Calling for the End of Blanket Pet Bans in New South Wales Strata Schemes
Petitioner:
Ms Johanna Cooper
| Member:
Leong, Jenny
| No. of Signatories:
17,182
| Date closed:
04/11/2020
To the Speaker and Members of the Legislative Assembly, pets play a crucial role in many people’s lives. They offer vital companionship, have well-documented mental and physical health benefits, and are increasingly recognised as part of the family. Accordingly, every Australian State and Territory now has some form of protection for pet ownership in strata – except for NSW, the most densely-populated State with the greatest proportion of people living in strata. This not only negatively impacts people currently in NSW strata schemes, but also the many more pet-owners wanting to move to strata living like older Australians looking to downsize, those whose financial circumstances have changed and those looking to get a foot in the door of the housing market or preferring the convenience of apartment living.
It is difficult for pet-lovers to overturn blanket pet bans in strata as it only takes a small minority – 25% – of voting owners to object for the by-law to remain. This minority should not be able to dictate to the rest what their family unit should look like, nor deny them the benefits and pleasures of pet ownership. It is high time NSW caught up with the rest of Australia.
We therefore request that the SSMA (2015) be amended to allow the keeping of pets in ALL Strata Schemes and invalidate retrospectively any by-law that prohibits the keeping of pets.
