› Flat Chat Strata Forum › Pets: Furry friends … or fiends? › Testing No Pet by-law with NCAT › Current Page
The Strata – that strange many-headed beast, when you cut one head off it just grows again. By the way “strata” denotes layers.
Moving right along – I am an animal lover, I have always owned dogs and currently own a dog. However, in this case the OC has determined, and confirmed quite recently, that it does not wish to have animals. And that is fine, it is up to the owners to decide the rules that they want to apply to their scheme.
I suggest you not get caught up in responding to the owner’s arguments or reasons for keeping a dog in breach of the by-laws. For the OC’s purposes it is entirely irrelevant what went on between the owner and his solicitor. That is not the OC’s problem.
The owner lied about keeping a dog, claiming it was visiting, therefore it is reasonable to assume that the owner knew from the outset they were breaching the by-law and to that extent has acted in bad faith.
No-one gives a flying fig if the dog has been a family pet for many years, which seems to be contradicted by the dog being relatively young.
The owner has not taken all reasonable steps to comply with the by-laws, because they are breaching the by-law that provides that no animals are to be kept. A common response when someone gets caught out breaching a rule or by-law is for them to claim they are being bullied or harassed. So call their bluff – issue a notice to comply, and remember an owner can be fined for a breach.
I believe that in this case where the owners have only recently determined to keep the no animal by-law, there is a reasonable possibility that if it went to the Tribunal the by-law would be upheld. If it isn’t, you have to ask what is the point of having a choice as to the by-laws you have regarding animals? As bangles says what is the use of by-laws if they are just going to be ignored or overturned?