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I am being slowly driven out of my apartment by my neighbour’s dog. I live in a 1st floor apartment of an Art Deco block with 4 apartments. My neighbour and I share a small balcony that leads to stairs into the courtyard downstairs. She is closer to the stairs. My neighbour owns a rough Collie that she insists on leaving outside all day on the shared area. This means I have to negotiate the dog whenever I need to go downstairs for washing or to the garbage area. Added to this, the dog is hypersensitive to any movement – from the people going in and out of the house next door to my block, to people coming into my apartment. Over three years I have offered my neighbour ways in which she might train the dog, including at one stage offering to pay for a trainer. She insists that the dog is just guarding us all and that he is “getting better”. I am at the end of my tether with this. It is impossible to talk to her anymore as she is completely oblivious to the effect this dog is having on my life. The other two apartments are downstairs and not subjected to it so much but I cannot have a conversation on the telephone at times because of her dog’s barking. I love my apartment but I am close to breakdown with this constant barking. Any assistance gratefully received.
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Does the dog have or need permission under your by-laws? If not, that gives you great leverage.
However, and this is a little-known fact, even if the dog has been given permission, it can be removed under the terms of the strata Act (Section 151 – see below) if it is a nuisance. It can also be subject to orders from the council.
But rolling that back a little, it may be time to tell the dog owner that this is her last chance to pull her head in. The dog is barking because it wants into her home – that’s where it does its guarding, not in the yard.
If it needs to be let it out when she’s not there, she should get a neighbour or a dog walker to take it walkies.
If she’s not prpared to listen, tell her you will go to Fair Trading and NCAT with this, if need be, and there’s every chance they will force her to get rid of the dog. If they don’t, your council will.
So it’s up to her, if she doesn’t want to lose the dog, she’s going to have to meet you halfway. If she refuses to listen, then she has to face the consequences.
To be honest, you are being more than fair. Any owner who leaves a collie alone all day shouldn’t be allowed to have a dog in the first place.
151 Order relating to animal kept in accordance with by-laws
(1) An Adjudicator may make one of the following orders if the Adjudicator considers that an animal kept on a lot or the common property in accordance with the by-laws causes a nuisance or hazard to the owner or an occupier of another lot or unreasonably interferes with the use and enjoyment of another lot or of the common property:
(a) an order that the person keeping the animal cause the animal to be removed from the parcel within a specified time, and to be kept away from the parcel,
(b) an order that the person keeping the animal take, within a time specified in the order, such action so specified as, in the opinion of the Adjudicator, will terminate the nuisance, hazard or unreasonable interference.
(2) An application for an order under this section may be made only by an owners corporation, lessor of a leasehold strata scheme, strata managing agent, an owner, any person having an estate or interest in a lot or an occupier of a lot.
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.
Hey,
What happened?
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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