Right after I blocked Ms. Fake ESA, I'm pretty sure she called the HUD office in Buffalo as I got a call from, not to be politically incorrect, a very white male sounding guy saying he's veeeeerrrry

interested in my apartment. The number is from Erie county, Buffalo NY. I as usual, did not pick up the phone but texted him the link to the prequal. *crickets*

So sounds like I got a call from the proverbial "HUD Tester." I have half a mind to call back on my unlisted incoming fax line only and say "Hi is this HUD?" >:)

I found out that the local DA does NOT take these cases but was told to report it to the sheriff. Hubby says just let it be.

Everything you say CAN be used against you in a court of law. The solution is don't say anything. Not. One. Word. No texts. No calls. No emails.

Block the number and listen to your hubby. There's a reason why lawyers tell their clients to shaddup. The ones who don't listen... well, we hear about how much fun they get to have spending tens of thousands of $$$ establishing new case law for the rest of us to learn from.

I had a short term tenant complain to every agency because I did not want their rescued pet, AKA, ESA Animal. By the time the case made it's way to a General Managers Hearing, that monster dog escaped and killed another tenants cat. The City wanted me to pay a $500 fine for not accepting the dog. On the other hand I demanded the City pay the dead cat's owners son one million dollars for all of the emotional distress the dog caused, killing the cat before he own eyes.

Think of all the money that you are saving by not getting trained up and implementing systems. I am sure you have all that figured out as dozen of folks have been trying to assist you. I can only wish you the best of luck and hope this works out for you.

Some folks go out of their way to avoid drama both in their personal lives and in their business. One of those would be me - life is too short for all that stress.

Others seem to court it and even enjoy it when happens - even going so far as to imagine it without any proof other than a random voice mail.

Mapleaf,

ALWAYS act AS IF you are being tested.

Great example of why we NEVER answer the phone.

Document the app and move on - away from baddies. Don't let them eat up your energy or time.

Move on, don't keep the drama going.

It's very unlikely that you had a white male tester. HUD doesn't care if you discriminate against white males. I had a phone tester for awhile and she had to be HUD because she called on every vacancy and started out speaking in a heavy Asian accent. Then as she went on further with the call, she switched to a heavy Mexican accent. I always invited her to come and apply, but she never showed up.

As was mentioned in the other thread... WHY did you deny them? Hopefully not because you think the paperwork is fake. Based on what you said in the other thread, I wouldn't bet my rentals on my OPINION about paperwork.

If you denied for a reason unrelated to the ESA paperwork, then you should be fine to do nothing.

If you denied because of the ESA paperwork, then I would be concerned, yes.

NE: Because then you need to be able to PROVE that it is fake if something comes of it. You should avoid liability, of course.

In this case, from what was said before, it appears to be an actual, licensed healthcare professional who sells their services to write ESA documentation. We can hate that as much as we want, but it doesn't make it FAKE nor ILLEGAL.

If the documentation is from a license healthcare professional, then it is valid unless you are in one of the very few states that allows you to deny for an out-of-state letter. Again, those are very few.

THAT is why you don't deny based on OPINION that the documentation is fake. From what we were told in this situation in the other thread, that is all they have here: opinion that they don't like the paperwork. Nothing proving it was fake.

So, I simply said that I hope they DQ'd for another reason than questionable ESA paperwork because it was from a healthcare professional that they don't agree with.

Actually, THIS is what she actually said about the letter (emphasis mine):

"I BELIEVE I have received my very first fake ESA letter and certificate."

She then showed what "research" she did:

"I googled the name and it comes up with Dr. Frank J Welch, MD [...] This DOCTOR supposedly holds medical licenses in 21 states and does non western medicine--not that there's anything wrong with that. But the letter is definitely 'fill in the blank'"

So, again, she is GUESSING that this is fake because she didn't like the way it looked "boilerplate." But she admits that when she looks up the doctor, he actually appears to exist and be licensed.

What part of that PROVES that this is fake enough to deny for?

Also, people who are "sure it's fake without even seeing it" are exactly who the testers are looking for to sue.

So, again, we all know a bunch of these are not really needed. But that doesn't change the law. Why bet your rentals in a lawsuit based on how "sure" you are when you haven't even looked into it? That's just crazy talk.

Whatever. A "good BS detector" is not going to win in court. But you do you.

Also, a quick search of PA law says that the fine for a landlord violating the Assistance and Service Animal Integrity Act -- which covers ESAs -- is $1000.