The State Administrative Tribunal is generally associated with unpopular service stations or high density developments but the range of its powers was laid bare last week after it ordered a Kelmscott couple to remove their dog from a strata complex unit.

On November 8 the tribunal ordered Leonie Gehring and James Oddy to remove their Chihuahua x Boston Terrier dog 'Drexel' from their Brookside Villas unit, deciding that having the dog at the unit breached the complex's bylaws.

The SAT ordered a Kelmscott couple to remove a dog from their premises last week. Credit:Louise Douvis

The couple got the dog in January but it wasn't long before it had drawn the ire of neighbours.

The complex's strata council first asked the couple to remove the dog in April claiming it was kept locked in the house most days and "barked incessantly disturbing the peace and enjoyment of other owners and tenants".