strata corporations’ blanket ban on keeping pets is “harsh, unconscionable or oppressive.” The ruling led to an amendment of the current legislation that better defines the grounds on which strata schemes may be able to prohibit a pet.
While owners should disclose that they are keeping a pet, Owners Corporations can now only prohibit owner occupiers from keeping pets if the animal causes persistent problems by making a noise, damaging common property, running at or menacing people, or through infestation or infection. The reasons do not include being allergic to a neighbour’s pet.
Regrettably, the new regulation still leaves tenants with pets in an uncertain predicament, as landlords are not obliged by law to agree to rent their properties to tenants with pets. This is because Residential Tenancy Agreements can still include conditions that prohibit pets in the property being rented. The only exception is for assistance animals such as blind dogs.
Pending further reforms allowing residential tenants in strata properties to live with their pets, it is advisable to negotiate being able to keep pets in rented properties before signing a lease.
Cecilia Castle is the principal of Castle Lawyers at Asquith, a Notary Public, and an Accredited Specialist in Family Law. CastleLawyers.com.au
Cecilia Castle is an Accredited Family Law Specialist with more than 30 years’ experience as a solicitor, and principal of Castle Lawyers at Asquith. CastleLawyers.com.au