AIBU moving into house with a cat in no-cats neighbourhood

[museumsandgalleries666]

Asking for a friend :-)
Buying a house (freehold) in a newly-built (20 years old) neighbourhood and have received a letter from the resident's association advising no cats are allowed.
AIBU to continue my purchase and move in anyway? Do the Res Assoc have any legal right to stop anyone owning a cat?
Looking for advice as nearing completion and purchase chain will be affected.

What the hell is a cat free area? Sounds like people you would not want next door, probably complaining about your washing line, your children playing, your curtains closed after 7 am etc etc. Nightmare

steppemum it really depends on the association. If they are voted in and have an appropriate constitution then they can uphold the deed of conditions in the same way a managing agent would (but with more clout as they can actually take to court to enforce). If they are just a bunch of community minded folk who like getting involved and have no powers then it’s not the same thing.

Depending on the size of the development also you could knock on 80 doors and be told they don’t agree with the association, only to find that it doesn’t matter as they need a surprisingly small quorum at AGMs to be voted in .

Cats legally have roaming rights and the house is not rented so I would take no notice.

[quote QueenPaw]@LST I'm not allowed to hang washing out in my garden despite owning it
They've basically applied the rules of the giant block of flats with no gardens to mine also (small 4 flats, I have my own private garden)
So the houses on either side of me can festoon their gardens in washing, but I can't

Apparently they can also inspect my property monthly. It should be painted in approved colours, no pets except one caged bird or fish and a giant long list of other stuff
I've never had an inspection in 14 years [/quote]
How is the cat that's not yours but is yours?

I came across this a couple of years ago. Sales people very upfront about it. There was a covenant to protect ground nesting birds. I declined to put in an offer, even though it would have been perfect for me and my ancient indoor cat.

There was also a court case in London a few years ago - a flat if I recall correctly- where the court upheld some kind of HOA ban of cats. I can’t find a link, sorry!

Like others, I’d suggest you find out exactly who/what/how this “no cats” thing was decided snd make the decision from there. In all likelihood, it would be a no from me.

@SakuraEdenSwan1 I have gained another NMC
Pic of new NMC and original NMC

[quote QueenPaw]@SakuraEdenSwan1 I have gained another NMC
Pic of new NMC and original NMC [/quote]
Awww they all love you

And NMC number 3. My cat just keeps bringing monochrome cats home

If there's something like a bird directive to protect ground-nesting birds, that's another legal matter entirely, OP.

Anyway, your friend should be told what specific covenants are in place, and why. Probably yesterday.

I think QueenPaw and all her NMCs should move in and make the place a cat meccah

She can move next to me. I love cats.

A few homes ago, we were allowed two cats or dogs.
Neighbour had 17cats. Now that was unreasonable...

We just had a cat who decided it liked our house better, except for mealtimes when it went to her actual house. She wasn't a sociable cat normally but loved my toddler. (Not one of the 17!)

I would imagine the “residents association “ is a neighbour from hell. A close neighbour, someone in the street, probably next door.

A village near me has a resident like this, she sends anonymous snotty letters to neighbours always from “the residents association “. There is no residents association! It’s just her! Bat shit, crazy!

I’d pull out the purchase. This neighbour will be a nightmare and quite possibly why the house is being sold.

Urgh... I had a similar situation.

Small development, 30 houses in a culdesac, strict no pets (yes, no PETS not just cats) policy that wasn't mentioned until very late in the process but I had no pets so it didn't really bother me although I found it odd... the development isn't rural or isolated there are houses all around it, cats would wander in frequently!

Anyway, it was just a red flag for the awful and meddling residents association, which was actually one guy who owned a house but was paid to do poor maintenance on the communal areas and an elderly bitter woman who had been the first to buy on the development.

I spent two miserable years there before moving on! They had a different complaint each week...

