Therapy Service Dogs & Pet Fees

[Jordan S.]

Hi All,

We have a tenant with an 18 month lease expiring in June.  We have had a $50/month pet fee in place for her dog since day one.  Tenant has expressed numerous times that she doesn't agree with the pet fee but has been paying it and rent on time.  Tenant recently mentioned in passing during another conversation that her dog is now registered as a "service dog" for her own anxiety so that she can fly commercially with the dog.  I know this is as easy as buying a vest and ID card for your dog these days.

I found an interesting article here on this subject:  https://www.american-apartment-owners-association.org/property-management/latest-news/pet-policies-vs-companion-animals/

Anyway, looking ahead I suspect this tenant is going to try to play this card on us somehow to get out of paying the monthly pet fee.  This is in Pennsylvania.   We may just nix the pet fee, go month to month and raise rent to the equivalent to cover the pet fee.  

Any thoughts on this?

[Nathan Gesner]

Pretend you didn't hear it. Until they make a formal request for reasonable accommodation, you are under no obligation to do anything. Once she does, you will need to know the law and how to handle her request.

The easiest solution? Sign up for www.petscreening.com and let them do the heavy lifting!!! It's 100% free for you. If the tenant applies and is denied, you can legally reject the service animal request. If she passes, you have to accept it and can't charge pet rent, pet deposits, etc.

PetScreening is a professional service that knows the law inside and out. The majority of people claiming a service animal either never finish the application or they fail the screening so this will cut down your applicants by about 80% or more.

They just added a new service that requires all tenants to use their service. If you have a no-pet policy, it requires tenants to read and agree to several terms and sign so they can't say they didn't know pets weren't allowed.

One of the best tools for Landlords and Property Managers!