Pets in Strata: Managing the Practical Side After the Reforms
The law on pets in NSW strata has settled into a clear position: blanket bans are gone, and a scheme can only refuse a pet where it would cause unreasonable interference. That’s the legal headline — but it’s not the whole story. Once pets are a permanent, growing feature of apartment life, someone has to manage the practical reality of animals sharing lobbies, lifts and gardens. After thirty years managing Sydney buildings, that day-to-day management is the part I want to talk about here.
Where the Law Landed
For context, the framework is now well established. Under the Strata Schemes Management Act, a by-law has no effect to the extent that it unreasonably prohibits keeping an animal, and a pet can only be refused or removed where it unreasonably interferes with other residents — through persistent noise, damage to common property, menacing behaviour, offensive odour, or similar. An owners corporation can’t charge a pet fee, bond or insurance, and recent tenancy reforms have strengthened renters’ rights to keep pets too. In short: pets are here, in growing numbers, and the question for a building is no longer whether to allow them but how to manage them well.
A quick but important note on lanes: drafting or updating a pet by-law, and any formal dispute or removal process, is the owners corporation’s and strata manager’s domain, with a lawyer where needed. What follows is the operational side — which is where a building manager lives.
What an Owners Corporation Can Still Do
While it can’t ban pets, an owners corporation can set reasonable conditions for how pets are kept on common property — for example, requiring animals to be leashed in common areas, using a designated entrance or lift, requiring owners to clean up after their pets, and setting sensible expectations around numbers and behaviour. These conditions are what make shared living with pets work in practice, and they’re only as good as their day-to-day management and enforcement.
The Practical Challenges
In a building full of pets, the recurring practical issues are predictable:
- Common-area behaviour. Pets in lobbies, lifts, corridors and gardens — leashing, supervision, and keeping shared spaces comfortable for everyone, including residents who aren’t pet lovers.
- Waste in gardens and common areas, and the cleaning that keeps the building pleasant — a real, ongoing job as pet numbers grow.
- Noise and nuisance. Persistent barking or other disturbance is exactly the ‘unreasonable interference’ the law is concerned with, and it needs to be identified and addressed early, before it escalates into a formal dispute.
- Occasional damage to gardens, lawns or common-area finishes that needs to be spotted, attributed and repaired.
Managing It Well Keeps the Peace
Most pet friction in buildings isn’t really about pets — it’s about how they’re managed. Clear, communicated expectations, common areas kept clean, prompt attention to genuine nuisance, and an even hand between pet owners and other residents is what keeps a building harmonious. Left unmanaged, small issues — a fouled garden, a barking dog, an off-leash incident in the lift lobby — curdle into resident conflict and, eventually, formal disputes that cost everyone. Good day-to-day management heads most of that off before it starts.
Where a Building Manager Fits In
This is very much building-management territory, because it’s about the day-to-day life of the common property. We help keep shared areas clean and pleasant as pet numbers grow, support the reasonable conditions the owners corporation has set (leashing, designated access, cleaning up), spot and address nuisance and damage early, and act as a calm, even-handed point of contact when pet issues arise between residents. The by-law itself, and any formal dispute or removal process, sits with the owners corporation and strata manager — but the practical, everyday management that stops issues reaching that point is what a good building manager does. In a world where pets are a permanent part of apartment living, that management is what keeps buildings both pet-friendly and peaceful.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can our building still ban pets?
No. Under NSW law, a by-law that unreasonably prohibits keeping an animal has no effect — blanket bans are gone. A pet can only be refused or removed where it causes unreasonable interference, such as persistent noise, damage or menacing behaviour. An owners corporation can, however, set reasonable conditions for how pets are kept on common property.
Can we charge a pet bond or fee?
No. An owners corporation can’t require a fee, bond or insurance for keeping a pet — by-laws imposing those financial conditions are invalid in NSW. What it can do is set reasonable, non-financial conditions around behaviour, supervision and cleaning on common property.
A resident’s dog barks constantly — what can be done?
Persistent noise that unreasonably disturbs other residents is exactly the kind of ‘unreasonable interference’ the law recognises. The practical first step is early, even-handed management — raising it with the owner and seeking a resolution. If it continues, the formal path (a notice to comply, then mediation through NSW Fair Trading, then NCAT if needed) is handled by the owners corporation and strata manager. Addressing it early usually avoids reaching that point.
Who manages pets on common property day to day?
That’s the building manager’s domain — keeping common areas clean, supporting the conditions the owners corporation has set, and addressing nuisance and damage early. The by-law and any formal dispute process sit with the owners corporation and strata manager. Good day-to-day management is what keeps a pet-friendly building peaceful.
Want Pets Managed Without the Friction?
Building Management Australia is a Sydney building management firm — not a strata agent. Keeping common areas clean and pleasant, supporting reasonable pet conditions, and heading off nuisance before it becomes a dispute is core building-management work, and we handle it alongside your strata manager, who looks after by-laws and any formal process. If pets have become a source of friction in your building, request a proposal at bmaus.com.au or email Andrew directly at [email protected].
About the Author
Andrew Veron is the founder of Building Management Australia (BMA), an independent Sydney building management firm established in 1995. BMA is a building management company — not a strata agent — providing on-site and visiting building management, facilities management, concierge, cleaning and valet services to residential, commercial and mixed-use properties. Over the past 30 years, Andrew and the BMA team have managed buildings across the Eastern Suburbs, North Sydney, Inner Sydney, Parramatta and the Sydney CBD, with assets currently valued in excess of $3 billion under management. Because BMA is independent of any strata management firm, committees receive unbiased advice and transparent contractor relationships. Reach Andrew at [email protected] or bmaus.com.au.
This article is general information only and is not legal advice. Pet rules in strata are set by legislation and by your scheme’s by-laws; owners corporations and residents should obtain advice specific to their circumstances for by-law or dispute matters.