Pets in strata in WA, and why “no pets” is usually wrong

A buyer falls in love with a villa, then someone tells them the scheme does not allow pets and the whole thing stops there. It is one of the most common reasons a good sale falls over in strata, and most of the time the advice is wrong.

This article sets out where the law actually sits in Western Australia, based on legal advice we obtained in July 2026.

A by-law cannot be oppressive

Since the Strata Titles Amendment Act 2018, a by-law must not be oppressive or unreasonable. That sounds like a soft standard until you look at how it has been applied, because a blanket ban on pets is the textbook example of a by-law that fails it.

As a general rule, dogs and cats under 10 kilograms are permitted. That figure is not written into the Act. It is the practical line that has emerged from how the oppression test gets applied, and it is the number a strata company would have to argue against rather than the number an owner has to argue for.

The case that changed the conversation

In October 2020 the New South Wales Court of Appeal decided Cooper v The Owners, Strata Plan No 58068. The scheme had a by-law banning animals outright. The court held it was harsh, unconscionable and oppressive, and therefore invalid.

That decision does not bind a Western Australian strata company, because it is a New South Wales case decided under New South Wales legislation. But it has informed the way blanket bans are viewed in other jurisdictions, including ours, and a strata company here relying on an outright prohibition is standing on ground that has already given way somewhere else.

House rules are not by-laws

This one is worth knowing because it comes up constantly. Many schemes circulate a document called house rules, and it will often say something firm about animals.

House rules are guidelines. Only registered by-laws, the governance and conduct by-laws recorded against the scheme, carry legal weight. And even a registered by-law only carries weight if it is not harsh, unconscionable or oppressive.

So if someone tells you the rules say no pets, the first question is whether they are pointing at a registered by-law or at a laminated sheet in the foyer. There is more on how by-laws are made and changed in changing a strata by-law in WA.

What the standard by-laws actually say

Schedule 2, by-law 12(c) provides that a resident must not keep an animal on their lot or the common property after being given notice by the strata council.

Read that carefully, because the drafting gives the game away. It does not prohibit animals. It contemplates that an animal is there and sets out a process for requiring it to go. Which means pets are permitted, and a pet can only be removed for a valid reason.

What you have to do in return

An approval is not a free hand. Once the pet is registered with the strata management company, the owner has to keep it under control, which means on a leash on common property, keep the noise under control, and make sure there are no health and safety concerns. A dog that barks all day or gets loose in the car park is a different conversation, and that is the conversation by-law 12(c) is built for.

Pets and a fenced courtyard

This is where it gets useful for villas and ground floor units.

Section 43 of the Act allows by-laws that confer exclusive use or special privileges over common property. For a rear courtyard, that can include fencing the area off for the occupier’s own use and privacy. An exclusive use area gives a specific owner sole permission over a designated part of the common property.

The sensible reading is that approval of a pet should extend to that exclusive use area, and that the question of how the pet will be housed sits inside that approval rather than outside it.

Where a courtyard is fenced and cannot be seen from the common areas, an owner can generally add the practical things a pet needs without going back to the strata council, such as a cat litter tray or a dog kennel. A larger structure is a different matter and may need local council approval, so check before you build rather than after.

One caution that applies to all of this: whether a courtyard really is an exclusive use area is a question of the registered by-laws, not the fence. A courtyard marked “for the use of” a lot on the plan, with no by-law behind it, is still common property.

If you are buying with a pet

• Ask for the registered by-laws, not the house rules, and read what they say about animals
• Check whether any pet by-law is a blanket ban, because a blanket ban is the kind most vulnerable to the oppression test
• Check whether the courtyard is exclusive use under a registered by-law, or just fenced
• Ask whether the strata company has a registration process for pets, and start it early
• If the answer you get is no, ask which by-law it comes from before you walk away

Every property we take to market goes out with the by-laws in the information pack, so a buyer with a dog can check this before making an offer rather than finding out afterwards.

The short version

• A by-law must not be oppressive or unreasonable, and a blanket ban on pets is the classic example of one that is
• As a general rule, dogs and cats under 10 kilograms are permitted
• The Cooper decision in New South Wales struck down an outright ban as harsh, unconscionable and oppressive, and has influenced thinking here
• House rules are guidelines only. Registered by-laws are what count
• Schedule 2 by-law 12(c) assumes pets are allowed and sets out a process for requiring one to go
• Register the pet, keep it controlled and quiet, and there are no health and safety issues
• In a fenced exclusive use courtyard you can generally add a kennel or a litter tray without approval, and larger structures may need council approval

This article is general information based on legal advice obtained by KPR Perth in July 2026 about the Strata Titles Act 1985 (WA). It is not legal advice and it is not a substitute for reading your own scheme’s registered by-laws. If a pet by-law is affecting a sale or a tenancy, get advice on your particular scheme.