Handling Service & Emotional Support Animals

Hello everyone,

I have a question about pets, particularly regarding service animals and emotional support animals. I’ve noticed that more tenants are asking whether I allow pets, and I understand that as landlords, we cannot discriminate against tenants with legitimate service animals. However, I also know that there are specific legal guidelines around this, including certification requirements.

Personally, I prefer not to allow pets in my rentals due to potential property damage and cleanliness issues. Unfortunately, I’ve had experiences where tenants don’t clean up after their animals, leading to problems like pet waste on the property. That being said, I know the law requires certain exceptions for service animals, so I want to ensure I’m handling these situations correctly.

Recently, I had a prospective tenant who was moving in with her boyfriend. His daughter, who would only be staying at the apartment occasionally, supposedly had a service dog. They were aware that I don’t allow pets, but just before signing the lease, they informed me about the dog. When I asked for documentation, they didn’t provide any but insisted that I couldn’t deny the request. However, from what I’ve read, service animals must be with their handler at all times, which raises the question of whether the law applies in this case since the child would only be visiting occasionally.

I’d love to hear how other landlords handle these situations. How do you ensure compliance with the law while also protecting your property? Any advice or insights would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

Having simular situations here. What did you do, did you sign the lease with these folks or take a pause?

You need to educate yourself. Start with this HUD document but I think they are pushing their agenda and you need to know more than they do. If they don't comply you need to figure out how you are going to handle things. Know the answers before you ask all your questions. If you meet the daughter and she is in a wheelchair or blind or whatever you have your answer. If the dog is trained to perform a task there will be documentation which they would gladly provide if they were being honest and forthright.

hud.gov/sites/dfiles/PA/documents/HUDAsstAnimalNC1-28-2020.pdf

Is it a service dog?

From the above document:

Under the ADA, “service animal means any dog that is individually trained to do work or

perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory,

psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability. Other species of animals, whether wild or

domestic, trained or untrained, are not service animals for the purposes of this definition. The

work or tasks performed by a service animal must be directly related to the individual's

disability.”16

As a best practice, housing providers may use the following questions to help them determine if an

animal is a service animal under the ADA:17

1. Is the animal a dog?

¢ If “yes,” proceed to the next question.

¢ If “no,” the animal is not a service animal but may be another type of assistance animal

for which a reasonable accommodation is needed.18

Proceed to Part II below.

2. Is it readily apparent that the dog is trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an

individual with a disability?

¢ If “yes,” further inquiries are unnecessary and inappropriate because the animal is a

service animal.19

¢ If “no,” proceed to the next question.

It is readily apparent when the dog is observed:

• guiding an individual who is blind or has low vision

• pulling a wheelchair

• providing assistance with stability or balance to an individual with an observable

mobility disability20

3. It is advisable for the housing provider to limit its inquiries to the following two questions:

¢ The housing provider may ask in substance: (1) “Is the animal required because of a disability?” and (2) “What work or task has the animal been trained to perform?”21

Do not

ask about the nature or extent of the person’s disability, and do not ask for documentation.

A housing provider, at its discretion, may make the truth and accuracy of information

provided during the process part of the representations made by the tenant under a lease or

similar housing agreement to the extent that the lease or agreement requires the truth and

accuracy of other material information.

¢ If the answer to question (1) is “yes” and work or a task is identified in response to

question (2), grant the requested accommodation, if otherwise reasonable, because the

animal qualifies as a service animal.

¢ If the answer to either question is “no” or “none,” the animal does not qualify as a

service animal under federal law but may be a support animal or other type of assistance

animal that needs to be accommodated. HUD offers guidance to housing providers on

this in Part II.

Performing “work or tasks” means that the dog is trained to take a specific action when needed to

assist the person with a disability.

o If the individual identifies at least one action the dog is trained to take which is helpful to

the disability other than emotional support, the dog should be considered a service animal

and permitted in housing, including public and common use areas. Housing providers

should not make further inquiries.

If no specific work or task is identified, the dog should not be considered a service animal but may be another type of animal for which a reasonable accommodation may be

required. Emotional support, comfort, well-being, and companionship are not a specific work or task for purposes of analysis under the ADA.

