ESA letter medical provider question

[Troy L.]

Hi everyone,  A tenant has brought to my attention she wants a esa for medical problem at sfr I rent to her.  So today I get a text with a picture of letter from an alleged medical provider (DNP-C).  Missing from the letter was date written, letterhead, liscense number and signature.  So l text back tenant and ask if she could have provider resubmit letter with missing info and she replied she would.  I then asked her to please tell me the providers physical business address, twice and was not given ananswer.  I have read online that medical providers must reside in the same state as patient and also that they don’t.

Does anyone know for sure if it is required for provider to be in same state or not?

Does each state have its own laws concerning this?

Thanks in advance!

[Richard F.]

Aloha,

You can require the letter be from a "reliable" source. If the person is not new to the area/region, I would not find a letter from someone across the country to be "reliable". If they are new to town, then the source should be from their prior area and no older than a year. I do want to see a business address and contact info, because you are also able to confirm the provider has personal knowledge of the person. You CANNOT ask any other details from the provider, other than what the letter should include...confirming the fact the person does have a qualifying disability per HUD, and the specific animal they are requesting accommodation for performs a service or task, or alleviates a symptom of the disability for the person.

Keep in mind also, the person providing this info can be a medical professional OR a social worker, so not necessarily licensed.

I also provide an Assistance Animal Policy that applies to all Non-Pets. You can require a Veterinarians health report on the animal AND require it be annually updated; we require all are spayed or neutered to minimize aggressive behavior and prevent the issues arising from multiple offspring; the animal must be carried by the handler or in a carrier when in confined spaces such as elevators, stairwells laundry rooms etc. unless doing so prevents the animal from performing tasks it was trained for; handler must clean up after the animal in all common areas and prevent offensive odors from emanating from their unit; handler remains responsible for actual damages caused by the animal including cleanup and damage of yard areas; nuisance animals that bark or create other disturbances NOT related to their specific tasks are grounds for removal of the animal and/or the tenant with appropriate notice.

Some states do have more or less restrictions within their Fair Housing laws, so you do need to check on that, but our policies have been reviewed and approved by our RE attorneys.