#24880
Jimmy-T
Keymaster

    Firstly the new laws will only change the model by-laws that will be available for adoption, mainly by new schemes.  They will not affect existing by-laws unless a substantial majority of your owners want to adopt them.

    Secondly, the new laws will specifically prohibit by-laws that are “harsh, oppressive and discriminatory” – I would suggest that one interpretation of a by-law limiting pets to owners with gardens could be seen as ticking all three of those boxes.

    So what do you do?

    My advice would be nothing.  I personally favour pets in apartment blocks – they are great community builders and offer a lot of comfort to people who might otherwise be very lonely.

    But I also respect the wishes of those who don’t want to live around animals of any kind.

    In your position I would offer the facilities of the committee – including your distribution of minutes etc – to both sides of the argument and avoid taking sides yourself.

    Your pro-pet owners need to get 75 percent of the owners voting at a general meeting to agree on a change to the by-laws. Tell them that if they can have a by-law ready for the next AGM, you will put it on the agenda.

    Your anti-pet owners just need three out of the 10 units to vote against to stop the change. But if a reasonable by-law change convinces eight of the ten owners, then that is the will of the people.

    By the way, the strata professional I know think you don’t even need by-laws that specify what is and isn’t acceptable with pets.

    There are enough bylaws dealing with noise, nuisance and damage to common property to see any badly behaved pets evicted.

    And, on another topic, seven members of a committee in a block of 10 sounds like too many chiefs, to me. 

    The opinions offered in these Forum posts and replies are not intended to be taken as legal advice. Readers with serious issues should consult experienced strata lawyers.