Condo owner must pay $6,800 in fines for having prohibited pets, B.C tribunal rules

This stock image shows three cats. (Credit: Shutterstock)

A B.C. condo owner must pay $6,800 in fines for breaching a no-pets bylaw after failing to convince a tribunal his three cats are emotional support animals.

The strata, which enforces the bylaws, filed a claim with the Civil Resolution Tribunal over the unpaid fines.

The existence of a bylaw prohibiting pets was not in dispute, nor was the fact that the owner, Mohammed Parwesh Khan, had one or more cats living in the unit. Instead, Khan argued he should be granted an exemption from the bylaw.

“(Khan) says the strata attempt to enforce the pet bylaw against him is discriminatory. He also says he keeps his cats for health reasons,” the decision said.

In March of 2022, someone saw a cat entering the unit and the strata sent Khan a warning letter, according to the decision. In response, Khan sent the strata council an email and a doctor’s letter that said he and his wife required an emotional support cat.

The strata council was not persuaded by those documents and started imposing $200 fines for “continuous contravention” of the bylaw from April of 2022 until August of 2023.

Tribunal vice chair Kate Campbell found the decision to dismiss the bid for an exemption was reasonable because the email and letter were “vague” about why – exactly – the couple needed an emotional support animal.

“They do not mention any particular diagnosis or reason why (Khan’s wife) or (Khan) need a pet for emotional support. Many people find pets to be a source of emotional support, but that does not mean they are exempt from pet bylaws,” Campbell wrote, adding that the letter from the physician also did not explain “the need for three cats.”

The decision not to allow an exemption did not amount to discrimination because the evidence did not establish that either Khan or his wife had a disability, the decision said.

Campbell also considered whether the decision was unfair in light of the fact that another resident was granted an exemption to the no-pets bylaw in 2016.

That person’s situation, the decision said, was “sufficiently different” because they asked for permission in advance and provided sufficient medical documentation supporting their need for an emotional support cat while undergoing cancer treatment.

In addition to paying the bylaw fines, Khan was ordered to pay $536.25 in pre-judgment interest and $225 as reimbursement for CRT fees.