New laws about the keeping of pets in strata schemes in NSW started on 25 August 2021. These laws recognise the changing nature of strata living and the increasing shift towards pet ownership.
Under the new laws, owners corporations:
- can only refuse to allow an animal into the scheme if it unreasonably interferes with another resident’s use and enjoyment of their lot or the common property.
- can still require residents to apply for approval to keep an animal on their lot.
- can still set reasonable conditions in their by-laws to manage keeping animals in the scheme. However, by-laws that set a blanket ban on the keeping of any animals within a scheme are not valid.
The NSW Department of Customer Service has produced a report that outlines the public feedback we received on these issues as part of the strata laws statutory review, and explains how the ‘unreasonable interference’ circumstances included in the new regulation were developed. Read the Strata Schemes Management Amendment (Pets) Regulation 2021 to learn more.
To find out more about the changes, visit:
- the NSW Fair Trading website for details on the reforms, including circumstances of unreasonable interference
- the NSW Government’s Have Your Say website to stay up-to-date with any further changes to strata laws.
We will provide information about further outcomes of the NSW strata laws statutory review later this year. Please contact us if you have any questions at buzz@stratabee.com.au or click here.