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ARTICLE · 04 MARCH 2020

NCAT reinforces its position on pets in strata schemes

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A by-law which entirely bans pet ownership is "harsh, unconscionable and oppressive" for the purposes of the SSM Act 2015 (NSW).

AustraliaReal Estate and Construction
Elly Ashley
Elly Ashley
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In the recent decision of Roden v The Owners-Strata Plan No 55773 [2019] NSWCATCD 61 (Roden Decision), the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal reaffirmed its position that a by-law which entirely bans pet ownership is "harsh, unconscionable and oppressive" for the purposes of section 139(1) of the Strata Scheme Management Act 2015 (NSW).

In the Roden Decision, the Owners Corporation submitted that their by-law, which entirely banned pet ownership, should be upheld because between 1 September 2010 and 30 November 2015 a strata scheme was able to adopt model by-laws under the Strata Schemes Management Regulation 2010 (NSW) (Former Regulations).

The Former Regulations allowed Owners Corporations to adopt "Option C" which provided that an owner or occupier of a residential lot could not keep any animal on a lot or on the common property unless that animal was an assistance animal as referred to in section 9 of the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth).

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