Commenting on the issue of dogs in condominiums, HBA Honorary Secretary-General Chang Kim Loong said different local councils had different laws on keeping dogs in high-rise buildings.
Therefore, these laws of local authorities would decide whether a person was allowed to keep a dog or not.
“If a building’s management says that dogs are not allowed to be kept as pets in a certain condo, even though the local council allows it, then that building management’s rules don’t hold water.
“It is just like how some condos pass racially-discriminatory rules and regulations forbidding homeowners from renting out their units to Africans. This cannot be enforced.”
Chang also noted that local authority laws must also be adhered to in condos which allowed dogs to be kept.
He said if a local authority did not permit dogs to be kept in high-rise buildings, and a person kept a dog even though the building’s management allowed it, then the owner of the dog would be breaking the law and action could be taken against him.
Chang pointed out that homeowners or management bodies of strata-titled properties, who felt aggrieved by rules laid out by their joint management body (JMB) or management corporations (MC), could plead their case to the Housing and Strata Management Tribunal (TPPS).
The TPPS is based in the urban wellbeing, housing and local government ministry headquarters in Putrajaya.
A check by FMT on the websites of some local authorities revealed different rulings on the matter of keeping dogs.
Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) allows only nine specific small dog breeds to be kept in high-rise buildings on the condition that the building’s JMB and MC allowed it.
The Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) and Ampang Jaya Municipal Council (MPAJ) do not allow dogs to be kept above the ground floor of a high-rise building.
A check with the Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ) revealed that the council did not allow dogs to be kept in high-rise buildings.
Earlier today, PetFinder.my quoted lawyer Pretam Singh as saying that there was no law to bar residents from keeping pets in strata-titled properties, including condos and apartments.
Pretam had said that pet owners were legally entitled to keep their pets in their respective condos, unless there was a local authority law specifically prohibiting it.