@SMO said:
“With that in mind, he (Mr Roberts) said, the new model bylaws will, for the first time, cover smoke drift and allow pets by default, rather than banning them as is now the case.”
Firstly, you need to discern the difference between a direct quote and my reportage. Secondly, although the detail hasn’t been published yet, the thrust of the proposed by-law will be changed from “no pets without consent” to “pets, but with conditions”.
This is nitpicking stuff. It may not have the word ‘ban” in it but the current by-law is a very effective block on pet ownership for those who choose to employ it that way.
In any case, as we all know, any building that really, really doesn’t want pets can ban them by changing the model by-law before even the first AGM.
The significance of this proposed change in the model by-law is to take into account the fact that most people moving into a new building, especially first-time strata owners, have no idea what by-laws are, what they mean and how hard they are to change.
Once by-laws are passed (by a simple majority) at the first AGM they are bloody hard to change and a lot of people find themselves living in pro-pets buildings (according to the majority view) with “no-pets” ECs gathering up their 25 percent “no” vote every time there’s any danger of the status quo being threatened.