- This topic has 3 replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 13 years, 10 months ago by .
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Topic
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We’re resident strata owners. A relative’s pet cat has been staying temporarily while the relative seeks accommodation. A complaint has been made and so we sought permission to keep the cat permanently as ours.
Two queries: 1. Permission has been given as a “trial”, to be reviewed in a few months’ time. If bylaws permit that permission cannot unreasonably be refused, shouldn’t we have had unconditional permission, i.e.: not a “trial”?
2. We’d like to know the nature of the complaint. That is, see the written complaint, in order to see what the problem/objection is – not to victimise the complainant! We don’t want the s/mgr’s verbal summary, or interpretation. Since the strata records are open to – for instance – prospective purchasers who pay a fee … surely we are able to request to see the written complaint? (We saw other complaint letters/correspondence when we examined the strata records prior to purchase).
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Agree with you on both points – the SM could block the name of the individual who complained and just send you the complaints itslef (unless it was just a verbal complaint).
At the moment, this just sounds like some each-way-bet to enforce their notion of a ‘trial period’; they either need to state that you can keep the cat or not.
Offering a trial period isn’t a refusal – it’s a conditional approval. If the cat isn’t a problem, then any subsequent refusal would certainly be unreasonable.
That said, there’s something about this that makes me think someone is trying to keep everyone happy.
If you have intimated that you are only looking after the cat for a while, then clearly the “trial period” is a way of allowing you to do that without upsetting the neighbour who raised the complaint.
My advice would be to forget the letter of the by-laws and be the reasonable person in this. Accept the trial period. In any case, there is nothing absolute in giving permission for a pet. If the animal breaches other by-laws relating to noise and nuisance, or if it endangers the health of another resident, the owner can still be ordered to remove it.
If it doesn’t breach those by-laws, then they have no reason for not declaring the ‘trial” a success
Go with the flow and deal with the end of the trial period when it comes.
And yes, ask to see the details of the complaint for the simple reason that you want to be responsible owners and modify the cat’s behaviour accordingly.
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