No Christmas lights that twinkle in your window, it's distracting

No turning in one specific area of the car park after 7pm as the lights shine into the old woman's living room

No bird feeders in the garden, it attracts vermin

Bins must be put out no later than 6pm the evening before collection and brought back in before 10am the morning of collection (if you work and aren't in then one of them will drag it in for you and knock your door aggressively that evening to tell you)

Anyway, I could go on there was endless demands it was very controlling. The final straw was a neighbour taking in an elderly rescue dog that was in a bad way and nursing it back to health, spending thousands out of their own pocket to do so only to be harassed by the residents association to get rid of it immediately. Poor thing didn't even bark or make a sound.

are you in australia or nz?

or on an island that's part of a national park?

I've heard of such things there to protect the wildlife.

It isn't controlling but unfortunately cats do cause nasty issues in gardens..

I really want a cat but having been on the other end of cat impact
... I'm nervous about inflicting the same on my neighbours!!

Omg paddle that sounds awful!! Twilight zone stuff!!

As this is a freehold property I would be surprised if this was legally enforceable , and not just a bunch of meddling neighbours. Leasehold houses and flats are different, this might be enforceable then . I would get her to check with her solicitor, that will give you a far more accurate answer than mumsnet!

I can see how this might be enforceable in flats, but am a bit as to how you keep cats (or indeed any animals) out of an area of houses even if it's a leasehold house or one on a new estate with lots of rules. I live at the end of a cul de sac, I don't have a cat but regularly have cats in my street and garden from my road, the road on the other side of the cul de sac and the road at the back of my house. So even if my own road was "cat-free" there would be lots coming in from elsewhere, maybe even more if there weren't stand-offs over territory with the ones in this road.

Also cats adopt people so what do you do if they decide they like your house?

As for protecting birds, if you want to protect birds you need to get rid of the bigger birds...it's a bit of a fallacy that cats are responsible for the decline in bird numbers, much or most of it is down to other wildlife. Cats are too generally well fed and lazy to be able to catch a bird.

@Whereisthewarmth

Omg paddle that sounds awful!! Twilight zone stuff!!

Genuinely the worst place I've ever lived! The house was so lovely, good area... and yet I honestly dreaded coming home in an evening! Thankfully I've never ever encountered anything like it since, long may that continue! 😂

I live in a terrace. House to the left has a dog. Both houses to the right have 2 cats and a dog each. We have no animals. Guess whose garden the cats come to shit and fight in? So no, I don't like the fact that people's pets come and shit in my garden and I have to clean it up every day before the kids use the garden. Grrrrrr

My daughter is in the process of buying a house on an estate of 12 years old. It is leasehold, if that makes a difference, and on the deeds of covenant, it states no pets. She was unaware of this rule until a few days ago and was close to signing.
She had no pets but felt cross that this wasn't raised earlier. As a newish estate there are lots of rules including making sure the grass is mown regularly, no parking off your allocated space, no tall plants, no satellite dishes that can be seen from the front and they need to be small.

Other people on the estate certainly do have pets so I think it will be ok if my daughter does get one. My husband reckons the rule would be applied only if abused but the crucial thing here is, with your friend, if the neighbours are all in agreement, it probably could be applied. I'd be very careful.

The ban is probably because it appears cats are the only animal who can shit and do so with thier buddies multiple times only in gardens of people who hate cats.

They are also the only creature who kill birds. Humans have played no part in the decline in the bird population it's the ecosystem's fault.

OP sounds like an awful place to live. A mafia-style Resident's Association cannot make pleasant living.

PaddleBoardingMomma

I have to say, I am bolshy enough that if I lived with that appalling resident's association, I would have deliberately broken every single rule.

And when they complained, I would have said - you have no legal right to enforce this. Sue me.

I can't imagine living with such shitty neighbours thinking they can rule your life.

I do think it is interesting that this thread has highlighted that an elected RA does have rights and an unelected one doesn't.

Makes me think there should be more information out there about what is allowed and not in terms of rules and conditions on sales etc