CONTROLLING PETS, P.3

Besides implementing fees, boards must make decisions as to what type of policies makes sense for their shareholders, relating to the size, number, and use of common areas by pet owners that form the bulk of the regulations. In the various policies we have crafted for our clients, the general framework consists of size limitations on dogs so that the animals allowed in are of appropriate size for apartments. Size limitations are present both in federal housing guidelines as well as those of New York City.

The policy also must set forth clearly the use of common areas regarding the presence of pets entering and leaving apartments. Rules limiting the use of a specific elevator, a specific entrance and prohibiting dogs from common areas such as laundry rooms and community rooms are common.

Another major issue is regulating the use of terraces by dogs in the cooperatives. For large co-ops, the issue to public grounds also requires regulation as to use and behavior of dogs.

The presence of a dog policy is beneficial in that it sets forth a clear set of rules governing pet ownership that is helpful when nuisance issues must be litigated. Further, the dog policy provides clear guidelines both to shareholders and to management when dealing with dog issues.

Implementing dog policies at cooperatives is a comparably recent development and therefore a number of legal issues have yet to be fully litigated and resolved. However, as it is becoming more difficult and expensive for co-ops to completely prohibit the presence of dogs, we believe that a reasonable pet policy, consistently enforced, is an important and useful tool for cooperative boards.

Attorney Dean M. Roberts is a partner at Norris McLaughlin & Marcus

Adapted from Habitat November 2009. For the complete article and more, join our Archive >>