Hi I have rental properties and would like to know if I have to rent to people with emotional support dogs. I see under the ADA that they are not considered Service Dogs, as they are not trained for a specific purpose. Looking forward to your answer.

I have not been able to find anything concrete as of yet.

Technically, if they meet ALL of your other qualifications you are supposed to allow them the ESAs. If they are fakers then they likely have other things they are hiding or would be red flags.

Yvonne, the direct answer to your question is 1) Yes, you must allow a qualified renter to have an ESA and 2) No, you cannot charge an extra pet fee or pet rent, and no extra deposit either. It is considered a reasonable accomodation. All the tenant has to provide is a letter from a "medical professional". Notice, I did NOT use the words "doctor" or "nurse." There is a ton more info on this site, as the topic has been discussed extensively. The search tool at the top of the page will give you all you ever wanted to know and more.

The very vague set of rules around ESAs and the low cost to print up a letter from a website of course have made this an area for scammers to get around "no pets" rules and/or avoid paying pet rent/deposits/fees.

Sid have you the good information. One thing to note just to clarify since you mentioned it in your question... The ADA doesn't apply to residential rentals like what most of us have. The ADA applies to publicly accessible places.

The law we are concerned with is the FHAA (Fair Housing Amendments Act) -- which is what specifies both Service Animals and Emotional Support Animals.

So, you are correct that ESAs do not fall under the ADA -- but, unfortunately, that isn't the law that applies to our situation.

- John...

In other words,

I have to qualify the dog and the need of the tenant. Just because a dog has curtain qualities doesn't mean the tenant has a disability or need. I would need a certification from the applicants/tenants doctor and not from a paper mill producing fake papers.

I'm not quick on the draw to say "NO". But, I want the applicant tenant they need to provide documentation in support of their needs.

And if it's a dog, not a alligator or horse, I want vaccination records, copy of their current dog license (required in my jurisdiction). Also if the dog is mean or a dangerous bread, I want the tenants current renters insurance policy showing dog bite/attack coverage.

IMHO, it is best for you to control the dialogue. ESA minded tenants are going to work toward getting you to first respond to the ESA question, then they will move to the next wart that they need you to go along with.

Applications with paid fees are the the first step before you can answer any questions. If you opt to reject them for any reason, send them this text:

Unfortunately, your application was not approved.

If you would like more details, please send a self -addressed, stamped envelope to XXXXX XXXX Drive, XXXX,XX Please allow 4-6 weeks for response. Best wishes on your housing search.

Just to warn you: be careful with Robert J's advice above. It likely isn't legal in most areas (including his). In general, you likely cannot require that a tenant purchase renter's insurance because of their ESA. So, don't do that unless you've made very sure that it is legal for you.

- John...

On my last vacancy I had 2 allediged ESA pets and 1 allediged Service dog. From another post on Mr. LL I got the forms to verify that these animals are ledigimate.

Thank you all for your responses. This person is stating her 5 month old lab and her cat are her Esa.

Thank you all for your responses. This person is stating her 5 month old lab and her cat are her Esa.