Received a letter from a tenant that was written by her doctor of an internal medicine . She, the dr states she has seen and treated this Tenant for " routine medical care" and goes on to say "she has a known diagnosis of anxiety. and states the patient feels that her cat provides help with anxiety and she requested her cat be permitted at her condo in the role of emotional support animal. I feel this is very reasonable if you have questions or concerns, the doctor signed at KDA Smith, DO."

My question is.. is this a legitimate ESA letter that I have to accept as a landlord? The doctor does not mention that she has herself treated her, the patient for anxiety herself or that the cat is any part of a treatment . it does not appear that she's any kind of psychiatric or mental health doctor. I also want a note that over six months ago. The cat was found in this apartment and was asked to remove it and she did and now she's back with this request. Can i request that a letter be sent from a mental health Dr? or do i surrender? also do i reply to the dr or the Tenant? thank you in advance for your opinions. Best

Did this "Dr." tell you this personally?

Never trust a statement handed to you by a tenant.

Verify the doctor and office are real. Then call that office and speak to the doctor.

"....the doctor signed at KDA Smith, DO"

What kind of signature is that?

Is this letter from an online site?

Is this doctor local where the tenant lives?

Are there any signs on the letter that it is from an online source?

Have you searched the doctor and facilities name?

Does the tenant qualify otherwise?

How well do you screen your tenants?

" I also want a note that over six months ago. The cat was found in this apartment and was asked to remove it, and she did and now she's back with this request."

Is this a current tenant already living in one of your units or is this a tenant that is applying to rent?

Sounds like a scammer tenant to me but you need to verify if the letter is real or from an online pay site.

Others can guide you better.

thank you for your comments...

This is a legit tenant, she's been here awhile & i think the letter head is from a local Dr... cc

but i think that the dr is not a psych dr at all & is not the dr (if any dr is) actually treating her for anxiety .. that was my point...

i thought in NY an ESA letter had to be sent from a licensed therapist, psychiatrist, or PCP and i want to ask her to get one

Cindy,

I agree the internist is not a psychologist. The wording is a little amateur (non-medical person or Ai?) so I would contact that medical office to verify it's authenticity and confirm who actually wrote it.

But it's not worth the fight for a few bucks in animal fees. Adjust the rent and/or not renew the lease at it's anniversary.

Wanna be RIGHT or RICH? Can't be both.

A vacancy can cost THOUSAND$$$!

Is this cat really a problem? Did the home smell? Curtains clawed? Litter dumped in the toilet?

We have 67 animals in our homes with ZERO problems because we checked their home before accepting them into our rental. Cats are either SUPER stinky (some males mark territory) or SUPER clean. Also check the litter box for cleanliness.

My local Fair Housing Director has offered to review such letters. She dislikes scammers because they interfere with folks who have legit needs. Run this past your local office but don't hold your breath.

BRAD

I guess this comes down to what a judge would believe as:

A licensed medical provider providing mental assistance.

It does sounds a bit odd to me.

My understanding is that any medical professional who actually treats a person may prescribe an animal as an ESA. Like prescribing a medication.

This situation does not appear to be that, as you described it. It seems more like she got caught & retroactively asked her DO to try to help her justify it.

Wording like "..the patient feels that her cat provides help with anxiety and she requested her cat be permitted at her condo in the role of emotional support animal." is very different from something like " I, a medical professional, have determined that this person needs an ESA in order to function normally in everyday life - so they should go get one now".

What pet does NOT offer emotional support & help you relax when you are anxious about something?!

To address your questions:

I do not think it is legitimate.

I would contact the DO to confirm if they wrote it and to ask them if they believe she needs an ESA to live a "normal" life.

Or did the tenant come asking for a letter as I suspect.

Reference law that punishes fraudulent behavior.

I would make my decision based greatly in their response.

If I allowed the animal to stay, I would be performing routing maintenance visits including inspecting for cat damage, odors, etc.

Even if a legitimate ESA or Service Animal is permitted to live there, they are not permitted to cause damage.

The fact that you caught her with the animal and then she goes out and gets an ESA letter is enough to anger me.

There are rules that allow that to happen as well, but I see/hear of more scams than legit reasons.

I have family that wanted to take their new dog to the campgrounds so they went out and got ESA paperwork saying their daughter needed the dog. Daughter likes the cats, but oh well. Scammers gonna scam.

Each State, County and City has it's own set of rules. In Los Angeles, I help pass a 30 day period that any letter has to be at least 30 days old to be used to acquire a tenancy. No learning what a landlord needs, then paying a Doctor to lie.

But I've had a second victory. My Friend, an animal behavioral specialist produced a "TEST" that I give the "owners" of the so called ESA Animal. If someone can not demonstrate they know how to care for the ESA animal in question, Then I require a Renters Policy and BOND to protect my property.

Cindy, please be aware that the ESA letter does not have to come from a doctor. It can be any mental health care professional and that includes their priest or their marriage counselor. An MD is not a requirement so don't be requiring notes from psychiatrists.

I would verify that the doctor had actually written the note and then I would accept it. I think the whole ESA thing stinks, but I do not want to have HUD come sniffing around to see if I am complying with the ESA laws, so I don't want to give the tenant an excuse to file a complaint.

Verify authenticity.

Then followup with inspection of place regularly until confident the whole place doesn't stink like cat.