A LEASE adviser replies: You should take a look at your lease in order to find out whether pets are allowed in the building. Consent may be required to keep pets at the property or there may be an absolute prohibition. In addition to covenants regarding pets there would generally be covenants regarding causing nuisance to other occupiers of the building.
The lease should set out how the covenants can be enforced. Normally the landlord would have the power to enforce covenants within the lease. This means that a leaseholder will generally need to instruct the landlord to enforce the covenants against another leaseholder and if the lease requires it, the leaseholder will have to indemnify the landlord against the costs involved. In some leases certain covenants may be mutually enforceable. This means that a leaseholder could take legal action directly against another leaseholder for breach of covenant. In the first instance it may be advisable to try to resolve the matter amicably, perhaps through mediation.
