BOOK ONLINE OR CALL US:
+61 3 92797200
According to a Newgate Research quantitative study of Australian households and the state of pet ownership in 2016, Australia holds one of the highest rates of household pet ownership. At a whopping 62%, Australia has over 24 million household pets, with dogs and cats as the most common. While the numbers are high, strata regulations may make it difficult for households to keep pets.
Past model by-laws of strata regulations prohibit pet ownership altogether. However, due to the reviews of strata regulations, the New South Wales Fair Trading strata scheme model by-laws provide different options relating to keeping pets. Under the review, owner corporations may choose by-laws that:
Furthermore, owners corporations cannot unreasonably refuse the request. Owners corporations must submit a written reason detailing why the pet is prohibited in the property.
Should owners corporations allow pets, tenants always need the landlord’s permission and are responsible for their pets supervision – making sure that any soiled properties are cleaned and pets don’t impact their community negatively through noise and disruptive behavior.
Unnecessary restrictive model by-laws guarantee that pets don’t negatively impact the living experience of strata communities. However, there exist blanket restrictions that refuses to control specific behaviors which potentially can affect other residence; instead, these automatically limits the choices of households regardless if the behaviors affect others or not. A good example is only allowing small dogs and not big ones, thinking that small dogs may be more behaved. Yet, there are behaved large dogs more suited for apartment living than small dogs with high energy which require space and expertise to address their needs. Therefore, model by-laws may risk allowing pets which are not suited for apartment living.
These changes in the model by-laws conveniently matches the rising trend of apartment living. Due to the growing percentage of household pet owners in Australia, more and more developers are embracing the pet-friendly apartment trend. It is no surprise that photos of pets are being included in advertisements for apartments. This enables developers to have a wider market which is better for sales.
Strata communities are beginning to embrace pet ownership more and more, realizing that restrictive policies affect market values of apartments. Also, due to the cultural significance of pet keeping in Australia, the positive effects of pets are now being recognized by communities. As 88% of households treat pets as part of their family, restrictions may result in either giving up their pet or their apartment.
According to the research with dog owners in apartments across Sydney conducted by Emma Power, Senior Research Fellow in Geography and Urban Studies at the Western Sydney University, pets contribute to creating a sense of community. She said:
“People I spoke with described having more social interactions with their neighbours after they got a dog. Dogs made people recognisable to their neighbours and served as an ice-breaker, helping people to have ‘easy conversation’ without the feeling of invading someone else’s privacy or personal space.”
This, in addition to pets providing good physical health and well-being as well as a defence against loneliness, shows the positive effects of pet ownership in communities.
Regardless of these positive points, it can’t be avoided that some are still hesitant about allowing pet ownership in strata communities. One significant contention is the possible disruption of peace and quiet due to the noise some pets make (like barking, meowing, and the like). Barking dogs are always on top of the list of concerns. However, as 39% of dogs already live all across Australian households, only a small number of dogs bark incessantly. For the most part, dogs are noticed not because of making noise but by their actual presence. More than that, complaints regarding nuisance pet noise are manageable especially with apartments. Existing noise by-laws which address concerns regarding a neighbour who keeps playing loud music all night long may be applied to a household with a noisy pet.
Pet-friendly by-laws will hopefully be encouraged by new strata schemes, while existing schemes may proactively review their by-laws and adopt a more pet-friendly one.
More than these developments in strata regulations, changes in apartment and urban design to accommodate a more pet-friendly environment may create positive living conditions. Soundproofing, adding ledges and windows for pets to see out their apartments without harm as well as pet-friendly spaces like gardens and local parks contribute to the wellbeing of pets and their owners.
Lastly, good neighbouring is encouraged to allow better communication among residents. In Power’s research as well as some recent others, strata communities face challenges with responding to issues immediately as they tend to make formal complaints instead of approaching their neighbours next door. Better neighbouring allows direct awareness and faster resolutions to issues with nuisance pets.
Australia is one of the nations with the highest number of household pets. Instead of putting pet ownership restrictions in strata communities, why not change the perspective to how these companion animals can positively affect the community?
