Cats, Dogs and Bodies Corporate – Adjusting the Balance Between the Right to Animal Ownership and the Powers of Bodies Corporate

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Abstract

Conflicts between animal owners and bodies corporate are a notorious feature of communal living and have generated a significant body of case law. The power that bodies corporate have over animal ownership varies widely between Australian jurisdictions. In some, animal ownership is given statutory protection, whereas in others the rights of unit owners are wholly determined by bodies corporate. A new issue that affects what unit owners may do with their property is the increasing trend towards the enactment by local governments of animal containment measures– a development that puts unit owners in the position of having to navigate the conflicting demands of containment legislation on the one hand and body corporate prohibitions on alterations to the external appearance of lots on the other. This paper argues that the wide by-law making power enjoyed by bodies corporate has undermined the common law principle that an owner is free to use and enjoy their property as they see fit subject to the equal rights of other property owners, and that a re-balancing of the law is necessary. The paper ends by offering model statutory provisions that could be used to reform this area of the law.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)25-45
Number of pages20
JournalJames Cook University Law Review
Volume30
Publication statusPublished - 2024

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