I know there are a lot of questions on this topic. My situation is we had a tenant move in on a Saturday and on Wednesday we found out they have a cat. We have a not pets policy. I also want to mention that they moved in in the middle of the month and we don't start leases in the middle of the month so their lease technically hadn't started yet when we found out about the cat, a fact I feel like would work against us. They had already paid the security deposit and rental fees.
When approached about the cat the tenant said it was her mom's that she was watching for the week. We told her she had to remove the cat. She then placed it on us that we shouldn't have been in her apartment when she wasn't there. We went in because the day before they had flooded the apartment due to not notifying us about a leak in the shower. We were going in to see if the flooring was drying properly. Anyway her boyfriend called later and stated that it was his girlfriends cat. Again they were told to remove it. Later that same day we get an email stating that their cat is now an emotional support animal. The exact verbiage they used is "our cat is now a registered emotional support cat and cannot be discriminated against no matter the issue" Clearing showing that the cat was a pet when it was discovered.
Is there anything I can do here or do I just have to deal with it. We don't plan on renewing. However, since they literally just moved in I have to wait a whole year before being rid of them
@Kaitlyn Seigfried That sounds like a very challenging situation. My understanding is that you will be required to make a reasonable accommodation and allow the animal even if you have a no pets/animals policy. That being said, they have to provide documentation to prove that it is a service/assistance animal from a reliable source. You have to give them a reasonable amount of time to do it but just stating "it is an emotional support animal" isn't enough and they should refer to "Guidance on Documenting an Individual’s Need for Assistance Animals in Housing". Here is a helpful piece about documentation:
"Some websites sell certificates, registrations, and licensing documents for assistance animals to anyone who answers certain questions or participates in a short interview and pays a fee. Under the Fair Housing Act, a housing provider may request reliable documentation when an individual requesting a reasonable accommodation has a disability and disability-related need for an accommodation that are not obvious or otherwise known.35 In HUD's experience, such documentation from the internet is not, by itself, sufficient to reliably establish that an individual has a non-observable disability or disability-related need for an assistance animal. By contrast, many legitimate, licensed health care professionals deliver services remotely, including over the internet. One reliable form of documentation is a note from a person's health care professional that confirms a person's disability and/or need for an animal when the provider has personal knowledge of the individual."
If the tenant doesn't provide you reliable documentation within a reasonable timeframe it appears you aren't required to make an accommodation. That being said, it'll be a challenging situation and they may not have a hard time convincing a health care professional to give them that documentation.
As far as pet fees/deposits go, it doesn't really look like you can charge them: "A housing provider may exclude or charge a fee or deposit for pets in its discretion and subject to local law but not for service animals or other assistance animals". While you may not be able to charge your normal pet fees, I don't see where you can't require them to complete an animal addendum (or similar form) so that you have record of the animal. This may discourage them from trying to sneak in other animals as you can remind them that any animals need to have that form filled out (and you may also need documentation showing the tenant needs multiple emotional support animals, although I'm not sure what the requirements are if someone has more than one).
HUD has a document (Assessing a Person's Request to Have an Animal as a Reasonable Accommodation Under the Fair Housing Act) providing guidance that, while lengthy, may prove useful for you. That is where I pulled some of the info from that I provided in this response.
In summary, the tenant will likely be able to keep the animal and you'll be unable to charge fees for it. While having a signed lease wouldn't have prevented this, it may be good practice in the future to get all documentation signed before move-in and ensure that the prospective tenants are familiar with all of your rules. Although you'll likely be stuck with the animal despite your policy, don't forget that the tenants still have to follow all of your other rules and terms of the lease. You obviously shouldn't retaliate against them but if they end up breaking rules or violating the lease they are still just as accountable as your other tenants.
On a side note, you can remind the tenant about the terms of entering the apartment and when notice is given. I'm assuming your lease has this spelled out but it seems common to list out how much notice is given (12 hours, 24 hours, etc.) as well as the situations where no notice is given (such as where property damage is imminent, like what you've described).