Emotional Support Animal in the middle of the Lease (California)

[Miko Lee]

Hi all,

I signed a new tenant 2 months back and she brought a dog with her. My property is a pet friendly community but I do charge a monthly pet fee and pet deposit. Fast forward two months, she told me that her pet is actually an emotional support animal and asked if I can return her monthly pet fee and pet deposit and waive them going forward. This is in California. Here are my questions:

- can she do this in the middle of the lease?

- What kind of documentations do I need to get from her to prove the emotional support animal?

- Am I required to return all the monthly pet fees and pet deposit? Or can I just waive her monthly pet fee gring forward?

Thank!

[Greg M.]

Assuming that she provides you the proper paperwork showing it is an ESA, you must stop charging her the pet fee going forward. Any pet fees paid before this are yours to keep as before the documentation was provided to you, it was a pet.

You do not need to return the pet deposit until she leaves the unit. The pet deposit was to cover damage from her pet. At this point she had a pet for 2 months and that is what you may be using the pet deposit for when she moves out. 

Proper documentation is usually a letter from her doctor stating that she has a need for an ESA. As you probably know, this is a scam, but one the law allows.