Property owners will only be able to refuse a pet on specified “reasonable grounds” and an application to a tribunal.<\/p>\n
A strata title is a type of property ownership commonly used for apartments or units, where individuals own their own unit, but share ownership of common areas through a body corporate.<\/p>\n
The tribunal said that while the new laws establish a presumption that tenants have a right to keep pets, that presumption is subject to other laws that prevent the keeping of a pet, including strata by-laws.<\/p>\n
The case<\/p>\n
The one-bedroom unit at the centre of the case is part of a four-unit strata complex.<\/p>\n
The complex’s strata by-laws state that an animal cannot be brought onto or kept in a unit without the written approval of the body corporate.<\/p>\n
The tenant applied for permission to keep Periwinkle, but the request was refused by the strata manager acting on behalf of the body corporate.<\/p>\n
The landlord then refused to provide written consent, and referred the case to the tribunal to determine if the refusal was reasonable.<\/p>\n
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The complex’s strata by-laws state that an animal cannot be brought onto or kept in a unit without the written approval of the body corporate. (ABC News: Keana Naughton)<\/p>\n
The ruling<\/p>\n
The ruling said the landlord did not want a kitten kept in the unit, and that they would have refused consent even if by-laws didn’t restrict the keeping of pets.<\/p>\n
The landlord cited concerns about the kitten’s safety, saying the unit was close to nearby traffic and had no outdoor area.<\/p>\n
But TASCAT deputy president Richard Grueber said those concerns were not supported by evidence, describing them as “entirely speculative.”<\/p>\n
He also noted the tenant intended to keep Periwinkle indoors.<\/p>\n
“If those were the only issues I would find that the refusal of consent was unreasonable and that the respondent may keep Periwinkle in the premises,” he wrote.<\/p>\n
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When the new laws came into effect, the government said it had “got the balance right” between the rights of tenants and landlords. (Unsplash<\/a>: Piotr Musio\u0142<\/a>)<\/p>\n Instead, the decisive issue was the body corporate’s decision to refuse the tenant’s request under the strata by-laws.<\/p>\n The tribunal found that even if the landlord approved the request to keep an animal on the premises, it would have “no practical effect” because the body corporate had denied permission.<\/p>\n “The refusal by the applicant is consistent with the lawful position of the body corporate,” Mr Grueber wrote.<\/p>\n “I am satisfied that the refusal by the applicant on that basis was a reasonable refusal.”<\/p>\n Union says it warned government about this outcome<\/p>\n Acting principal solicitor at the Tenants’ Union of Tasmania, Alex Bomford, said he wasn’t surprised by the tribunal’s ruling.<\/p>\n He said the union warned the government about the potential of this outcome when it was consulting with the public about the new laws.<\/p>\n “We think that people living in apartments and units should also have a right to a pet \u2026 and should not be at the unfettered discretion of the body corporate,”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n he said. Alex Bomford says people living in apartments and units should also have a right to a pet. (ABC News)<\/p>\n “We think that the Strata Titles Act needs to be amended to provide that strata rules cannot uniformly or blanketly oppose consent for pets.<\/p>\n “There needs to be a similar process to what there is under the tenancy act, where if an owner occupier of a strata title unit or a tenant \u2026 wants to get a pet, they can ask for it, and then TASCAT or some other decision maker needs to have oversight of whether the refusal is reasonable.”<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/90d9437dde04c6f1a998011825766f1f.jpeg\")
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