Okay folks, I have solved the ESA problem.

Perhaps we should allow animals free and charge a non-refundable human registration fee and added human rent?

^man,

Good idea! People with cats know who rules the roost!

I think folks should be required to have 6 visits to certified psychiatrist to get a ESA letter.

ANYBODY related to medicine can write the letter - nurse, foot doctor, dermatologist, one doc...

Here in California, with my help, we passed a law. We first run the background information on the TWO Legged applicants, and if they pass, we then run the 4 legged kind.

Asking for:

Dog License

Vet Vaccination history

Obedience training

and finally their Insurance Policy covering the dog!

HERE IS WERE THE NEW LAW CAME INTO EFFECT. The applicant that now provides the requested information on their dog, HAS TO BE AT LEASE 30 DAYS OLD. No new insurance policy less than 30 days SINCE I REQUESTED THE INFORMATION. Same for the Dog License, Medical records, etc.

I have been to court at least 3 times on this issue, being sued by "Housing", the Applicant and/or their attorney. Apparently Judges, Attorneys and Housing want to "forget" this law is on the books.

Also in a second Round, Housing tried to make me accept the dog, since it was an ESA. I said, "Oh so I can charge a Dog Deposit". Everyone almost had a kitten. NO I'm not allowed to charge any extra deposit for a Service or ESA animal. But the paper work was not complete during the application process. They Did not care, so I left the Kangaroo court, saying, I demand a jury trial in front of a state court! My right. Never heard from the applicant or the City again on this application.

Or perhaps, 6'er being a dog lover,

should Own and Operate a dog kennel, rescue, hospital.

Think of all the benefits that lie ahead.

Consider: if the ESA is legit, that means the person in question cannot handle being alone, in their home, which is the most controlled environment imaginable. If things are that bad, how do they ever navigate the actual world with people and problems?

Odds are, they can't and don't handle it well. You'll find it in the other issues: poor credit, poor rental history, poor housekeeping, poor job history, etc.

On a side note, I think there are about a 50/50 mix of "legit" ESAs vs. scammers. I feel sorry for the legit ones... somewhere along the line, no one taught them how to deal with life in the adult world. I've yet to meet a go-getter with an ESA: these folks are mostly content to do not much with life other than avoid anything stressful, which is sad because many worthwhile, exciting parts of life involve knowing how to properly manage the stress correctly and grow stronger as a result. They rarely break out from that. A sad development, indeed.

Sid: That isn't what an ESA means. Don't get me wrong, I know these are often faked and I'm not a fan. But the idea that it means that they "cannot handle being alone" is incorrect. That's not what is required for something to be considered a disability.

I agree with the rest of what you said on denying -- many ESA holders often have other issues that you can deny based on.

In PA we have a relatively new law that criminalizes trying to scam landlords with fake service dog and ESA documents. It gives me a little more confidence in rejecting people who present "comfort animals" (which are pets) as ESA's. They sometimes mistakenly call their pet a "therapy dog" which is actually a pet that has been trained to give comfort/therapy to third parties (like nursing home patients) when the dog is taken to visit them. I've also uncovered people trying to represent their ESA as a "service dog." Service dogs are not ESA's. They are expensive animals that are trained to do a specific task for their owner like a seeing eye dog.

FWIW- By definition an ESA must have an emotional attachment to it. I suppose you could have a pet only because

1) You like kicking it occasionally or

2) You enjoy picking up pooh. or

3) Your own health insurance premiums are not high enough that you want something else to buy insurance on.

From a practical standpoint, it is hard to prove any of these three points. So now there is so much confusion on the matter.

My answer is to treat everyone the same, just charge more more rent and assuming everyone has a pet.

10% legitimate ESAs is way too high a figure. I have never had an applicant that claimed an ESA to have a real ESA. I have had only one applicant who claimed service dog to possibly have a real service dog, but I never got very far with their application because they bounced their application fee check so their service dog might have been legit or might not have been.

Salute to Sid.

Most do need dogs because they are afraid to be Alone

(in their own constructive thoughts)

and they need something to Control.