Australian Capital Territory Current Acts

UNIT TITLES (MANAGEMENT) ACT 2011 - SECT 32

    (1)     A unit owner or occupier of a unit may keep an animal, or allow an animal to be kept, within the unit or the common property—

        (a)     if the animal is an assistance animal; or

        (b)     if the animal is not an assistance animal, only if—

              (i)     if the rules of the owners corporation include a pet friendly rule—the animal is kept in accordance with the pet friendly rule; or

              (ii)     the owners corporation consents to the animal being kept.

Note     Other territory laws also apply to keeping animals—for example, Animal Diseases Act 2005

, Animal Welfare Act 1992

, Nature Conservation Act 2014

and Residential Tenancies Act 1997

.

    (2)     The owners corporation may give consent under this section with or without conditions.

    (3)     The owners corporation—

        (a)     must respond to any request for consent under this section and the response must—

              (i)     be in writing; and

              (ii)     if the request is refused—give reasons for the refusal; and

              (iii)     if the consent is given subject to conditions—state the conditions; and

        (b)     may delegate its decision-making power under this section to the executive committee; and

        (c)     is taken to consent to the request if the owners corporation does not take action under paragraph (a) within 3 weeks of the day on which the request was made.

Note     The owners corporation may also delegate this power to the manager (see  s 58 (1)).

    (4)     The owners corporation may—

        (a)     only withhold consent on reasonable grounds; and

        (b)     impose reasonable conditions on the consent.

Examples—par (a)

1     unacceptable risk of damage or soiling of common property that cannot be addressed through reasonable conditions

2     unacceptable risk of nuisance to other unit owners or occupiers that cannot be addressed through reasonable conditions

3     unacceptable risk of the animal escaping the unit unsupervised that cannot be addressed through reasonable conditions

4     unacceptable risk to health or safety of other unit owners or occupiers or the general public that cannot be addressed through reasonable conditions

5     keeping the animal on the units plan would be contrary to a territory law

Examples—par (b)

1     requiring supervision of the animal when the animal is on the common property

2     requiring cleaning of any areas of the units plan that are soiled by the animal

3     requiring the unit to be secured to prevent the escape of the animal

    (5)     In this section:

"animal" includes—

        (a)     an amphibian; and

        (b)     a bird; and

        (c)     a fish; and

        (d)     a mammal (other than a human being); and

        (e)     a reptile.

"occupier" includes a person who has entered into a residential tenancy agreement in relation to the unit even if—

        (a)     the residential tenancy agreement has not yet started; or

        (b)     the person has not yet taken possession of the unit; or

        (c)     the person has not yet obtained any required consent from the lessor to keep an animal in the unit under the Residential Tenancies Act 1997

.