Hi all,

I have gotten many applications where there's 'service animal'. Is this the new scam to get round pets? How do you guys handle these?

In this particular case, it's 3 pit bulls. The ADA registration is false, the 'letter' from professional is false (everything doesn't match up). How will you guys handle the rejection?

1. Do nothing and say, the application is being reviewed

2. Say ADA registration number brings no result.

Dear prospect,

Since your service animal/ESA is on the insurance companies list of animals they don't allow, the insurance on the property will be cancelled which will cause the bank to call the loan on the place.

I'm sure you can see where this will cause a problem.

Thanks Richard for the idea. Your suggestion led me to do a bit of checking. I will check with my insurance on how to treat service animal/ESA on ban list. If the insurance company don't make an exception, then it's valid to use financial hardship on the landlord as reason to reject.

A couple quick things based on things said above:

1. There is not official "ADA Registry" -- so the option of "Say ADA registration number brings no result" makes no sense. There is no registry to check as there is no ADA Service Animal registry.

2. As you said, look INTO what Richard said, but don't follow what he wrote at all. Guidance has already been given by HUD stating that a blanket "my insurance doesn't allow " is NOT an acceptable "hardship" because it generally isn't accurate. You'd need a letter from your insurance company stating that the SPECIFIC ANIMAL would cause your insurance to be canceled even though it is a SA. And, in general, you won't get that letter from your insurance company.

Easier to just find another reason to decline. Or, if you want to do it "right", I'd just follow up on the documentation. What do you mean it "doesn't match up"? How do you know it is invalid? If it is invalid, then you can deny based on that. If you can't prove it is, then that's another legal issue to avoid...

On a side note, people faking SERVICE Animals are idiots, IMO. Much easier to fake an ESA and it gets the same protections for housing. Heck, you can fairly easily get someone to write documentation for MULTIPLE ESAs. Getting someone to write documentation for multiple Service Animals is almost impossible.

If they are really saying "Service Animals" and not "Emotional Support Animals", then they are just dumb. :)

Oh -- one last thing. You should ask them which task each dog has been trained to perform. They need to be different tasks unless there is some reason that they would all need to be for the same task (i.e. some 24/7 trigger to watch for -- so each dog does 8 hours worth -- which, again, would be incredibly rare).

If the disability is not obvious, you are allowed to ask what task the Service Animal is TRAINED to perform. So, ask them (and get it in writing).

Hi all,

I noticed a lot of people these days are using ESA to get around pet policy and deposit requirements. I think you can't charge ESA pet fee and pet rent or limiting the size or breed.

Use other non-pet related reason to disapprove. Many don't qualify any ways.

Lisa: Just to note it, there is no such things as a "properly registered service dog". There is no registry for Service Dogs, so there is no way nor need to "properly register" one.

In other words, I'm MORE worried about people who say they have a "properly registered Service Dog" because, again, no such registry exists.

I had one applicant who screened okay, but in the process of our conversation let slip that he had a dog.

"I'm sorry, but we don't allow pets."

"Oh, he's a service dog."

"That's great! What service has he been trained to perform?"

"He alerts to seizures."

Me (looking at the van he just drove up in): "I thought if you had seizures, you weren't allowed to drive?"

"It's my ex-girlfriend's dog." As I drove away, he was still calling after me, "But it's a trained service dog!"

An insurance company cannot cancel the insurance if it is a legit service or ESA animal. My insurance company told me that when I called them about a surprise pit bull masquerading as an ESA. So don’t automatically assume that your insurance will cancel.

I had a tenant with a pitbull ESA. Worked out fine. It was a good dog and well trained. Was not difficult to make a "reasonable accommodation" for it in my case.

We have a no pets policy in our rentals. We have a tenant who got a Pit Bull, and we told him to get rid of it. He didn't, we didn't follow up as we should have, and the dog ended up biting a teenager in 2020. The tenant owns nothing, so we are being sued. I sent the tenant a letter to get rid of the dog, and that we have a strict no pets policy, and he did.

Fast forward 2 1/2 years. I was at the house and noticed a chain in the yard. I asked the tenant, and he said they don't have a dog, but occasionally his son brings his when he visits. I told him no pets are allowed on the premises at all, and he said he understood. Two weeks later I receive an ESA Letter about Bruno, their Pit Bull. So, I call the tenant. He tells me they've had Bruno for about a year. He knows he's not supposed to have a dog, but he doesn't remember that I'm being sued over his last one.

He is a long-term tenant, and we're renting it to them for $660. It needs updating, but if we update it, the market rent is $1,300.

My question is, can I evict them for lying about the dog for the past year? Should I allow it, wait a few months and ask them to move so I can renovate and increase the rent?

You have proof they had the dog illegally before the ESA paperwork?

Goodbye, clear lease violation in my opinion.