I unwilling got duped into renting to a tenant with an ESA. He moved in not mentioning an ESA. The day he was moving in he got locked out and I let him in and noticed cages. Turns out he has a Rottweiler as an ESA and said his real estate agent told him not to mention it because it didn't matter. He did produce a doctor's letter stating he needed an ESA for PTSD playing soccer. The letter was dated just a couple of days before he moved in.

Anyway, I'm sure that the ESA is BS, but there's not much I can do it about. My question is does anyone have a good way of screening out people with an ESA before you rent to them?

The only red flags this guy had was that he wanted to move in right away and the house is far from his work.

I've seen pit bulls board a plane with 2 adults and 2 kids and no muzzle.-- not kidding a pit bull.

I would want the letter certified and notarized or animal goes. Call doctor and let him know your going to court and subpoena him.

A few things:

1. To answer your question for these in the future -- your application should have a spot asking the number of ANIMALS (not "pets") that they have. If it wasn't listed, then they have lied on the application -- which you should have as a reason to decline.

2. J: Indeed. Dogs like that (even "proper ESAs") have no rights in a Home Depot. I wish they'd get better at not allowing that sort of garbage.

3. Be very careful before following Doogie's advice. We've discussed it before here many times. A blanket statement from your insurance company that they don't allow certain breeds is NOT acceptable to HUD as a reason to disallow an ESA. It has to be specific to that very animal. Do a quick ESA search here for more discussion on that.

- John...

You should have an AMIMAL -- not pet -- policy for your rentals. You cannot charge extra or have a policy exclusive to ESA, but you can require that the owners of all animals provide 1) veterinary certificates including proof of neutering, vaccines and flea treatments, 2) licensing, 3) for ESAs, verify with the prescribing MD that your tenant has a physical or mental handicap that substantially limits one or more major life activities 3) completes an animal ID form with a photo of the animal, 4) require frequent inspections, and bill the tenant for damages as they occur.

I won my case against a tenant with a Doctors Note and a Free Tenant Advocacy Attorney.

I have my requirement for tenants with Pets, Animals, ESA Comfort Animals and Service Animals.

In the case with dogs I require:

1) Name, Address and Phone numbers of the dogs veterinarian with

a letter they can release the dogs medical information. I want proof the dog has had it's vaccinations and a fixed or spayed.

2) I will not accept any dangerous breads.

3) I will not accept any crazy dog that tries to attack me, other tenants, neighbors, other animals or children.

4) I will not accept puppies that are not house broken and have someone who will be at home to walk the dog and keep it from barking.

5) The dog has to be licensed in Los Angeles.

6) The tenant must have renters insurance now naming me as the owner/manager that their insurance will cover me from any issues arising from the dog.

7) The dog can not poop on the lawn or property without the owner picking up after it. The dog can not pee on the property that will smell or cause an unsafe are for children to play.

8) The tenant must have emergency funds, can not live from paycheck to paycheck. It cost tons of money to property raise a dog. And obedience training isn't cheep.

In my last eviction for a tenants addition of a ESA dog, they didn't have renters insurance. No dog cage. Left the dog have run of their apartment. The dog did damage to the flooring, walls, doors and paint. Tenant did not have savings beyond their outstanding credit card balances. The tenant left the dog alone for 7 to 10 hours each day and it would bark non-stop.

I feel for you. We had the exact same situation. Tenant moved in with her pit bull. (She said it wasn’t a pit bull. It was an American Staffordshire Terrier) We told her it had to go. Student from several states away. After going around and around the issue with the tenant for several days one of her roommates asks “what if it is an Emotional support animal?” Within 12 hours she had a note from her Virginia therapist of the need for this dog.

I talked with my insurance and they said there was nothing we or they could do. Even they weren’t going to get into the middle of the ESA and pit bull issue. (Even though pit bulls is one of the restricted breeds on their list.)

@John

@John

RathdrumGal: You cannot require that an ESA be neutered, have had flea treatments, or even be licensed unless that is required by law for ALL animals in your state or by local ordinance. (And, in general, those laws only require the licensing -- not neutering or proof of flea treatments.)

- John...

I would also warn people about following Robert J's list of "requirements." Most of those are clearly illegal and not allowed for Service Animals and/or ESAs. Specifically, he violates these:

- can't require that it be fixed (unless that is required of ALL such animals by state or local law).

- can't disallow all "dangerous" breeds across the board.

- can't require that someone be home with the animal all day.

- can't require renter's insurance just because they have a SA or ESA.

- can't require more income or a higher "emergency fund" than people without one.

HUD has been pretty clear on most of the above. They are illegal discrimination.

He may have won a court case -- but it sounds like it was due to DAMAGE (which of course you can evict for and shouldn't require "an animal behavioral specialist"), not due to violating one of his arbitrary rules.

(If he did win a court case where he evicted purely for violation of one of his "rules", then I'd like to see the case file.)

Sorry, but the more I hear Robert J's stories over the years, the more they seem more like just "stories." :(

- John...

Yes, you can require exactly that -- you can require that they clean up after them, that fleas (ONCE DETECTED) be mediated, that odor be controlled.

However, that was not what he was doing. He was preemptively requiring things that cannot be required. You can't require spay/neutering or proof that they have ALREADY HAD "flea treatments." That is what is not allowed.

Also, I just gave a HUGE list of the things that are likely illegal in his requirements -- and that little flea control thing is the one you want to argue about? Seriously -- he's violating all kinds of things pretty blatantly -- so I see little reason to argue about whether or not flea treatment can be required before you detect fleas...

- John...

I made a mistake there -- the big list was me referring to Robert J's list. You were talking about my response to RathdrumGal's list.

I stand by my statement about the flea treatments and other things that you can't require preemptively. But I retract my last paragraph there about the list -- I got the two responses mixed up. Sorry.

- John...

Nellie: But you admit in your own post above, that you didn't really have the right to make the dog go -- even if it was a pitbull, right?

If she had ESA paperwork for it, then you had to allow it. There is no exception just because it is on the dangerous breeds list -- you'd need a note from your insurance company for that specific dog -- and you admit that the insurance company said that they wouldn't do that as they don't want to get involved either.

Your situation is the exact case that I've been telling people about here for years: when it comes down to it, your insurance company is NOT going to cancel because of the ESA because they don't want to get involved.

- John...

I believe what John(MI) is saying although I can't understand the logic of HUD saying you can't require spay/neutering -- what possible reason would a tenant have to breed ESA or service animals? But there seems to be no logic to any of these rules.