Renting to tenants with service animals

[Holly Peterson]

Hi everyone,

I live in Oregon and we are required to rent to tenants with service animals even if we have a no pet policy.  Is anyone else dealing with this legality?

thanks 

[Nathan Gesner]

Originally posted by @Holly Peterson:

Hi everyone,

I live in Oregon and we are required to rent to tenants with service animals even if we have a no pet policy.  Is anyone else dealing with this legality?

thanks 

Holly, this is not a simple concept but I'll try to break it down for you. There are service animals that are specifically trained to help a person with a disability. A guide dog for a blind person is a common example. These animals fall under the ADA and are allowed into public spaces like stores and restaurants. They are highly trained, expensive, and usually very easy to spot based on their behavior.

There are also "emotional support animals" that are prescribed to provide an individual with comfort for PTSD, anxiety, depression, etc. Emotional Support Animals are authorized in rentals and covered by Fair Housing laws. They do not require any training at all. If you've been in an airport in the last ten years, you've probably noticed a big increase in the number of people flying with animals. That's because the law allowed people to claim their pets as "service animals" by simply claiming anxiety, depression, or whatever and they get to fly with their pet without paying the hefty fee. Many people were simply calling quacks with websites and being prescribed their emotional support animal with a 15-minute phone call and $100 charge on a credit card. Then they buy fake "Service Animal" vests, ID cards, and certificates that mean absolutely nothing. Some of the major airlines finally cracked down on this in 2021 and no longer allow emotional support animals on planes. I hope HUD will follow their lead because it's a growing problem. I used to see 1-2 applicants a year claiming they had an emotional support animal. Now I see 1-2 a week and there's nothing we can do about it if they check the boxes.

Fair Housing does not apply to everyone, so you may be exempt. For most of us, there's nothing we can do except try to root out the worst cases of fraud. CLICK HERE to see if Fair Housing applies to you. If it does not, you can legally reject applications with service animals.