What Is an Assistance Animal?
An assistance animal is a specially designated animal that helps a person with a disability. This animal could either provide physical assistance by performing tasks or offer emotional support to alleviate the effects of a disability. Importantly, an assistance animal is not considered a pet under law. Instead, it plays a key role in ensuring individuals with disabilities can live independently and comfortably. There are two main types of assistance animals:
- Service animals: These animals are trained to perform specific tasks, such as guiding someone with a visual impairment or alerting a person to an oncoming seizure.
- Emotional support animals (ESAs): These animals provide companionship and emotional relief that helps mitigate symptoms of anxiety, depression, or other mental health conditions.
Legal Obligations of Housing Providers
Landlords and housing providers are required to make reasonable accommodations for tenants with disabilities, including those who rely on assistance animals. These accommodations ensure that tenants with disabilities can have equal access to housing and the full use of their living space. As a landlord, it is critical to understand your legal responsibilities under the Fair Housing Act (FHA).
Under the FHA, you are prohibited from enforcing blanket “no-pet” policies or imposing pet fees on assistance animals. Additionally, when a tenant with a disability requests an accommodation for their assistance animal, housing providers must engage in an interactive process to assess the request without discrimination or bias.
Key Conditions for Assistance Animal Requests
In most cases, you are required to grant the tenant’s request for an assistance animal if the following conditions are met:
- The request is made by or on behalf of a person with a disability: The tenant or someone representing the tenant must request to have an assistance animal as a reasonable accommodation to your pet restrictions.
- Reliable disability-related information is provided: If the tenant’s disability and the need for an assistance animal are not obvious, you may request documentation from a licensed healthcare professional or other qualified professional who has personal knowledge of the tenant’s need for the accommodation confirming that the tenant has a disability and that the assistance animal helps alleviate their symptoms. If the disability is apparent but you cannot determine the nexus or connection between the disability and the tenant’s request for accommodation, you may request the tenant provide you with information (e.g. letter from a qualified professional) showing the nexus. See Majors v. Hous. Auth. of DeKalb Cnty., 652 F.2d 454 (5th Cir. 1981); Hous. Auth. of New London v. Tarrant, 1997 Conn. Super. LEXIS 120 (Conn. Super. Ct. Jan. 14, 1997); Whittier Terrace Assoc. v. Hampshire, 532 N.E.2d 712 (Mass. App. Ct. 1989); Durkee v. Staszak, 636 N.Y.S.2d 880 (App. Div. 1996); Crossroads Apartments Assoc. v. LeBoo, 578 N.Y.S.2d 1004 (City Ct. 1991)
- No undue burden or threat: As the landlord, you can deny the request only under very limited circumstances, such as if the animal poses a direct threat to others or would cause substantial property damage that cannot be mitigated with reasonable accommodations. However, these threats must be based on specific facts or evidence, not assumptions or stereotypes about certain animal breeds. See Warren v. Delvista Towers Condo. Ass’n, 2014 WL 3908057, at *5–6 (S. D. Fla. July 29, 2014) (finding that the FHA preempted a local ordinance banning pit bull dogs where plaintiff sought a reasonable accommodation to keep a pit bull as emotional support animal). Compare Chavez v. Aber, 122 F. Supp. 3d 581, 597 (W.D. Tex. 2015) (finding that allowing a dog that was part-pit bull to stay on premises was potentially reasonable accommodation because veterinarian found animal showed no signs of aggression) with Gill Terrace Apts, Inc. v. Johnson, 177 A.3d 1087 (Vt. 2017) (affirming lower court’s decision that tenant was not entitled to reasonable accommodation of specific emotional support animal because animal displayed aggressive tendencies, while not addressing the fact that the tenant lived at a Section 8 property designated for the elderly).
Exceptions to the Requirement
There are situations where you may be justified in denying a request for an assistance animal (see HUD Notice FHEO-2013–01):
- Undue financial or administrative burden: If granting the request would cause significant financial strain or administrative difficulties, the accommodation may not be considered reasonable.
- Fundamental change to your business: If the accommodation would alter the essential nature of your operations or service model, it may not be required.
- Direct threat to health or safety: If the assistance animal is found to pose a direct threat to other tenants or staff, despite other reasonable accommodations being offered, you are not obligated to approve the request. However, this must be based on concrete evidence, not generalizations.
- Significant property damage: You can deny an assistance animal if it poses a risk of substantial physical damage that could not be addressed through reasonable means.
Common Examples of Reasonable Accommodation Requests
Here are examples of how a tenant might make a reasonable accommodation request involving an assistance animal:
- No-pet policy exceptions: If your property has a strict no-pet policy, a tenant with an emotional support animal or service animal can request an exception. You are required to make that exception if the request meets the legal conditions outlined above.
- No pet-related fees: You cannot charge disabled tenants with assistance animals any pet-related fees, including deposits or extra rent. Assistance animals are not considered pets, and therefore, such fees should not apply.
Best Practices for Landlords
To avoid legal issues and ensure compliance with the Fair Housing Act, consider these best practices:
- Develop a clear assistance animal policy: Your leasing agreements and tenant handbooks should outline how tenants can request an accommodation for an assistance animal, including the documentation required and the process for evaluating such requests.
- Respond promptly and in writing: When a tenant submits a request, respond as quickly as possible. Delaying the process may be considered a form of discrimination. All communication should be documented in writing.
- Engage in an interactive process: Be prepared to have a conversation with the tenant about their needs and explore ways to make the accommodation work. Dismissing requests without dialogue can expose you to liability.
- Avoid assumptions: Base your decisions on the facts of each request. Do not assume certain breeds of animals are more dangerous or that certain disabilities are less valid. Every case should be evaluated individually.
- Consult legal advice when in doubt: If you’re unsure whether a request constitutes a reasonable accommodation, it’s wise to consult with a legal expert in fair housing law.
Conclusion
Understanding your responsibilities under the Fair Housing Act is crucial to ensuring that you meet your obligations as a landlord. By permitting tenants with disabilities to live with assistance animals, you not only comply with the law but also contribute to a more inclusive and supportive living environment for all. Remember, assistance animals are not pets, and reasonable accommodations for them play a critical role in helping tenants with disabilities live independently and with dignity.