[annag26791]

@madamme said:
Thanks. Will read pethates.

All I was asking was advice / tips from this community what information I should provide for a thorough application for consideration by the strata whom I know I have to convince. Afterall, the dog has no history so everything is unknown or unvalidated.

I was expecting people to share their experiences, suggestions that’s all – eg provide confidence to EC, compliance with bylaws etc. for new dog applications. Anyway.

I’m sure everyone googles but not everyone takes it as gospel. It’s a starting point for many of us. 🙂  

We went through a very similar situation with our apartment building, we applied for a puppy and it is difficult when you are unable to provide a character reference – our application got denied at first, however, we took the EC to mediation and ultimately got approval.

My advice to you is this –

You need to sell yourself and your partner as responsible pet owners – the reality is, if someone doesn’t like dogs, it’s going to be hard to sell them on the dog itself, but if you are able to demonstrate to the EC that you are a responsible pet owner and are willing to negotiate on terms and do what it takes to make this work then that can be even more powerful than the application for the dog itself.

Examples of compromises include the below:

– no dogs on common property

– disposing of dog-waste off site

– negotiating on the breed of the dog (Labrador’s don’t always make the best Apartment dogs (from experience)

These are just a few things that we compromised on with the EC and it ultimately worked in  our favour.

Let me know if you have any other questions!

[annag26791]

@annag26791 said:
Hi All, 

My partner and I recently purchased a large apartment and want to purchase 2 small dogs to live with us. We have chosen small, quiet breeds and want to get 2 dogs so that they keep each other company and don’t make any noise. We haven’t bought the dogs yet as we wanted to do the right thing and abide by the by-laws and seek permission first/

Our EC denied our request and their reasons were:

We don’t allow pets & I requested a bunny which got rejected so I will reject your request (very strange as I had nothing to do with this)

It is clear form the above that the EC have acted unreasonably and whats more, there’s just 1 guy who is really against us having the dogs.

We have mediation scheduled for 5 weeks time. As such, I wanted to hear about anyone’s experiences going to mediation over this issue and how it turned out?  

Hi All!

Just wanted to give you an update on how this issue was resolved.

Martin and I went to mediation today and it was a very positive experience and allowed us to chat to the EC without ramming our wants down their throats. We were able to hear their side of the arguement and come to a compromise. We got approval to get 1 dog (with provisions) and can revisit the discussion about another dog in the coming months/years once we’ve proven ourselves to be responsible pet owners. 

Going into this experience I did a lot of research on the internet about pets in Strata and it was overwhelmingly negative, however, after our experience today, I felt it very important to put a positive result out there too as I find that the negative outcomes always have the loudest voices and it can be a bit daunting for anyone going down this path. Whilst we have along way to go in Aus when it comes to pets in Strata, after dealing with the DFT and my EC, I think if both sides communicate openly and honestly with each other, then it is possible to reach a compromise. 

The result isn’t 100% what we wanted but it’s a major step in the right direction and we can now get a dog!!!

Thank you to everyone for their input, I really appreciate it. Xxx

[annag26791]

@annag26791 said:

@burnstar said:
I went down this road a few years ago, our by-laws state that pets can’t be unreasonably refused. However the EC refused on the grounds that they have never allowed pets before and weren’t about to start a precedent … We won our case as the tribunal found the EC unreasonably refused and the majority of owners/tenants didn’t have an issue us having a pet. The whole process took just under (a very stressful) 12 months…  

Thanks for this – I guess our problem is that we don’t actually have the dogs yet. and want to get puppies. My strata manager is on our side with this so that’s something and he agree’s our request is logical, but the other problem is that everyone else in the building except for me and the other EC member on the ground floor are tenants so it’s hard for me to get in contact with the rest of the owner’s and see what they want. 

Good advise re: tenants giving their submissions, as I live next to some young chilled out people and across the hall from a woman who I’m almost certain has a cat (But hasn’t told the EC and I don’t want to get her in trouble by blowing the whistle)

Has anyone else on this forum had a positive experience in mediation which has resulted in approval in regards to pet ownership – I have scoured the internet and am yet to find one example where this was solved in mediation. I know that most people tend to only post negative experiences on the internet so that may be why but anyone with experience in Mediation, please let me know how your session went!  

Sorry to hound you guys (pun intended) but just wanted to check if anyone had any stories/advice on mediation.

We head into DFT this Monday so would love all the information we can get.

[annag26791]

@burnstar said:
I went down this road a few years ago, our by-laws state that pets can’t be unreasonably refused. However the EC refused on the grounds that they have never allowed pets before and weren’t about to start a precedent … We won our case as the tribunal found the EC unreasonably refused and the majority of owners/tenants didn’t have an issue us having a pet. The whole process took just under (a very stressful) 12 months…  

Thanks for this – I guess our problem is that we don’t actually have the dogs yet. and want to get puppies. My strata manager is on our side with this so that’s something and he agree’s our request is logical, but the other problem is that everyone else in the building except for me and the other EC member on the ground floor are tenants so it’s hard for me to get in contact with the rest of the owner’s and see what they want. 

Good advise re: tenants giving their submissions, as I live next to some young chilled out people and across the hall from a woman who I’m almost certain has a cat (But hasn’t told the EC and I don’t want to get her in trouble by blowing the whistle)

Has anyone else on this forum had a positive experience in mediation which has resulted in approval in regards to pet ownership – I have scoured the internet and am yet to find one example where this was solved in mediation. I know that most people tend to only post negative experiences on the internet so that may be why but anyone with experience in Mediation, please let me know how your session went!

[annag26791]

@PeterC said:
Which state you are in is important. In the ACT, for example, the Act says that a unit owner must not keep an animal without permission but permission cannot be unreasonably refused. It would be difficult to find a way to reasonably refuse two small dogs.   

Hi there! I’m in NSW and I know the by laws States that they can’t reasonably refuse either – but that hasn’t stopped the EC. Any advice?

[Author]

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