Driven barking mad by noisy dogs? Here’s what you can do

Flat Chat columnist Jimmy Thomson says a forgotten law can give you peace and quiet.

If the yapping gets too much, Flat Chat columnist Jimmy Thomson says a forgotten law can give you peace and quiet.

It was only a few years ago that bans on pets in apartment blocks were commonplace,

but now they have to be allowed in all but a few specific circumstances.

But what happens when the permitted pet is a nuisance?

The laws around pets in apartments changed after what is known as the Cooper case ran all the way from the NSW strata Tribunal to the Court of Appeal – the highest in the state –

which ultimately decreed that blanket bans on pets could not be imposed on strata

owners.

Sydney soul singer Jo Cooper and her miniature schnauzer Angus won a dog-eat-dog court battle in 2021.

During Covid, the pet population boomed when lockdowns only allowed people out of their homes to walk their dogs.

Want to get out of the house?

Buy a dog.

MORE:

‘Worst ever’: Epic repair bill for trashed house

Darlinghurst resident Jo Cooper and her miniature schnauzer Angus. Picture: Christian Gilles

These days, in many states, landlords can’t refuse to allow pets without good reason and strata schemes can’t impose blanket bans on companion animals.

Strata law has swung so much in favour of pets that some people think there can be no restrictions on them at all.

Take the Flat Chat readers whose neighbours have a small dog that barks whenever they are out and when anyone passes their apartment door (which happens a lot).

When they complained, the owners said the dog didn’t bark when they were at home

(well, d’uh!) so they must be exaggerating.

The pet owners added that they had permission from the Strata Committee to have a dog so the neighbours would have to put up with it.

Is that true, asked our reader?

No, it isn’t.

Angus’s owner Jo Cooper fought a court battle in 2021 that changed the rules for pet owners in apartments. Picture: Christian Gilles

There’s still a long-forgotten section of the NSW strata Act which deals specifically with animals that have been given permission but which later prove to be a nuisance.

Section 158 allows the NSW Tribunal (NCAT) to order the removal of an animal that

has been permitted under by-laws.
It says the tribunal may “make an order against a person who is keeping an animal on a lot or common property in accordance with the by-laws for a strata scheme, if the Tribunal considers that the animal causes a nuisance or hazard … or unreasonably interferes with the use or enjoyment of another lot or of the common property.”

It goes on to say the tribunal can order that the animal be removed permanently or demand that the owner does something to stop the nuisance – presumably training

the dog not to bark all the time, for instance.

But the change in rules doesn’t mean a dog can bark the house (or apartment) down.

So, just as strata schemes can’t impose blanket bans on pets, they can’t give pet

owners a free pass to allow their animals to behave as badly as they please.

Now, taking a case to the tribunal is the nuclear option.

But when dog owners don’t care about the nuisance their pet causes, they need to know that this is not something their neighbours have to put up with.

All that’s required is a little consideration laced with some sense of responsibility.

Then the dog, its owners and the neighbours can all live in peace.

Strata Fact: The chairs of strata committees in NSW do not have a casting ballot if a

vote is tied – but they do in Victoria.

Jimmy Thomson edits the Flat Chat website and you can go there to check out

the latest strata news and views or send him a question anonymously, if you

like – on [e-mail] and he’ll do his best to answer

Originally published as Driven barking mad by noisy dogs? Here’s what you can do