Emotional Support Animal

[Peter Tverdov]

To quickly get my opinion out of the way, I think these things are generally a load of baloney...

Here is my situation. I manage a property where the tenant signed with the owner (a few months prior to me taking over) and understood the owner had a no pet policy in place in the Lease. Tenant signed the Lease. Once the tenant is in the property of course they request a dog (for emotional support due to their anxiety), owner says no...they later come up with a letter from a therapist (someone who has yet to return my calls) and in the letter it states according to the FEDERAL Fair Housing Act, you cannot prohibit someone with an ESA from living in the premises and having the animal. The NJ Law Against Discrimination also covers ESAs.

I would understand if the tenant were upfront about this prior to the Lease signing, because I would agree the owner or property manager cannot deny the person from renting the apartment. However, I know most people have a friend/family member who try this load of baloney to get a dog on a flight or in an apartment after the fact and the NJ LAD or Federal Fair Housing Act isn't specific regarding people requesting this AFTER they have already moved in. The owner is totally firm on not allowing pets and personally I think this is a grey area. 

Wanted to get the thoughts from the board on this situation. 

[Mike Cumbie]

@Peter Tverdov

As others have stated it is not really a grey area it is straight forward. If the tenant meets the requirements for an ESA then they are allowed to have it. Just like a wheelchair, pair of glasses, live in nurse. However just like a wheelchair, pair of glasses and live in nurse the tenant is responsible for any damage to the property caused by that item. If during the 3 month inspection you notice that there is a broken molding. Tenant states it is from a wheelchair, you should have it repaired and charged to the tenant at that time (not wait until moveout). Same with an ESA or nurse. If you go in and there is scratches on the door or the nurse puched a hole in the wall, schedule the repair and charge the tenant. You may hear "They are just going to do it again don't bother". If so respond with "We will have to repair it again and again if that is the case, we do not allow damage to remain in units".

You can try and fight an ESA (even if it is from some site called getabogusserviceanimalcertificaterightnow.com) but someone will take that case and make it tough on you. I would recommend treating it like a medical device and maintain your property. There are still policies and the tenant is responsibile for them. A nurse cannot blast music at 3:00AM and disturb the neighbors, an ESA cannot be barking at 3:00AM. Neither can threaten the neighbors or urinate on the carpet without paying for a professional cleaning.

Good luck!