For more information, refer to the ADA rules and service animal guidance on DOJ’s ADA Home page

More than likely it is an assistance animal (emotional support) and the tenants don't know the difference. This is part of my form that tenants receive before they apply.

To have an animal be considered in your rental application, you must include the following:

1. Photo and name of the animal.

2. Recent medical letterhead from a local vet which includes:

a) If your animal is spayed or neutered

b) Up to date on vaccinations

c) Breed type and weight

To have an animal be considered in your rental application as a support animal, you must include the following with your filled-out application:

1. A written request for a support animal as a reasonable accommodation.

2. Evidence from your healthcare provider of a disability and that you have a disability-related need for an assistance animal.

Misrepresentation of support animals is a Class 3 misdemeanor (N.C.G.S.A. § 168-4.5)

Any animal initially accepted will need an in-home visit to verify that they are friendly and social animals.

You aren't going to able to deny the kid visiting her dad. If she wants to bring the dog the parents need to provide the above information otherwise it is a lease violation.

In my lease, animal violations are $300 per instance with termination of the lease if the violation is not corrected. What does your lease say about lease violations?

How much longer is on the lease? If they are a pain in the tail, do not renew their lease.

One of the most important things to screen for is cooperation. If they aren't cooperative then they need to go and you need to get better and screening.

And the question is (if it is not a service animal) - Is it a legitimate assistance (ESA) animal? If they can provide the docs, then fine. Otherwise it's just a lease violation.

Either way you don't want sneaky / not honest people in your rental.

To clarify a few things...

* Service Animals are trained to perform a task. Emotional Support Animals are not.

* There is no "certification" for either a SA or an ESA.

* There is no "documentation" for a Service Animal. If the disability is not obvious (e.g. blindness), you can ask two questions:

1. Do you have a disability (but not what it is)?

2. What task is the animal trained to perform.

If they can answer those two properly then, unfortunately, they have done what is required by federal law to have a Service Animal.

* For an ESA, you can ask for documentation. You can ask for a statement from a healthcare professional that they are disabled and that the animal helps with that disability.

* Neither animal is required to be with their owner at all times.

I am very curious how you handled it at the lease signing since you said that you didn't sign. Depending on how you handled that, you may have legal concerns if it was a real SA. (My guess is that they meant ESA and have no idea what they are doing, so you are likely fine. But if it WAS an SA and you refused to sign because of it, I would be a little concerned...)

I presented to Animal Control and the State a solution to ESA pets that are out of control.

I told them when a tenant gets their own washer, even though I have a laundry room with coin operated machine, I give my tenant a Notice To Perform or Quit. They are not allowed to have a private washer. It could leak or cause a flood, leading to mold. Unless they have insurance and agree to fix any damage, they have two options. Discontinue using an old used washer, or trade it in for a new model with a warranty.

I require renter's insurance on all my units. If the ESA or SA is an aggressive breed, it will be up to the insurance company to do much of dirty work? In doing so I align myself sympathetic with the applicants cause. I even poke fun at the insurance company by saying

"It's not like you have a pet T-Rex. No you are ONLY asking them to insure you and your 4 Mastiffs, 3 Pit Bulls, 2 chows and your poodle.....all of which are service animals." Sometimes saying it out loud to them, it hits home better

As always, the burden is on the APPLICANT to provide you with the necessary evidence, whatever that evidence may be. So step 1 is learn what the appropriate evidence is for the accommodation so you don't accidentally screw up and ask for something you're not allowed to, and Step 2 is ask the tenant to provide it.

******* Do NOT tell them what they need to provide! If they are legit, they will know the answer without you saying a word. ******

If they don't know, they are faking. Do not help the fakers by telling them how to fake you out.

+1000 points to plenty for doing the 2-minute in home inspection. You must do the same to protect your investment. Look, sniff, listen... that's what your rental will look like, smell like, and sound like if they move in.

You are not required to turn your home over to slovenly animal keepers. "Poop all over the yard", "urine odors", and "chewed up blinds" are not protected by law. If you detect any of those or a dozen other conditions that indicate the owners are not keeping up with the animal, then you deny based on poor house-keeping. Don't say one word about the critter.

