Condo and strata pet rules: when your landlord is not the last word

A lot of pet refusals begin with the words the building doesn’t allow it. Sometimes that is a way of saying no. Sometimes it is exactly true, and the landlord you are asking is not the person who decides. This guide is about telling the two apart.

A condo unit, or a strata lot in British Columbia, is owned by one person but sits inside a corporation with governing documents of its own. When you rent the unit, those documents apply to you, and your lease cannot switch them off.

Ontario: the declaration, the bylaws and the rules

An Ontario condominium has a declaration, bylaws and rules. The declaration can restrict how units are used, and the board can make rules, which must be reasonable. Pet restrictions can appear in any of the three. The Condominium Act requires owners and occupiers alike to comply with all of them, and an owner must take reasonable steps to make sure their tenant does.

This is the main exception to Ontario’s rule on pets. Section 14 of the Residential Tenancies Act voids a no-pets provision in a tenancy agreement, and a condo declaration is not a tenancy agreement. Steps to Justice, Ontario’s public legal information service, says condos can make their own rules about pets and that tenants must follow them. If you keep a pet in a building whose documents prohibit it, the condo corporation can require you to comply, and disputes about pet provisions, including disputes with occupiers, can go to the Condominium Authority Tribunal. What section 14 does and does not do.

The owner must give you copies of the declaration, bylaws and rules within ten days of the lease being signed. Ask for them before you sign instead.

British Columbia: bylaws, rules and Form K

A strata corporation’s bylaws are the Standard Bylaws set out in the Strata Property Act, unless it has filed different ones. The standard pet bylaw allows a reasonable number of fish or other small aquarium animals, a reasonable number of small caged mammals, up to two caged birds, and one dog or one cat. Many stratas have filed their own bylaws, stricter or looser, so the only way to know is to read them.

Before renting you a strata lot, a landlord must give you the current bylaws and rules and a Notice of Tenant’s Responsibilities, known as Form K. If they do not, you are still bound by the bylaws, but you may end the tenancy without penalty within 90 days of finding out, and the landlord must pay your reasonable moving expenses up to one month’s rent.

A strata can fine a tenant directly for breaking a bylaw, and can collect the fine from the tenant, the landlord or the owner. If the landlord pays it, you owe the landlord.

Two protections are written into the Act:

• A bylaw prohibiting pets does not apply to a pet that was already living lawfully with an owner, tenant or occupant when the bylaw was passed, for as long as that pet continues to live with them.
• A bylaw that prohibits pets, or restricts their access to a strata lot or common property, does not apply to a certified guide dog or service dog.

Most strata disputes are dealt with by the Civil Resolution Tribunal.

Alberta: a condition of the tenancy

Alberta’s Condominium Property Act makes it a condition of every tenancy of a condo unit, whatever the tenancy agreement says, that the people living there do not break the bylaws. If they do, the corporation can serve you and your landlord with a notice to give up possession, and the tenancy ends on the last day of the month after the month the notice was served. If you do not leave, the corporation or the landlord can apply to court for an order.

The Centre for Public Legal Education Alberta puts it plainly: the agreement between you and your landlord is not binding on the condo board. A lease that says your dog is welcome does not protect you from a bylaw that limits the size of dogs.

Manitoba and Nova Scotia

Both provinces have condominium laws of their own, which this guide does not set out. The safe assumption is the same as everywhere else: the building’s documents can matter as much as the lease, so read them before you sign, and ask the province’s tenancy office if anything is unclear.

Before you sign

Three questions, asked of the landlord or property manager in writing:

1. Is the unit in a condo or strata building?
2. Can I see the declaration, bylaws and rules, and which parts deal with pets?
3. Does the building require pets to be registered or approved, and who does that?

If the building needs to approve the animal, offer the same one-page pet resume you would give a landlord. If the bylaws ban pets outright, believe them and keep looking. More questions worth asking before you sign.

The city pages for Toronto and Vancouver have local notes.

Where our certificate fits

It doesn’t. A condo board or strata council is under no obligation to accept a certificate from a private register, ours included. Ours says on its face that it confers no public access rights and is not a guide dog or service dog certificate under any provincial law. What moves a board is a clear pet resume and a reasonable conversation. If you would like a keepsake record of your animal anyway, that is what we sell.