Another pitbull as an "emotional support animal" applicant

[Jack B.]

More and more tenants and tenant applicants are quick to perk up and claim "I have a pitbull, it's an emotional support animal" as if they have found some fool proof loophole. Some applicants have as many as 3 pitbulls. They say it with a smirk on their face. They claim they have a letter. There is a place online that will give you an ESA letter for $22 instantly...

 The girl today claimed I have to accept it. I told her my insurance company doesn't allow it and the mortgage company requires me to have insurance. I've had a policy cancelled before because a tenant got a pitbull unbeknownst to me, discovered during an insurance auditors drive by. 

I'm honestly shocked that the laws are so ridiculous. Seems like property owners have zero rights other than to pay taxes to fund the Gestapo Government. She claimed I have to accept it, that she has had trouble finding a place that accepts the pitbull. I asked her if landlords have to accept it, why do you have such a hard time finding one that does?

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[Steve K.]

@Jack B. Contrary to the belief of many prospective tenants who have been sold a fake "ESA certificate" by the many sites online selling them, an ESA is not the same as a Service Animal, and doesn't have the same protections under the Fair Housing Act. "No pets" policies don't apply to them (they're technically not pets), you can't charge extra pet rent for them, nor can you ask about the tenants disability. However, you don't have to accept her fake letter she bought online. You can request to have the local licensed mental health professional who diagnosed her condition and provided her with an ESA recommendation contact you directly to confirm this for you (directly being the operative word here, not by sending a note to her and then she sends it to you so she can edit it/fabricate it). Usually requesting this and mentioning that you plan to check the credentials of the person making the recommendation is enough to deter any fakers. A landlord can also choose not to rent to someone with an ESA if the animal causes harm to other residents, if the property is not covered by the FHA (is less than four units and the owner occupies one of the units, is a single family rental managed by the owner, or is owned by a club or religious group that only rents to its own members), if the animal (or animals in this case) is/are too large for the living space, if the animal causes physical harm to the property, of if the animal causes undo financial harm to the landlord (such as by causing your insurance company to drop you, resulting in your mortgage company calling your loan). I've gotten halfway through this explanation with people before and they usually say "nevermind" and hang up or leave before I have finished, which is A-OK with me. It's illegal to attempt to use a fake online form to avoid paying pet rent or to avoid a no-pets policy with an animal that is not an actual ESA, prescribed by an actual licensed mental health professional.