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QUESTION: Someone has complained about us keeping a cat – it was only a matter of time given that we have been in our unit for four years now.
We thought we could get away with it although the lease specifically mentioned “no animals”. We know that the executive committee has received requests for pets before but the complaint mentioned that all cat requests had been denied, so it would be unlikely that we would get permission.
What do we do? 1. Hope our cat isn't seen again before our lease is up in October, and move out? 2. Call our real estate agent, tell him the truth and hope he can suggest a mid-lease exit strategy? 3. Start looking for another place immediately? 4. Fight the executive committee?
Thoughts?
Thanks heaps
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Write a very polite and short letter simply asking permission to have a cat (not mentioning all the other factors) to the Executive Committee of the Owners Corporation, either directly or via the Strata Manager if there is one.
Check out the Strata Titles Act NSW where it says the Owners Corporation are not allowed to unreasonably withhold permission for you have a pet.
If they say no in writing, then it might possibly be time to seek mediation via the NSW Office of Fair Trading and mention that the cat has actually been living with you there for several years without causing any problems etc. 'Keep your powder dry' until it can do you some good, i.e. in a forum such as mediation.
As Jimmy T has often said, pets are good for people to have for a variety of reasons.
Urban makes a good point – how can they say the cat is a problem when they didn't even know it was there for four years.
On the other hand, you have probably broken the terms of your lease agreement and that's where you might have the greatest difficulty. But you should be able to spin this out until you move out later this year.
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.
I have a dog and love animals, I don't have a problem with animals living in apartments. However, you have been keeping a pet when the terms of the lease specifically said no animals. The same thing happened to me a few years ago when I had tenants and they had a cat which they tried to conceal, I thought it was quite funny as I wouldn't have had a problem in them having it, it was a lovely cat. All they had to do was ask but they put themselves in the position of being in breach of the lease terms. When someone does something like that it tends to get people's backs up, so you have created the problem.
You can't make an application to the OC, you don't have standing because you're not an owner. The only way you could get permission is to ask the owner for permission and then the owner has to apply to the OC, so you need two stages of approval.
If you think the owner won't have a problem with animals (it is usually a standard term of a lease to exclude animals) then you could try that route, but otherwise perhaps you should monitor the situation and think about moving.
If it is a condition of the lease, wouldn't the owner have final say even if the OC and By-laws allow pets.
Boronia said:
If it is a condition of the lease, wouldn't the owner have final say even if the OC and By-laws allow pets.
Absolutely. The landlord can say no even if the by-laws says yes. But they can't say yes if the by-laws say no.
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.
Also, it's worth pointing out that hsydney is in double breach – of the lease itself and of the by-laws (which your lease says they must obey). So they really need to get their landlord's approval first if they plan to stay and fight.
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.
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