High Court Rules JMBs Cannot Blanket Ban Pets In Private Residential Units
The court ruled in favour of a woman who challenged her condo JMB's ban on keeping her three cats.
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The Shah Alam High Court ruled on Friday, 30 October, that joint management bodies (JMBs) cannot impose a blanket ban on pet ownership in private residential units through condominium house rules
In a statement, lawyers Rajesh Nagarajan and Sachpreetraj Singh Sohanpal, who represented former national hurdler Noraseela Mohd Khalid, said the court made the decision after partially allowing her application against the JMB of Shang Villa Condominium in Petaling Jaya.
According to Bernama, the court ruled that one of the condominium's house rules could not be used to prevent Noraseela from keeping her three cats in her unit, as their presence alone did not constitute a violation.
Any enforcement action must instead comply with By-law 14 of the Strata Management (Maintenance and Management) Regulations 2015 and be supported by evidence, the lawyers said.
"The court decided that there is no blanket prohibition. House Rule 9.0 cannot be used to prohibit or penalise Ms Noraseela merely for keeping her three cats. Enforcement must be evidence-based.
"There must be a factual basis connecting the particular animal to an alleged nuisance, danger, or other prohibited circumstance," the statement read.
The court also found that general complaints about animals were insufficient, as the evidence presented did not establish that Noraseela's cats were responsible for the incidents raised by the JMB
The lawyers added that a neighbour's evidence supported Noraseela's account that her cats were properly cared for, while veterinary certificates indicated that the animals were in good health.
The court also declared certain provisions under House Rule 9.0 invalid and unenforceable. These provisions allowed pets to be removed from common property without referring to their owners and exempted the management from liability for any resulting losses.
"This judgment confirms that a JMB is not above the law. House rules cannot be used to circumvent statutory safeguards or to create powers the legislation does not confer.
"The law regulates irresponsible conduct. It does not authorise discrimination against responsible pet owners.
"Legitimate complaints about animals must be addressed, and this decision does not stand in the way of that. But management must act on evidence, not on a presumption that every pet is a nuisance," the lawyers said.
