001-CONDO OWNER DISGUSTED WITH PET SOILING!
Condo Talk
by Kay Senay
CONDO OWNER DISGUSTED WITH PET SOILING!
J.B. (New York) asks: “Kay, I live in a condominium that allows pets and both of my neighbors have dogs. They are constantly making messes in my front yard and I’m the one cleaning them up! What can I do?”
Dear J.B.: Pets are frequently at the top of the list of problems in a condominium. Pets can be lovely companions, but they are not always welcome in the confines of a condominium property. Sometimes the residents don’t read the condo’s Declaration and Rules or they may disregard them.
How can the condominium’s governing documents help?
- Check the Condominium’s Declaration---Usually there is a section on pets. It should tell you which animals are permitted and which are not. It may also state weight restrictions and how many pets are permitted in each condo unit.
- Check the Condominium’s Amendments---The restrictions in the Declaration can be changed by Declaration Amendments. If there is a Pet Amendment, it may nullify or change some portion of the original Declaration.
- Check the Condominium’s Rules---Rules add details to the restrictions in the condominium’s Declaration and Amendments. For example, the Declaration may not address the issue of pet soiling at all, but the Rules may state that owners must immediately clean up after their pets. Other examples could be the requirements for walking pets, the repair of pet damage, and pet housing.
- When reading these condominium documents, you may discover that there are rules about pet soiling and the board of directors is not enforcing them.
- If you are buying a condominium unit, read these documents very carefully. The seller might not have a pet and may say pets are allowed, without really knowing for sure!
You can take action!
- Keep a log of all the nuisance occurrences, including date, time, which resident’s pet did the problem, and the nature of the problem. Note that you must know the address of the unit in which the dog lives; if you don’t include that in your log, the board and/or management company will have no idea who is committing the violation.
- Report each occurrence to your condo’s management company or the board of directors. Be sure a copy of your log is included.
- Check local codes; there may be an ordinance about pets. The government entity may be able to solve your problem without involving the condominium’s managing agent or the board.
- Ask the condo’s board of directors to create a rule about pet soiling, if one doesn’t exist.
- If a rule does exist, ask the board to consistently enforce it.
The condominium board of directors can take action!
- Your board may have the authority to approve or disapprove pets.
- There may be a restriction in the condominium’s Declaration that certain types of pets are not allowed.
- Based on the written complaints of residents, the board may send letters to or institute fines against the violating unit owners.
- The condominium’s board of directors can initiate an Amendment to the Declaration that would ban pets or a specific type of pet. The proposed Amendment would need to be approved by the owners and filed at the appropriate government records office.
Most Declarations give the board the authority to have a pet permanently removed from the condominium property if it is determined to be dangerous or the pet’s owner continues to disobey the pet restrictions and rules.
Kay Senay is the author of CONDO BUYING & OWNERSHIP MADE SIMPLE: TIPS TO SAVE TIME & MONEY. Visit her website at www.condo-condominium.com for FREE TIP SHEETS. Send your questions and stories to Kay at condotalk07@yahoo.com.
Copyright Kay Senay 2008
