What to know about Pet Bylaws
1. Pet Restrictions
Strata corporations can restrict owners, tenants and other
occupants from keeping
pets or certain kinds of pets through the bylaws of the strata
corporation. The
bylaws might do any of the following:
- limit the number of pets that can be kept;
- provide restrictions
on keeping pets, such as leashing them in common areas;
- limit
the kind of pets that can be kept, such as no dogs, or
no dogs over 40
pounds; and
- require pets to be registered with the strata
council.
2. Pet Restrictions Under the Standard Bylaws
Standard Bylaw 3(4) provides that:
- an owner, tenant or occupant must not keep any pets
on a strata lot other than
one or more of the following:
- a reasonable number of fish or other small aquarium
animals;
- a reasonable number of small caged mammals;
- up to two caged
birds;
- one dog or one cat.
The Standard Bylaws also require owners, tenants, occupants
or visitors to ensure
that all animals are leashed or otherwise secured
when on the common property or on land that is a common asset.
Strata corporations created before July 1, 2000 will automatically
adopt Standard
Bylaw 3(4) on January 1, 2002, if by that date, they
do not already have their own
bylaw filed in the Land Title Office which deals with pets.
Strata corporations created after July 1, 2000 will automatically
adopt Standard
Bylaw 3(4), unless the Owner Developer has filed a bylaw
dealing with pets in the Land Title Office concurrently with
the strata plan.
3. Strata Corporations that Do Not Wish to adopt Standard
Bylaw 3(4)
Strata corporations can disapply Standard Bylaw 3(4) at any
time by filing their own bylaw which deals with pets in the
Land Title Office.
Strata corporations created before July 1, 2000 that do not
have their own pet bylaw, may want to consider filing their
own pet bylaw before January 1, 2002, in order to avoid the
automatic adoption of Standard Bylaw 3(4).
4. Grandfathering Pets when Bylaws Change
If a strata corporation created before July 1, 2000, has
no pet bylaw it automatically adopts Standard Bylaw 3(4)
on January 1, 2002. However, pets that are living in a strata
unit prior to January 1, 2002, may continue to live in the
strata unit.
If a strata corporation creates a new pet bylaw that restricts
the keeping of pets, pets that are legitimately living in
a strata unit prior to the filing of the pet bylaw in the
Land Title Office, may continue to live in that strata unit.
References:
Sections of the Act: 123
Sections of the Regulations: 17.11, 17.12
Standard Bylaws: 3(3), 3(4) |
