Short answer
No. Under section 137B of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015, a NSW strata scheme cannot impose a by-law that unreasonably prohibits the keeping of an animal — so a blanket “no pets” by-law has no force or effect, and by-laws that set blanket restrictive criteria (such as banning a whole size or type) are limited in the same way. A scheme can still require a reasonable application process and set reasonable conditions, and it can refuse or require removal of a specific animal that unreasonably interferes with other residents. The ban must be proven case-by-case, not assumed.
The law changed
Following major legislative and case-law changes, section 137B makes a by-law that unreasonably prohibits keeping an animal invalid. In practice a blanket ban on all pets does not stand, and by-laws that try to achieve the same effect by outlawing whole categories of animal are constrained too. An old “No Pets” by-law still sitting in a scheme’s registered set does not bind owners on that point — it has no effect.
When a scheme can say no to a particular animal
The scheme’s power is over the individual animal, not pets in general. A committee can refuse an application, or seek removal, where the specific animal unreasonably interferes with another resident’s use and enjoyment of their lot or the common property. The Act sets out circumstances that count, including where the animal:
- makes persistent noise that unreasonably disturbs another resident;
- repeatedly runs at, chases or menaces or attacks another resident or their animal;
- repeatedly damages common property or another lot;
- endangers another resident’s health through infection or infestation; or
- causes a persistent offensive odour that penetrates another lot or the common property.
The onus is on showing the specific problem, not on a general dislike of pets.
What a scheme can still require
A scheme is entitled to run a sensible process. It can require a resident to apply before bringing an animal in, and it can set reasonable conditions — for example, keeping a dog on a leash through lobbies and lifts, and cleaning up after it on common property. What it cannot do is turn “a reasonable process” into a de facto ban by refusing without a valid, animal-specific reason. Fees or bonds simply for keeping a pet are not permitted.
Handling pet applications the right way
The risk for a self-managed committee is not the law — it is refusing on a hunch and being overturned, or ignoring a genuinely problem animal because nobody documented it. A system such as Straita gives the committee a clean way to run pet applications and record any interference case-by-case, so a decision to approve, condition or refuse rests on the reasonable, animal-specific grounds the Act requires rather than a blanket rule that will not hold.
Primary sources
- Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW) — keeping of animals; unreasonable prohibition by-laws have no effect, and unreasonable-interference circumstances (s 137B).
- NSW Government — Pets in strata (Fair Trading) — pet by-laws, applications and the end of blanket bans.
- NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) — orders about keeping or removing an animal.