Strata & Building Management
Can your condo ban pets? The by-law, the local authority and where they collide
The prescribed by-laws do not ban pets outright. Paragraph 14(1) of Part 3 of the Third Schedule prohibits keeping an animal that may cause annoyance or nuisance, is dangerous to safety or health, or contravenes written law or local authority rules. A scheme may go further only through an additional by-law under s.32(3)(c) or s.70(2)(c).
Quick summary
Quick answer
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Buyer action
| Best for | Residents in a neighbour dispute, and buyers weighing high-rise living against landed on quality-of-life grounds. |
|---|---|
| Risk level | Low-Medium |
| Buyer action | Send Lewis your building name, the charge you pay and what you are trying to decide, and he will tell you what to check first. |
Living close together
What follows takes apart local authority by-laws and the scheme's own by-laws are separate sources of restriction, and they do not always agree. Every strata scheme starts with a prescribed set of by-laws, and most disputes are already answered inside them.
What the prescribed by-law actually says
Paragraph 14(1) of Part 3 of the Third Schedule to the 2015 Regulations does not prohibit pets as a category. It provides that a proprietor shall not keep any particular animal in their parcel or on the common property that may cause annoyance or nuisance, or is dangerous to safety or health, or contravenes any written law or local authority rules. Read the wording: the test attaches to a particular animal and its effect, not to the species. A quiet, contained animal that causes no nuisance is not caught by paragraph 14(1) at all.
Where a stricter rule would have to come from
A scheme that wants a blanket restriction has to make an additional by-law. Sections 32(3)(c) for a joint management body and 70(2)(c) for a management corporation expressly list the keeping of pets among the subjects an additional by-law may regulate or restrict. That is a real power — but it must be exercised the way the Act requires, by special resolution at a general meeting with at least twenty-one days' notice and not less than three-quarters of the valid votes cast. A no-pets notice on the lift wall is not an additional by-law.
Local authority rules sit on top of both
Paragraph 14(1) itself refers to contravening any written law or local authority rules, which means the local council's position is imported into the by-law. Councils differ, and some have taken restrictive positions on keeping certain animals in high-rise units. So there are three questions, not one: does the animal cause annoyance, nuisance or danger; has the scheme passed an additional by-law under s.32(3)(c) or s.70(2)(c); and what do the local authority rules say. A pet owner needs all three answers before assuming a building is workable.
Verify this against your own building
Get a copy of your scheme's additional by-laws and the resolution that passed them. A rule that cannot be traced to a properly passed resolution is a request, not an obligation.
Buyer checklist
Two layers. The prescribed by-law, paragraph 14(1) of Part 3, is conduct-based: it bars a particular animal that may cause annoyance or nuisance, is dangerous to safety or health, or contravenes any written law or local authority rules. Separately, ss.32(3)(c) and 70(2)(c) let a scheme make an additional by-law regulating or restricting the keeping of pets — but that needs a special resolution, and local authority rules apply on top of both.
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| 1 | Ask for the scheme's additional by-laws in writing before you buy or move in with a pet. |
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| 2 | Check whether any pet restriction was passed by special resolution under s.32(3)(c) or s.70(2)(c). |
| 3 | Read paragraph 14(1) of Part 3 — the prescribed test is annoyance, nuisance, danger, or breach of written law or local authority rules. |
| 4 | Check the local authority's own position separately; paragraph 14(1) imports it. |
| 5 | Do not treat a notice board announcement as a by-law. |
Common questions
Do the prescribed by-laws ban pets?
No. Paragraph 14(1) of Part 3 of the Third Schedule bars keeping any particular animal that may cause annoyance or nuisance, is dangerous to safety or health, or contravenes written law or local authority rules.
Can our building pass a no-pets rule?
It can regulate or restrict the keeping of pets by additional by-law under s.32(3)(c) for a JMB or s.70(2)(c) for an MC — made by special resolution at a general meeting.
Management put up a no-pets notice. Is that binding?
A notice is not an additional by-law. Ask for the by-law and the special resolution that passed it.
Does the local council matter?
Yes. Paragraph 14(1) itself refers to contravening any written law or local authority rules, so the council's position is imported into the prescribed by-law.
Lewis Chong
REN 69566 · IQI GlobalProperty advisor helping KL, JB, and Penang buyers make data-backed property decisions.
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Lewis Conclusion
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Ask for the scheme's additional by-laws in writing before you buy or move in with a pet.
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Check whether any pet restriction was passed by special resolution under s.32(3)(c) or s.70(2)(c).
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Read paragraph 14(1) of Part 3 — the prescribed test is annoyance, nuisance, danger, or breach of written law or local authority rules.
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Check the local authority's own position separately; paragraph 14(1) imports it.