Property managers and pet owners have often had complicated relationship.  Pets can be an important part of a family, and many tenants prefer to live their lives with pets in tow.  Landlords however, must consider the possibility of damage or sanitary issues that might be caused by a pet.  When rental property owners and property managers choose to allow pets, they typically have strict pet policies in place meant to mitigate risk by establishing rules that govern the type, breed, and behavior of the pets that are allowed.  As such, pet policies, whether pets are allowed or not, tend to be fairly straightforward for most experienced property managers and tenants.  That all changes however when it comes to tenant requests for service and emotional support animals.

Under the Fair Housing Act (FHA), a reasonable request for a service or emotional support animal (ESA) has to be considered.  This means that animals that would not be allowed under a pet policy might have to be permitted as a service or emotional support animal.  Experienced property managers like Martin Feinberg must know the laws and regulations in order to always be in compliance.  Thankfully the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has recently released new guidelines to help. 

NEW HUD GUIDELINES FOR SERVICE ANIMAL AND ESA REQUESTS

The new HUD guidelines are meant to aid landlords and rental property owners legally assess a tenant’s request for a service or emotional support animal as a reasonable accommodation under the FHA. These considerations include:

• What is and isn’t an emotional support and/or service animal
• The two important (and ONLY) questions to ask a tenant requesting a service or ES animal
• Analysis of and criteria required for assessing the accommodation
• Best practices for documenting a tenant’s need for an assistance animal

One of the most important things for professional property managers to understand is that service and emotional support animals are not pets because they “act in a capacity to assist individuals with disabilities”.  This is why they are not impacted by a pet policy.

However, not every request for a service or emotional support animal must be granted.  Landlords and tenants must understand FHA regulations and definitions in order to ensure that compliance with the law is a priority without anyone taking advantage.