Barking on late night hours, too many cats in a property that roam freely in the community, excrements on common areas, and so on… Are you familiar to this? Very often, at Resortalia we have to intervene in problems of connivance between neighbors derived from the ownership of pets: dogs, cats, reptiles, etc.
Recently, it has been published 9/2022 Act, from 30 June, on the protection of domestic animals. What do we mean by domestic animal? An animal that has been bred and belongs to a person who does not use the animal to make money. In other words, this includes regular pets that your or your neighbors keep in their homes
Thus, the new Animal Welfare Act, or as it has been colloquially named, the Ley Belarra, establishes new obligations for owners in general, and obligations for owners who live in a community of owners in particular. There are, indeed, three major issues related to communities of owners:
- The responsibility of the owner for any damage, harm or nuisance that the animal may cause, as, for example, barking of dogs.
- Prevent animals from depositing their excrement and urine in places where other people usually pass. However, in the terrible event this may happen, it will be mandatory to clean and quit it with biodegradable products.
- Prohibition of keeping dogs and cats tied up or roaming in public spaces without the supervision of the person responsible for their care and behavior.
- Prohibition of habitually keeping dogs and cats on terraces, balconies, rooftops, storage rooms, basements, patios and the like or in vehicles, as long as the common place to keep the pet is inside the house.
The consequences of not complying with these obligations can result in minor or serious infringements, which can lead to fines of between €500 and €10,000, or €10,000 and €50,000 respectively.
In summary, as regards community of owners, it can be said that owners, in common areas, must take care not to let animals run loose without supervision, remove and clean up urine and excrement, and, in general, avoid any nuisance to the rest of the neighbours.
As far as owners are concerned, care should be taken to ensure that animals are kept indoors on a regular basis, not on balconies, terraces or roof terraces, and to continue to ensure the tranquility of the community through good pet behaviour.
Obviously, the ideal is that healthy coexistence between neighbours and respect for the community on the part of pet owners avoids uncomfortable situations for everyone, but it is true that, with the application of this law, life could become very difficult for uncivil pet owners.
If you have problems of this type in your Community, we recommend that you contact your Community Administrator, who will know how to guide you through the steps to follow. At Resortalia Community Administration, we have a lot of experience in mediation and conflict resolution between neighbours and their pets.
