Fair Housing and Emotional Support Animals (ESA’s)

Send us Fan MailWhen it comes to rental properties and animals, there are a lot of things to consider. You (for now) have the right to refuse pets, but you do not have the right to ever refuse a service animal.We will say that, for the most part, we do not allow pets in our units.  So, when an applicant or an existing tenant comes to us with a request for a service animal, we are not thrilled to say the least. And we are not concerned with service animals in the traditional sense, you know, the ones who guide the visually impaired or the ones who walk alongside someone in a wheelchair and help open doors and pick dropped items off the ground.  Those animals are very highly trained and are certified and registered assistant animals.Today we are discussing ESA’s or emotional service animals that now have rights through the Department of Housing and Urban Development under Federal Fair Housing laws.  In many cases (not all), these ESA’s are glorified pets.  There is no training, there is no certification.  The doctors who authorize these pets very rarely even meet the pet to see how it interacts with the patient and observe if it is a good fit.When it comes to these service animals in rental properties, there are many questions that come to mind like, will it damage our units? And then, if it’s a dog, will it cause a commotion and disturb the other tenants? What are WE going to have to do to make this accommodation request amicable? Do we have any rights in the matter of allowing these service animals?These are all things and so much more that we are discussing in our episode today.  So, grab a coffee and give it a listen while we go over what you need to do if you are faced with this request.LINKS👉 ESA Laws by State👉 Episode 36: ESA Insights and Pet Rules, an Interview with Logan Miller of Our Pet Policy👉 Our Pet Policy: Contact to Learn More. Let them know you heard about them from Your Landlord Resource!👉 Email us Your Questions!  [email protected]@YourLandlordResource.comConnect with Us: 🌎 Visit our website 📧 Subscribe to our newsletter.👆 FREE Landlord Forms and Doc’s🤳Text Us: 650-489-4447📩Email us at: [email protected], [email protected] ➡️ Give us a review: Apple or on Spotify or YouTube ✔️Course Waitlist📱 Instagram, Facebook, &  Private Facebook group