Pets in a body corporate community

Understanding the government’s stance on pet ownership is important, especially considering the stringent regulations governing body corporate, which significantly influences how it functions.

In 2022, Queensland underwent a significant legislation change, giving tenants the right to own pets. While this primarily impacted tenants and landlords, it serves as a clear indication that the government supports pet ownership for both owners and tenants, unless there is a compelling reason not to.

This is a big change from previous approaches, highlighting the societal shift towards pets as integral members of the family unit.

For owner-occupiers, this pet right was already in place within bodies corporate. While an approval process was, and still is, required, the focus has shifted from asking whether a person should be allowed to have a pet, to the mechanics of how to make that happen.

Landlords in Queensland are no longer permitted to reject pets in their properties unless, as previously mentioned, there is a compelling reason not to. The grounds for refusal are outlined in the law and are very narrow.

The Queensland Parliament passed a new bill on 15 November 2023, which strengthens the rights of pet owners, and diminishes the power of a body corporate to keep pets out of the scheme.

The new legislation will mean body corporate by-laws cannot restrict the number, type, or size of pets that can be approved by the committee or the body corporate.

These are some acceptable grounds to refuse a pet application in a body corporate scheme:

• If the pet has a dangerous animal order against it
• If it’s a banned dog breed in your local council area
• If it’s an animal, but not considered a domestic pet – so a goat, llama or pig could be refused by the body corporate.
• If there was more than a reasonable number of animals
• If it was a commercial pet operation like doggy daycare
• If the owner refused to have the pet vaccinated, microchipped or registered

As pets are now considered a right, committees can no longer make sweeping bans based on breeds, size, and potential barking issues. Refusals must be based only on the characteristics of the individual pet.

While some dogs may have a ‘reputation’ for being dangerous or aggressive, the body corporate must consider each pet application based on the characteristics of that particular animal.

Unless the dog has a) been issued with a dangerous dog notice or b) is a banned breed in your local council, the body corporate cannot reject the application based on reputation or personal bias.