Question: A lot owner in our small scheme short term lets. Their renters are encouraged to bring pets. This has created mess around the exterior of the building. How do we stop this?
One owner in our eight unit building has not declared they are short-term letting their lot via Airbnb. Short-term renters stay for around five days.
On their Airbnb listing, the unit is advertised as ‘pet friendly’ and guests are encouraged to bring their furry friends with them for their stay. Guests have been taking their pets out the front of the building to ‘do their business’. This has resulted in a very unpleasant smell and mess at the entrance to our building.
How do we address these problems?
Answer: Model rules are applicable to short stay residents.
Short stay accommodation platforms such as Airbnb and Stayz have been a contentious issue for owners corporations.
When the Owners Corporation Act was amended Part 10 Division 1A – Complaints and procedures—short-stay accommodation arrangements was added.
In summary, this section deals with complaints and procedures regarding short stay accommodation.
It should also be noted, the model rules are applicable to short stay residents.
In this case, Model Rule 4.1 applies:
- If the owners corporation has resolved that an animal is a danger or is causing a nuisance to the common property, it must give reasonable notice of this resolution to the owner or occupier who is keeping the animal.
- An owner or occupier of a lot who is keeping an animal that is the subject of a notice under subrule (4) must remove that animal.
- Subrules (4) and (5) do not apply to an animal that assists a person with an impairment or disability.
This post appears in Strata News #648.
Ingrid Goldenfein
OccamStrata
E: ingrid.goldenfein@occamStrata.com
P: 03 7042 5659
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