Being on the body corporate of my block of flats has been a real learning experience. I am quite happy that in the two years since I've been in this building, I have managed to move for the terrified recipient of nasty notices about various unauthorized (and usually accidental!) transgressions, to being part of a largely amicable community of people trying to find the best ways of living together. So far, our biggest conundrum has been parking (which, being without a car, I may have a problematically unusual perspective on), but that's a post for a different day.
Todays dilemma is about pets - familiar territory for many people in flats, I'm sure. The general building policy is that dogs are not allowed in the building, and that owners may have one cat. However, in a particular case of rule jiggering, a new owner has just arrived with two small dogs. They are cute, and nobody seems inclined to boot them out. However, a request has come in for two more dogs in the same unit (both of which, we are led to understand, are very small and quiet). This led to research on pet ownership bylaws, and the discovery that only two dogs per 'dwelling unit' are technically allowed by the City of Johannesburg. I can only assume this is not widely enforced, and I would further imagine there are cases in which that's more restrictive than it needs to be; but there you have it, only two dogs without a permit. In the case of our block of flats, it makes sense - units are pretty small, and don't have gardens.
The matter gets more personal, however, since I recently lost custody of my cat, and am in the market for a new pet. I'm trying to make the decision based on as many factors as possible - new baby on the way, its Dad is a dog person, time and presence at home, flat rules, etc. I haven't gotten beyond the thinking phase yet, but candidates include a cat, small dog, chinchilla, and little pig. The little pig option has gotten me to explore more city bylaws around animal ownership. It seems as though the bylaws applying to pets that are not cats and dogs are in the health and safety regulations. These are geared to people raising animals as a larger scale enterprise......Which means as far as I can tell, you can only keep 2 dogs in a flat, but up to 9 chickens!! Hmm.....
Todays dilemma is about pets - familiar territory for many people in flats, I'm sure. The general building policy is that dogs are not allowed in the building, and that owners may have one cat. However, in a particular case of rule jiggering, a new owner has just arrived with two small dogs. They are cute, and nobody seems inclined to boot them out. However, a request has come in for two more dogs in the same unit (both of which, we are led to understand, are very small and quiet). This led to research on pet ownership bylaws, and the discovery that only two dogs per 'dwelling unit' are technically allowed by the City of Johannesburg. I can only assume this is not widely enforced, and I would further imagine there are cases in which that's more restrictive than it needs to be; but there you have it, only two dogs without a permit. In the case of our block of flats, it makes sense - units are pretty small, and don't have gardens.
The matter gets more personal, however, since I recently lost custody of my cat, and am in the market for a new pet. I'm trying to make the decision based on as many factors as possible - new baby on the way, its Dad is a dog person, time and presence at home, flat rules, etc. I haven't gotten beyond the thinking phase yet, but candidates include a cat, small dog, chinchilla, and little pig. The little pig option has gotten me to explore more city bylaws around animal ownership. It seems as though the bylaws applying to pets that are not cats and dogs are in the health and safety regulations. These are geared to people raising animals as a larger scale enterprise......Which means as far as I can tell, you can only keep 2 dogs in a flat, but up to 9 chickens!! Hmm.....
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