After cats, dogs are our best friend for a good reason –
they are lovely companions. But not everybody thinks that way,
especially in strata buildings.
Your building might have by-laws about keeping animals in your
unit. These often require an owner or occupier to keep an animal in
the unit only with the written approval of the owners corporation,
while also providing that the owners corporation must not
unreasonably withhold approval.
So what if your owners corporation is being a little ruff and
won't let you keep your quiet little husky in your unit?
Over the past couple of years, NCAT has considered a couple of
such cases. The consistent line of decisions coming out of NCAT is
that if your pooch will not cause interference or nuisance to any
other owners or occupiers, then it would be unreasonable –
maybe even dogmatic – for the owners corporation to refuse
consent.
