› Flat Chat Strata Forum › Pets: Furry friends … or fiends? › Does size matter › Current Page
grahamd – I agree with PeterC to the extent that your Plan’s “rule” is so open to subjective interpretation that from that perspective at least it’s indeed “silly”, but as you’re in N.S.W. you need to check that a by-law in those terms has been properly Registered with the Strata Title by the Developer. You should already have been given a copy of the Strata Title, but otherwise you can search the relevant details HERE.
Registered or not, any of the Plan’s by-laws may be confirmed, amended, repealed, or added to by way of a compulsory motion on the agenda of the first General Meeting of the Owners Corporation once formed (or at any subsequent Meeting where no more than 25% of Owners disagree).
So were I in your shoes I wouldn’t rely on any of that, as quite frankly the intent of the off-the-plan “rule” to limit the physical characteristics of dogs that may be permitted post occupation is a reasonable one, albeit subjective, that you would in my opinion have difficulty challenging, even in circumstances where the Developer granted a worthless exemption (in order to secure a sale).
So what can you do?
If you’re determined or otherwise committed to the purchase, then you need to accept a likely situation where you will be at some stage found to be in breach of the Plan’s by-laws, and to thereafter be involved in a quasi legal process involving the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal and a set of scales where, given your prior knowledge of the situation regarding pets at the Plan and the Owners Corporation’s reasonable approach (by not banning pets outright), you would very likely be issued with an Order to remove your dog.