Emotional support animals are a hot topic. In property management, emotional support animals do relate to Fair Housing. Enjoy the episode below or the
blog version. Find the answers to some common questions. Be sure to check out our follow-up episode here: Your ESA Questions Answered Highlights of Episode 15 – What Does The Fair Housing Act Say About Emotional Support Animals? Click here for the full What Does The Fair Housing Act Say About Emotional Support Animals episode transcript. Are emotional support animals covered under the Fair Housing Act?The short answer is, “Yes.” However, there are steps to be taken to verify anyone claiming this status for their pet. Having a process in place beforehand will help streamline the accommodation request. Let’s take a look at some common problems that the housing industry must overcome. Can a landlord deny an ESA based on breed/size?Imagine this scenario. Hi, meet my emotional support dog. Kujo the 100 pound Pit Bull. Oh boy! Many communities have breed/weight restrictions. But do these apply to ESAs? Before you even address the 100-pound dog in the room, start at the basics. Complete an application for housing. If the application is approved, now move on to processing a reasonable accommodation request. At this point, if the animal is verified as an emotional support animal, accommodations must be made, regardless of breed or size. What can a landlord require for an ESA?Next up is the undisclosed animal. You have just had a conversation with a tenant under the impression that an emotional support animal doesn’t need to be disclosed. What now? More than likely, you are also being presented with an ESA letter. Unfortunately, many of these are boilerplate letters from the Internet. Even though your first instinct might be to issue a lease violation, it is now your job to verify the letter. You can do this by asking the following questions. You can ask the resident:
As you can see from the above questions, the burden of proof lies in the relationship that the verifier has with the resident. If established, you must make accommodations. If not, then you are free to move forward with issuing a violation notice. Can housing deny multiple emotional support animals?As accommodations for emotional support, animals have become more commonplace, a new problem has surfaced. Residents are asking for more than one emotional support animal. Again, your first thought might be to say “No bluntly,” but this would not follow best practices. Instead, you need to follow the same protocol as you would for one pet, but with some additional steps. Additionally, the resident needs to explain what type of individual service each animal provides. Next, you would move on to the verifier. Review the verification letter to see whether it shows personal knowledge and an ongoing relationship with the resident. Next, verify if it explains the different services each pet provides. If the information doesn’t match or separate services haven’t been documented, it does not meet the criteria for adequate verification for multiple animals. So as you can see, there are many different scenarios that you will contend with when it comes to ESAs. Having a reliable process in place that includes documentation and verification should ensure Fair Housing Compliance. You May Also Like: Assistance Animals and the HUD Notice We received so many questions regarding this episode that we decided to do a follow-up! Enjoy our this episode: Your ESA Questions Answered Can a landlord deny an emotional support animal in Georgia?Housing and Emotional Supports Animals in Georgia. Rights to accommodated housing are protected by the Fair Housing Act. This law states that landlords are not allowed to discriminate against emotional support animals and service dogs.
When can a landlord legally reject an ESA in Georgia?These situations would not fall under the umbrella of a reasonable accommodation request. One of the only ways that could make a landlord deny an emotional support animal is if it is a threat to another animal or tenant.
Does Georgia allow emotional support animals?Georgia ESA Housing Laws
Emotional support animals in Georgia are typically only allowed in pet-friendly public places and their home, with an official ESA letter. Your landlord must provide reasonable accommodations if you have an official ESA letter.
Do landlords have to accept emotional support animals?emotional support animals. It will generally be considered discriminatory for a landlord to refuse to allow a tenant to keep an 'assistance animal'. These are almost always dogs and are specially trained to assist people who are blind or deaf.
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