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Our SC have decided to allow 3 of our owner’s to keep a cat in their Villa. I understand the cats have been here for several years, and the OC have not put in any complaints.Our by-law states, no pets allowed.Can the SC do this?Also, the minutes of this meeting, where this was voted on, has gone out to all residents in the Village.
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What does the by-law actually say?
The opinions offered in these Forum posts and replies are not intended to be taken as legal advice. Readers with serious issues should consult experienced strata lawyers.
In my opinion the SC has done the correct thing, though I am sure that some may disagree. The fact that the cats have been at the scheme for several years, albeit without approval but possibly with knowledge of the SC could indicate “tacit acquiescence” on the part of the SC. It would be unreasonable to request the removal of the cats after this length of time.
Pet owners generally fight hard to keep their pets and the SC decision may have been an attempt to avoid fighting a time consuming losing battle.
Assuming that the cats arrived on the scene AFTER the by-law was registered, the worst thing the strata committee has done was to officially make and minute a decision to defy their own by-laws.
The smart thing to have done would have been to have a quiet word with the owners and tell them not to worry.
By putting this on the minutes they have left it open to any owner who objects to pets to take the SC to NCAT and challenge their decision, which could theoretically lead to the cats being evicted.
There are certain fundamentals in strata law, and one of them is that strata committees can’t change or override by-laws. They have to have a general meeting and get 75 percent of the vote to do so.
There’s something else worth noting here. There is a ratchet effect with by-laws.
If you blunder into by-laws on a “suck it and see” basis, you can find that badly thought-through rules can be very burdensome when the 25 percent of owners who bullied everyone else into accepting them refuse to change them when they don’t work out.
The opinions offered in these Forum posts and replies are not intended to be taken as legal advice. Readers with serious issues should consult experienced strata lawyers.
I agree with Jimmy. If the SC preferred to do nothing about the cats, then they would have been better off to have not minuted anything. Recording a decision to permit something that is not permitted by the bylaws could be called ‘a courageous decision’.
The bylaw seems OK as far as it goes but it does seem to me to invite being held in contempt because it allows some silly outcomes. It does not specify anything about types of animals. Is a goldfish in a bowl prohibited? What about a budgie in a cage? OK, then, if a budgie is OK, what about 50 birds in an aviary?
Why not permit people to have animals within the lot so long as they are controlled and supervised when on the common property and the numbers and/or types within lots are limited in a reasonable way?
All strata schemes must review their by-laws before the end of the year. It sounds like you should at least have a discussion in your scheme about what kind of pets by-law would be appropriate.
There’s no point in having a by-law that’s ignored – it leaves the door open for an inconsiderate owner with a troublesome pet to ride roughshod over the rules. Better to have a by-law that reflects the reality of your situation … and the rest of the strata world around you.
The opinions offered in these Forum posts and replies are not intended to be taken as legal advice. Readers with serious issues should consult experienced strata lawyers.
See here:
our-animal-keeping-rule < - link for text of a rule that I think covers things nicely.
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