Condominium Pet Restrictions - Watch Your Step!

Robert Burrell

Imagine that your pet dog, your best friend and most loyal companion, has died. Feeling lonely, you decide to adopt a new puppy. A common, everyday occurrence. Hardly the type of thing that could lead to any contentious issues; right? Well, think again if you currently live in or thinking about moving to a condominium.

As anyone who has ever lived in a condominium knows, when you purchased your unit you became subject to lots of rules. You also became a member of an owners' association, which has the ability and power to impose additional restrictions on the rights of the individual unit owners. To avoid any potential problems, including the possible heart-breaking experience of having to give up your new pet, you would be well-advised to review your condominium documents for any restrictions regarding pets before you adopt the puppy.

PET BAN IN DECLARATION

Perhaps the best place to begin is with your condominium's declaration. The declaration is the document that creates the condominium. Besides spelling out various matters pertaining to the establishment of the condominium, the declaration also contains, among other things, various provisions restricting you from using your unit as you please.

Because the declaration is recorded, each purchaser is deemed to know of and accept everything contained in the declaration, including any pet restrictions.

In keeping with our above scenario, if you moved into a condominium after your dog died and if the declaration prohibits pet altogether, you would have little chance of keeping your new pet. Other than trying to keep your neighbors from finding out about your pet, your best hope would be trying to prove that the restriction has been selectively enforced. An association enforcing a no-pet restriction against owners of dogs but not against owners of cats is an example of such selective enforcement.

REASONABLE RULES ?

Now lets change the scenario to illustrate another common fact pattern. You and your former pet lived in your condominium for years. At the time you purchased the apartment, the declaration did not ban pets and there were no other rules or regulations prohibiting the keeping of pets.

However, sometime after you moved in, the association adopted a rule allowing you to keep your current pet but prohibiting you from either replacing the pet upon death or adopting additional pets. Can they do that?

Florida courts have determined that an owners' association may adopt rules restricting an owners use of his or her unit, including restrictions on keeping pets, as long as the rule is reasonably related to the happiness and peace of mind of the majority of the unit owners, who must live in close proximity. Such rules prohibiting the replacement of pets have been found to be reasonable unless the association tries to retroactively apply the rule against an owner who acquired his or her pet before the effective date of the rule.

HARD TO GET AROUND

Anyone currently living in or thinking about buying a condominium unit should thoroughly review all of the rules governing the condominium before adopting a pet. Rules restricting pet ownership found in the declaration of condominium are generally enforced by courts because owners are expected to have read the restrictions before purchasing their units. Rules adopted by the owners' association are also generally enforced as long as they are reasonable. However, depending on the circumstances, an owner may be able to successfully challenge a pet restriction.

Robert Burrell is a former pet store owner and an attorney with an office located in Indian Shores.