Say it with me now, "I will never deny anyone based on an SA or ESA animal, regardless if it's legit or fake. In fact, I will never mention the animal. Not one word. Not one text. Not one email. I will only deny them if their house/yard stinks or shows signs of damage / poor housekeeping."

That's how you stay out of trouble and ensure your property doesn't get destroyed.

Sid: Your opening sentence can cause some confusion and ins simply incorrect without context -- in the case of a SERVICE Animal which is what she said here.

If they say they have a Service Animal, there is no other "necessary evidence" that they need to provide unless we ask them. The burden is on the LANDLORD to ask the two questions that we are allowed to ask for a Service Animal.

People just need to be very careful when presented with a SERVICE Animal. It is not the same as an ESA.

Again, in this case, they are probably just confused/wrong. But we still need to be careful and follow the law to be safe.

Btw, there is a lot of confusion on this topic among applicants, tenants, and landlords alike, as you can see by the various responses in this thread. A lot of tenants hear from ignorant people, "Just register your pet, then landlords can't deny you!"

Um, yeah we can. As John said, there is no way to "register" an ESA that provides the legitimate documentation they need to give you to request the accommodation. There are many websites that will sell people "registrations" but those do not meet the criteria. The sites are just there to get easy money, and a lot of landlords are ignorant or afraid and accept whatever they're given without question. You don't need to be either ignorant or afraid. That's why you must study up on this topic (here's a good place to start!) and also do the in-home inspection.

Again, you can't deny the animal if it's "legit" but if for some reason the animal is causing damage or filth at their property, you CAN deny for that.

EXAMPLES:

Do not say: "Applicant's ESA dog is pooping all over the floor of current residence."

Rather say: "Feces observed all over the floor of current residence."

Do not say: "Applicant's dog is chewing up the mini-blinds."

Rather say: "Damaged to property observed."

Robert J: As usual, this story is weird.

First, why would you present to ANIMAL CONTROL about a federal housing law? Your local Animal Control couldn't care less about Service Animals and ESAs.

Second, your "solution" is already the law. So, again, not sure why you are "presenting" to anyone. You said:

"Same is with a dog that causes issues. Either have the dog attend obedience school, or trade it in for a better model."

That's literally already federal law. If an SA or ESA "causes issues", then you can have them either get rid of it, get a new one, or get that one better trained.

Your story makes no sense -- including who you say you presented to -- and what you say you "presented" as a "solution." That's already the law as it is and has been. You've added nothing.

Rest easy, John, I know this is your passionate topic where you love to dot every i and cross every t. Bravo to you, Good Sir! ;-)

Fact is in 20 years of LLing I've had ONE Service Animal request, which was accommodated. One. Out of hundreds of leases and over a thousand applications. They aren't the issue 99.99% of the time. ESAs are the issue.

I told the OP to learn what documentation to ask for, if appropriate. If they follow that advice, they will be fine, because they will know when they CAN and CAN'T ask for something.

People have to study up for themselves.

I really love the input from John and Sid on this subject.

Bonanza, the $300 fine per violation is awesome.

Talk about some quick wallet training.

Does that include other violations as well? I wonder how my judge would rule for that?

The militantly pro ESA crown activists like to conflate the term "ESA" with "support animal" because they think it gives the ESA more "street cred" if you will.

I had one such applicant who had an attitude and was already quite bossy/ know it all try to tell me how the ESA is the same thing as a support animal.

Also appreciate how Bonanza the law portion on here.

As some suggested it’s time to get schooled on this in Connecticut, the same federal laws apply:

• You cannot charge extra security deposits, pet fees, or pet rent for a service dog. Service animals are not considered pets under the ADA and Fair Housing Act (FHA).

• You can require the tenant to pay for any actual damages caused by the service dog.

What You Can Ask:

If youyour ad says “no pets”, and she originally said she had no pets, you may want to verify the service animal claim. You cannot ask for a “certificate” (because there’s no official service dog registry), but you can legally ask:

1. Is the dog required because of a disability?

2. What specific tasks is the dog trained to perform?