Does My Landlord Have To Allow My Service Dog

Support animals Americans beloved their animals. In fact, 47 per centum of renters list allowing pets as a requirement for their next home. Renting to a pet owner can make good business sense considering of this demand, and some landlords find animal lovers more than responsible and willing to pay higher rent to conform their furry (or scaly) friends. Merely, you might not share your tenants' enthusiasm, or you don't want to deal with the potential damage a pet can do to your home.

As a landlord, yous exercise have some control over whether yous permit animals in your property, but there are some animals that are protected nether fair housing laws.

Y'all may (or may non) need to accommodate these two categories of animals in your rental property:

Pets: permit or not
Assistance animals: reasonable accommodation

Before you brand any final decisions nigh your animal policies, check with a local chaser who is well-versed in this subject about local laws and regulations regarding allowing animals at your rental.

Download our free pets eBook for in-depth information about pets and service animals at your rental holding, all in one convenient package.

Pets: a simple yes or no

If yous determine to allow pets, you lot can still restrict certain types or sizes of animals. Be sure to specify in your lease — and in your listing — exactly which kinds of pets and how many are accustomed at your property. Something like "2 cats," "i dog" or "one dog under 50 pounds."

Yous tin can likewise require that you lot run across and approve the pet outset. And, if your jurisdiction permits it, you tin can require a carve up pet deposit if the animal causes damage to your property. Y'all can create a separate pet agreement or spell out any other rules in your lease. For case, you can require that dogs and cats be licensed, spayed or neutered, and current on vaccinations.

One affair to keep in mind: Some insurance companies and homeowners associations have brood restrictions or other pet rules, so check before updating your rental agreement.

You can also not let pets — just exist explicit well-nigh it in your listing and in your lease. Y'all can speedily screen for pets through Zillow Rental Manager.

But, what about the animals who are not pets just assistance or back up animals? As a landlord, what does your animal policy need to exist legally?

Help animals: reasonable accommodation

Assist animals are not pets — they're administration to people who have a disability. Assistance animals are usually dogs but tin can be other types of animals too. These animals are specially trained to perform disability-related tasks, such equally guiding a person who is blind, pulling a wheelchair, alerting an owner to an impending seizure, performing circuitous household tasks and protecting their companions from oncoming traffic.

Emotional support animals are also considered help animals under off-white housing guidelines. These animals are oftentimes used as part of a medical treatment plan to provide companionship; relieve loneliness; and sometimes help with depression, anxiety and certain phobias, but they practice not have special training to perform tasks that help people with disabilities.

The need for an emotional support animal is not grounds for reasonable accommodation nether the Americans with Disabilities Act. But information technology is nether off-white housing laws. As a landlord, you must offering reasonable accommodation to renters with emotional support animals, or someone who develops a need for 1 while they are your tenant. This is the case even if you have a no-pets policy.

Retrieve, to stay compliant with off-white housing laws, you lot may non ask any question you lot wouldn't ask every single renter or person who views your holding. To determine if an assistance animate being request should be granted, you can ask two questions if the need for the aid animal is not obvious:

Is the animal required because of a disability?
What work or job has the animal been trained to perform?

Y'all cannot enquire for whatsoever documentation for the creature, require that it demonstrate its chore or ask most the nature of the person's disability. You besides cannot ask for or collect an additional deposit or extra hire for an assistance brute. Additionally, you may not impose weight, brood or size restrictions on an help animate being. You tin accuse renters a fee if the assistance beast causes damage to your holding.

If you believe your tenant or potential tenant does not have a disability or does not have a inability-related need for an aid animal, the all-time matter to exercise is certificate the process so you lot accept a record of your interactions, and then cheque with an experienced attorney earlier taking any action or refusing whatsoever requests.

The bottom line? Before you lot make any final decisions about your beast policies, check with a local chaser who is well-versed in the subject. And know that emotional support animals are considered assistance animals for fair housing purposes.

Download our gratis pets eBook for more information about renting to tenants with pets or assistance animals.