Emotional Support Animal - No Notice, not on Application

[Laurence V.]

Just a slight twist on the emotional support animal (ESA) question. I'm aware that I can't turn anyone down or charge a pet fee for an ESA. But what can or should I do if a tenant just moves in a ESA without telling me or mentioning it in the application? I think the answer might be 'just accept it and move on'.

Specifically here, I have a question on my application "What type(s) of animals do you have?" which the applicant indicated none. Now, less than a month after they moved in I found a cat on the property when I was making some minor repairs the tenant had requested. I told the tenant I would have to enforce the lease but gave her a couple options. She emailed me a few days later saying the cat is an ESA with a letter from a therapist. In this case I've already decided to accept it and move on, but I'm curious what everyone else's thoughts are. I suppose eviction for lying on the application is a potential response, but I don't see that going very well for the landlord in court.