Pets and Animals

You may be able to file an application with the Tribunal if trying the previous steps did not work. Our Tribunal is intended to help condo communities resolve disputes conveniently, quickly and affordably. CAT cases are asynchronous and fully online.

Filing an application with the Tribunal is a serious matter. A Tribunal application is a legal action, and applicants are required to provide evidence and arguments to prove their case.

You should think carefully and build your case before filing an application. This includes identifying what outcome you want, how the law applies and how you can prove it. Use this worksheet to get started. 

The Tribunal is guided by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom’s open court principle and is committed to transparency. This principle requires that the CAT provide public access to some adjudicative records to those who request them. This includes details of an application, including documents submitted within that application, with some exceptions. The CAO’s Access and Privacy Policy provides a full list of the types of adjudicative records that will be provided on request, which includes a copy of the application, any documents required to be provided when the application was filed and any evidence or submissions made during the hearing. 

All of the Tribunal’s decisions and non-procedural orders will also be made available online on the CAO’s website and CanLII. 

Condo corporations may also be required to disclose the existence and status of Tribunal applications in information certificates and in status certificates. 

Settlement offers and any settlement-related messages will remain private and confidential.

Only condo owners, mortgagees and condo corporations can file CAT cases. Tenants or occupants must speak to their landlord or the condo corporation to resolve their issue, usually by having the landlord or the corporation file a case.

The Tribunal can deal with issues that occurred within the last two years. The Tribunal can extend this timeline to three years if it wouldn’t be unfair to the other parties, but extensions are not guaranteed.

The Tribunal can handle disputes about provisions in a condo’s governing documents that prohibit, restrict, or otherwise govern pets and animals. If the dispute is not related to a specific provision in one of these documents, the Tribunal does not have the authority to deal with the issue.

1. Compliance with or enforcement of the provisions.
   • Examples:
     • A resident is not leashing their pet when using the common elements as required by the rules.
     • An owner wants to dispute an enforcement action that a condo corporation has taken against them

2. The consistency or reasonableness of those provisions.
   • Example:
     • An owner believes that a rule about pets or animals is inconsistent with the declaration or is unreasonable

3. Whether the condominium corporation followed the required process set out under the Condo Act to make, amend or repeal a provision.
   • Example:
     • An owner challenging the validity or enforceability of a new pets and animals rule that the condo corporation implemented without following the process set out in the Act.

4. Any related indemnification or compensation.
   • Examples:
     • An owner wants to dispute a chargeback they have been asked to pay for breaching the corporation’s pets and animals rules
     • A condo corporation wants the Tribunal to order an owner or occupant to reimburse the condo corporation for its costs in enforcing compliance with the pets and animals rules.

Here are some examples of common pets and animal disputes:

• Accommodation: Disputes related to requests for accommodation, exemptions from complying with provisions of a condo’s governing documents, or disputes related to Ontario’s Human Rights Code.
• Pet Restrictions or Rules: Disputes involving provisions in a condo’s governing documents that restrict, limit or prohibit pets and animals.
• Support Animal: Disputes involving service and support animals, such as emotional support animals.
• Weight or Size or Breed: Disputes involving restrictions on pets and animals based on the animal’s weight, size or breed.