How to confirm Service Animal vs "Therapy / Emotional Support" Animal?

[Bryce Jamison]

The ADA says true service animals do not require registration, nor can I ask to see it even if they do have it. Does this mean anyone who says their animal is a service animal can get around my no pet policy?

I can ask if the animal is required due to a disability and what training the animal has had, but what's stopping someone from lying?

[Ben Zimmerman]

I'll disagree with a few things here.  While you can typically only ask for a small amount of information in regards to emotional or service animals, that also implies that the person with the dog is telling the truth.  Things get more complicated if you have a legitimate reason to believe the person is lying to you. (which appears to be what question you're actually wanting answered)

*Insert generic "I'm not a lawyer, consult your own professionals" statement here*

First, I have all tenants fill out a worksheet that indicates what type of animal it is, including generic information about the dog such as name, age, breed, and who does the dog assist (if not readily apparent and there will be multiple people residing in the house.) Then they are required to answer whether this is a service animal, or an emotional support animal.

The vast majority of people who lie about the status of their animals, claim that it is a service animal since that typically confers the most rights to the animal.  

While Fair Housing Act of 1988 is the overall law that governs housing discrimination based on health conditions, the law doesn't go into great detail on how those health conditions should be interpreted and applied, and often references back to the ADA for several things, including determining if an animal is actually a service animal in the first place.

https://www.hud.gov/sites/dfiles/PA/documents/HUDAsstAnimalN...

QUOTE: "Because HUD interprets the FHA to require access for individuals who use service animals, housing providers should initially follow the analysis that DOJ has determined is used for assessing whether an animal is a service animal under the ADA."

Part of the ADA requirements for a service animal, is that the animal always be under the control of its owner.  This means that not only does the animal need to typically be restrained (usually with a leash), but it also means the animal must physically be present at all (or virtually all) times.  This makes sense because an animal obviously can not be of service to you, if the animal is not actually with you.

This means that if someone shows up to initially view the home without their dog, doesn't take their dog with them to work, leaves the dog outside and unattended for hours at a time, or goes out for a night on the town and leaves the dog at home, then it may be the case that the dog no longer qualifies as a service animal under the ADA.  This is how hotels often catch people faking service animals, as the person checks into the rooms, and then immediately leaves for 5hrs and leave the dog behind.  https://www.ada.gov/resources/service-animals-faqs/

Q29. Are hotel guests allowed to leave their service animals in their hotel room when they leave the hotel?

A. No, the dog must be under the handler’s control at all times.

When it comes to fake emotional support or assistance animals, the law says that you can ask for proper documentation from a certified health professional.  There are plenty of scam websites that will send anyone a certificate as long as they pay a fee.  However under no circumstances are you required to accept these types of letters as valid proof of the animals status.  

QUOTE: "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. 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." END QUOTE

If someone submits BS documentation for an emotional support animal, they are notified that their application is being put on hold until additional valid documentation is submitted.  (and realistically a different fully qualified applicant will be given the lease while the first person tries to obtain additional documents)

My lease allows for a small monthly pet fee, a modest non-refundable pet deposit, and verbiage that if they lie about the status of a service animal, that they will be charged an additional large fee for lying. Once they have lied I assess the large fee, the deposit, and retroactively apply all monthly pet fees. I've never had any pushback on this because they know they're busted. Just make sure you properly document any and all reasons why this is a fake service animal and present the evidence to them up front or you risk a fair housing lawsuit.  The more documentation you have, and over a longer time period you have, the better.

I guess you always risk a lawsuit regardless of how much proof you have, but I have busted several people lying about their service animal, and have never had any pushback once I show them the relevant proof that they never take their animal with them when they leave the house. Additionally in many states its a crime to misrepresent the status of a service animal. In your state of NC its a Class 3 misdemeanor.  It's amazing how many people suddenly stop pretending that the dog is a service animal once they realize that what they did is a crime.   https://news.orvis.com/dogs/fake-service-dog-laws-protecting...

Is it worth trying to bust fake service animals and risk a lawsuit?  Honestly probably not, but I hate people who blatantly flout the rules because they are too cheap to pay an extra $25 bucks a month.