WE have all heard horror stories about pets being given up for adoption or abandoned simply because the owner was moving to a high-rise property that does not allow pets.
This has led to many pet owners resorting to smuggling their beloved furkids in and hoping that their neighbours do not find out.
But here is a bit of good news for all pet lovers in high-rise properties. According to PropertyGuru, it might actually be legal to keep your pet with you in your condo.
Note that the keyword here, however, is ‘might’.
High-rise properties like condominiums and apartments fall under Strata type properties, and regulations for Strata properties are much more comprehensive, since everyone shares common facilities such as swimming pools.
And under By-Law 14 in the Third Schedule of the Strata Management (Maintenance & Management) Regulations 2015, nowhere is it explicitly stated that pets are not allowed in Strata properties.
Rather, it is only during these three situations where a pet would not be allowed:
- The pet causes annoyance or nuisance to other residents;
- The pet is dangerous to the safety and health of other residents; and
- The pet breaches state or local authority rules and regulation.
But how do you define an ‘annoyance or nuisance’?
According to PropertyGuru, this is simply defined as something which ‘interferes with a person’s reasonable use and enjoyment of his or her land’.
Bear in mind that if your pet were to start becoming a real nuisance, you could be fined up to RM1,000 and jailed not more than six months under the Local Government Act 1976.
Meanwhile, the second point is rather self-explanatory: no injury or harm must come to anyone else because of your furkid.
If this happens, be prepared to be slapped with fines, with Section 289 of the Penal Code explaining that punishment may come in the form of either imprisonment of up to six months, a fine of up to RM2,000, or both.
As for the third point, it is perhaps important to point out here that each state or local council may have different rules and regulations.
The Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ), for example, says that dogs are only allowed on the ground floor of a high-rise building.
As for the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL), only nine species of dogs are allowed in high-rise stratified homes: Bichon Frise, Chihuahua, Japanese Chin, Maltese, Minature Pinscher, Papilon, Pekingese, Pomeranian and Poodle.
But here is another conundrum: According to the local council’s rules, you should be allowed to live with your furkids in your new condo unit, but what if your building management is strongly against it? Who do you listen to?
In a previous interview with FocusM, National House Buyers Association of Malaysia (HBA) honorary secretary-general Datuk Chang Kim Loong revealed that it is ultimately the local authorities that would decide whether a person can be allowed to keep a dog or not.
“If a building’s management says dogs are not allowed to be kept as pets in a certain condo even through the local council allows it, then that building management’s rules don’t hold water,” Chang pointed out.
Similarly, he added, if a local authority does not permit dogs to be kept in high-rise buildings and an owner continues to keep the dog (and the building’s management allows it) then the owner of the dog would be breaking the law and action could be taken against him or her. – Aug 12, 2021.
