According to information published by Landgate, the consultation phase failed to produce any clear consensus on whether there should be default by-law allowing or one banning pets* and the view after consultation was that the decision on pets is still as decision to be made by the strata company by amending their by-laws however, those by-laws must comply with the requirement under the new laws and must not be: unreasonable, oppressive (referred to as a reasonableness test) or unfairly prejudicial to or discriminatory against 1 or more owners.
Strata owners will need to consider whether they allow some small pets, perhaps require residents to get written consent for a pet, or make certain allowances for pets required on medical grounds (with the appropriate supporting documents), and if there are any rules regarding the keeping of pets on the property (include things like keeping the animal supervised when on common property, ensuring they don’t bark or make too much noise, should pets be excluded from certain areas of common property).
Note that the new standard Schedule 2 By-laws provide the following which may affect pet ownership :
12. Additional duties of owners and occupiers
An owner or occupier of a lot must not —
(a) use the lot for a purpose that may be illegal or injurious to the reputation of the building; or
(b) make undue noise in or about the lot or common property; or
(c) keep animals on the lot or the common property after notice in that behalf given to that person by the council.
It’s important to note that under the reforms, the by-laws cannot ban any assistance animal trained to assist a person with a disability who lives on the lot or visits the scheme. Assistance animal has the meaning given in the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Commonwealth) section 9(2).
If your strata scheme currently allows by-laws to allow pets, or ban pets, or some variation of either, then this is something that may be reviewed by the strata company at its next general meeting and considered in light of the new requirements for by-laws. Realmark Strata managers can work with strata owners (this may require the advice of lawyer as well) in reviewing any current laws and/or developing a new strata by-law to suit the pet policy that the strata owners want to implement.
If you are considering a pet, a great first step is to contact your strata manager to consider what the current by-law of your strata scheme is.
Learn more at https://www.strata.wa.gov.au.
The above information is general in nature, please obtain advice specific to your circumstances before acting.