INFORMATION FOR BOTH TENANTS AND LANDLORDS IN REGARDS TO ASSISTANCE ANIMALS AND FAIR HOUSING AND TO HOPEFULLY CLARIFY WHAT THE LAW LAYS OUT FOR BOTH PARTIES.
Let’s start with how people needing assistance animals were provided protection…It starts with laws and Acts that created Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. For, in real estate, discrimination in housing at the Federal level is when an individual receives a different level of service because of:
sex (includes pregnancy, gender, sexual orientation and gender identity)
race
color
religion or creed
national origin or ancestry
familial status (having to do with all things related to family)
and/or
disability (both physical and mental)
The Federal Fair Housing Act covers all types of housing, including public housing, except:
-rental dwellings of 4 or fewer where one unit is occupied by the owner
-single family homes sold or rented by the owner without the use of a real estate
broker
-housing owned by private clubs or religious organizations that restrict occupancy
in housing units to their members.
Under the Fair Housing Act and Section 504, persons with disabilities may request a reasonable accommodation for assistance animals, which under these two laws includes emotional support animals.
Assistance animals are defined by the Act as animals that work, assist, or perform tasks for the benefit of a person with a disability, including providing emotional support that alleviates or improves the symptoms or effects of a disability. So, “assistance animals” is a rather all encompassing term and can include service animals, emotional support animals, therapy animals and comfort animals.
An assistance animal is NOT considered a pet and is not in the same legal classification as pets. And assistance animals are not limited to dogs and cats--they can be birds, rabbits and other animals.
Probably the most well-known assistance animal is the Service Dog. A service animal is a specific type of assistance animal. Service animals, unlike assistance animals, are covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which defines them as:
Any dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability. The work or tasks performed by a service animal must be directly related to the handler ́s disability.
LANDLORD CONSIDERATIONS
If you as a landlord are unsure if the animal is indeed a service animal, you are permitted, under the ADA, to ask two questions:
1. Is the animal required because of a disability (assuming that is not obvious)
2. What work or task has the dog/miniature horse been trained to perform?
(If that is not obvious)
If the animal(s) meets these criteria, the animal should be allowed to accompany the individual to all areas where anyone is normally permitted to go.
But a service animal is not the same thing as an EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMAL.
An EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMAL is a companion animal--dog or other common domestic animal, that a medical professional has determined provides benefit for an individual with a disability. To be afforded protection under Federal law, a person must meet the federal definition of disability and must have a note from a doctor--not a family doctor but a licensed therapist, stating that the person has an emotional or mental disability and that the emotional support animal is necessary.
To receive legal protections, an ESA requires an ESA letter from a licensed therapist--and here in NYS, from a NYS licensed therapist. ESA’s are exempt from no-pet housing restrictions.
Very important to NOTE: The landlord may not discriminate or charge pet fees or deposits to the individual if the owner has an ESA letter from a physician or licensed therapist and the animal is therefore a certified Emotional Support Animal. This is also true of service animals--they are not to be treated like pets and consequently no pet fee or pet deposit is to charged. However, landlords can require a tenant to cover any related costs for repairs or damages caused by the animal or excessive wear and tear caused by the animal.
27 авг 2024
