@Blueman said:
I am well aware of the NSW model bylaws. So assuming this case is in NSW, in my opinion based on the information provided by the OP, the schemes EC has acted reasonably in this matter.
… and assuming these are the model by-laws in place. Even so, any reasonable person would read the model by-laws to mean that they were allowed to have a pet provided they could get permission. And the by-law states that permission could not be unreasonably refused.
And the original poster has a well-behaved pet and they look after it properly – they had had no specific complaints about the dog’s behaviour – so there is no reason to refuse it, except for prejudice and dumb ignorance of the way strata schemes and by-laws work.
You are entitled to your opinion, Blueman, but I would hate any reader of these posts to think that the model by-law that essentially allows pets, employed in conjunction with a history of refusal of companion animals, would prevent owners from bringing pets into a strata scheme. It doesn’t, regardless of what you think.
My advice to Flatchatters is this: If you want to prevent people from ever bringing any pets into your scheme, pass a by-law that says “no pets”. Don’t depend on a by-law that actually allows pets under certain conditions. It really is as simple as that and lazy ECs that can’t be bothered to change their by-laws to reflect the wishes of the majority of owners deserve all the trouble they get.