Pets can be an important part of your household. Keeping an animal in a Queensland body corporate may involve by-laws and approval processes. This guide explains when a body corporate can refuse a pet, impose conditions or require its removal, and what you can do if you disagree with a decision.
Can a body corporate refuse pets in Queensland?
For most Queensland community titles schemes, the Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997 (the BCCM Act) applies. Your scheme’s by-laws may regulate animals, so check them before bringing an animal into your lot or onto common property.
A body corporate cannot rely on a blanket ban to refuse every animal. Current legislation makes prohibitive animal by-laws invalid, including by-laws that prohibit animals of a particular breed or weight. However, if such a by-law remains in the scheme’s community management statement, the committee cannot approve an animal prohibited by that wording. You may need to propose a motion to change the invalid by-law or dispute the decision and the validity of the by-law.
A body corporate can refuse an individual animal in specific circumstances, including where:
- the animal presents an unacceptable risk that cannot be managed with reasonable conditions
- the animal would unreasonably interfere with another person’s use or enjoyment of a lot or common property
- the animal may harm native wildlife and the risk cannot be managed
- keeping the animal would breach another law
- the animal is a regulated dog
- the applicant does not agree to reasonable conditions.
A longstanding no-pets policy or informal house rule is not, by itself, enough to justify refusing every animal. The decision should focus on the particular animal and the actual impact it may have.
What pet approval rules apply now?
First, check your scheme’s by-laws. If there is no specific animal by-law, you generally do not need permission to keep an animal within your lot. Other by-laws still apply, including rules about noise and conduct, and you remain responsible for preventing your animal from causing a nuisance.
If the scheme has a permissive animal by-law, you must make a written request for approval. Send the request to the secretary, an authorised body corporate manager or, if the secretary is unavailable, the chairperson. Check whether your body corporate has a preferred form or process for applications.
The committee will usually decide the application. If approval is a restricted issue for the committee, the body corporate must instead decide the request at a general meeting.
The body corporate must respond to an animal request within 21 days when the committee is making the decision. Different timeframes apply when a general meeting is required. The applicant should receive written notice of the decision as soon as practicable after it is made.
Approval for one animal does not automatically cover a replacement or substitute animal. Approval may apply only to the animal named in the application, so check the wording of the original approval before getting another pet.
If you are buying a lot, raise any proposed animal with the seller and body corporate before settlement. A prospective purchaser may wish to have the animal considered before committing to the purchase. The BCCM Office does not resolve disputes between purchasers and bodies corporate, although the current owner may attempt to resolve the issue or lodge a dispute application.
You can also read Pets in a body corporate property: what to consider.
Can a body corporate impose conditions on a pet?
Yes. A body corporate may impose reasonable conditions when approving an animal. Conditions should reflect the individual application and help minimise the animal’s impact on other occupiers and common property. The body corporate must act reasonably when setting them.
Possible conditions include:
- keeping the animal on a lead or adequately restrained on common property
- limiting the animal’s use of common property to entering or leaving the scheme
- keeping the animal within the boundaries of the lot
- managing fleas, parasites and general health
- preventing unreasonable noise or other nuisance
- promptly disposing of animal waste so it does not create odours or contaminate the scheme
- taking reasonable steps to minimise airborne allergens.
A condition should address a real and reasonable concern. It should not be used to impose a blanket ban or an arbitrary restriction on animal type, breed, size or weight.
Read the approval carefully before bringing the animal into the scheme. If you disagree with a proposed condition, discuss your concerns with the body corporate and suggest a practical alternative. Keeping a written record of the application and discussions can help if the issue later becomes a dispute.
For tenants, approval from the body corporate is separate from approval from the property manager or owner. A tenant may need both approvals before keeping an animal. The tenancy agreement must also comply with the body corporate by-laws.
The Residential Tenancies Authority’s process requires a tenant to make a written request to the property manager or owner. For a request made during the tenancy, the property manager or owner must respond in writing within 14 days, including the approval or refusal and any conditions or reason for refusal.
You can find more information in Renting with pets in a community titles scheme.
Can an approved pet later be removed?
Approval does not remove the need to comply with the by-laws or the conditions of approval. The body corporate can withdraw approval and ask for the animal to be removed if the owner does not comply with reasonable conditions.
An approved animal can also be the subject of enforcement action if it causes a nuisance or unreasonably interferes with another person’s use or enjoyment of a lot or common property. This may involve ongoing unreasonable noise, odours, waste, contamination or uncontrolled behaviour.
Owners and occupiers are responsible for their own behaviour and their guests’ behaviour on the lot and common property. They must not use or allow the use of the property in a way that causes a nuisance or hazard or unreasonably interferes with another person’s use or enjoyment.
The body corporate should consider the actual behaviour and whether it can be managed. If a concern arises, start by communicating with the animal’s owner and keep records of dates, incidents and steps taken to resolve the problem. If a by-law is being breached, the body corporate can follow the relevant enforcement process.
Do assistance dogs and therapy animals need approval?
Certified guide, hearing and assistance dogs are treated differently from ordinary pets. A person with a disability who relies on a certified guide, hearing or assistance dog may be accompanied by the dog in a place of accommodation, subject to the requirements of the Guide, Hearing and Assistance Dogs Act 2009.
The BCCM’s animal guidance states that a person with a disability who relies on this type of certified dog does not need to ask permission before bringing the dog into a body corporate property.
Certification matters. A dog described as a therapy dog, emotional-support animal or companion animal is not automatically treated as a certified assistance dog. If it is not certified under the assistance-dog legislation, the ordinary pet approval rules apply.
You can read more about the distinction in Assistance animals in a body corporate.
What can owners and tenants do if a pet is refused?
Ask the body corporate to explain the decision in writing. Check the by-law, the reasons given and any proposed conditions. A body corporate should make its own decision about an animal application rather than routinely directing applicants to the Commissioner’s Office.
Try to resolve the issue directly before lodging a formal dispute. Self-resolution can include written communication, asking the committee to consider a motion or presenting a motion to a general meeting.
If you are a tenant, make the request to the body corporate in writing. You may also ask your landlord to propose a motion, although the owner is not required to do so. Tenants may be able to lodge a dispute application about a body corporate decision, including a refusal of approval to keep a pet.
If self-resolution does not resolve the matter, eligible disputes under the BCCM Act generally proceed to conciliation as the compulsory first step. You will need to show that you attempted to resolve the issue before applying.
The Commissioner’s Office should be the last port of call, not the first. Pet disputes can also affect owners through unnecessary time and costs, so a clear application and a practical proposed condition may help avoid escalation. Searchable adjudicators’ orders may influence how prospective purchasers view a scheme, so consistent and reasonable decision-making is worthwhile.
Pets are generally possible in Queensland body corporates, but approval, reasonable conditions and nuisance obligations still matter. If you need help understanding a pet application or body corporate decision, contact our team at reception@stratacare.com.au.
