McGregor v The Owners – Strata Plan No 74896 [2021] NSWCATCD 1

Civil and Administrative Tribunal New South Wales Medium Neutral Citation: McGregor v The Owners – Strata Plan No 74896 [2021] NSWCATCD 1 Hearing dates: 3 February 2021 Date of orders: 1 March 2021 Decision date: 01 March 2021 Jurisdiction: Consumer and Commercial Division Before: R C Titterton OAM, Senior Member Decision: The application is dismissed. Catchwords: LANDLORD -STRATA TITLE -STRATA SCHEMES MANAGEMENT ACT 2015, ss150, 157 Legislation Cited: Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2013 Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW) Strata Schemes Management Amendment (Sustainability Infrastructure) Act 2021 Strata Schemes Management Regulation 2016 (NSW) Cases Cited: Cooper v Strata Plan No 58060 [2020] NSWCA 250 R v The War Pensions Entitlement Appeals Tribunal; Ex parte Bott (1933) 50 CLR 228. Texts Cited: Judicial Review of Administrative Action (5th Ed) Category: Principal judgment Parties: Applicants: Scott McGregor and Bernadette Eichner Respondent: The Owners – Strata Plan No 74896 Representation: Applicants: Self-represented Respondent: D Armenrtas, Solicitor File Number(s): SC 20/21649 Publication restriction: Nil

REASONS FOR DECISION

Introduction 1. The applicants, Mr Scott McGregor and his partner Ms Bernadette Eichner (the Applicants) seek an order allowing them to keep their pet dog "Jimmy" on their lot. They say that Jimmy, who is a 12 year old miniature fox terrier, is a very quiet and well-trained dog. He weighs 4kgs, and has no history of noisy, aggressive or anti-social behaviour. The Applicants' property is in the Altro building which forms part of the City Quarter Complex in Camperdown. The Applicants say that they have observed other dogs living in the City Quarter Complex. They also say that the Altro by-laws are not consistent with the Model By-Laws set out in the Strata Schemes Management Regulation 2016 (SSM Regulation) or with community standards. 2. Accordingly, the Applicants seek an order pursuant to s 157 of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW) (SSMA) allowing them to keep Jimmy on their lot. 3. The application is opposed by the respondent, the Owners – SP 74896 (the Owners) for a number of reasons. They say, in effect, that the application is misconceived, and deny that other dogs live in the City Quarter Complex. The Owners also say that since the registration of the strata scheme and Community Association DP 270241 (of which the strata scheme SP 74896 forms part), dogs have not been permitted to be kept in apartments within the City Quarter Complex. 4. For the following reasons, the application is dismissed.