It is only reasonable for landlords to have a pet policy in place. It is one of the precautionary measures to protect your property from damages caused by pets, by enforcing rules and limitations regarding animal occupants in your rental property. Some landlords ban pets entirely. But what if a tenant has a service animal?
Service animals or companion animals are animals whose purpose is to assist individuals who have special health needs. They help detect certain seizures related to medical conditions like epilepsy. Others also provide comfort to ease mental conditions like anxiety and depression.
Laws like The Fair Housing Act protects certain groups of people from being denied rental housing accommodation based on discrimination. One of the people protected by the law are differently-abled individuals like the ones who need the aid of service animals.
Simply put, you can’t deny a tenant accommodation just because they have a service animal because that would be discriminatory.
However, familiarizing yourself with federal and state housing laws regarding service animals can help you prepare your business accordingly on how to handle such animals and save yourself from lawsuits.
They are not pets.
Service animals (for physical medical conditions) and companion animals (for mental illnesses) are not considered as “pets,” so your pet policy does not apply to them. You can’t charge pet fees like pet rent and pet deposit for them.
You also can’t impose weight and breed restrictions for service animals in your rental unit.
Careful not to invade the privacy of service animal owners.
The law protects a person’s health condition from privacy violations. Even during the screening process, the landlord is not allowed to ask specific details on a tenant’s illness or disability. However, they are allowed to verify from their healthcare provider if they are indeed disabled. Some tenants would lie about their pets being service animals to enjoy the privileges.
A landlord also has a right to request for the service animal’s health records to make sure that it is vaccinated, immunized, free of parasites, and in good health.
You still have landlord rights.
Service animals are trained and have certification to perform their medical duties. However, they can still cause some damage to property even if they are more behaved than usual pets. In such circumstances, the landlord is allowed to charge the tenant for repairs.
A landlord can also issue warnings or even file an eviction if the animal becomes a disturbance to other tenants or becomes a threat to other tenants’ safety.
In some states, landlords are allowed to deny entry of service animals to common areas of the rental property, such as pools or recreation rooms. You can check if your state allows it just to be sure.
Be clear in your listing.
If you publish your property listing on Padleads including your pet policy, make sure you don’t deny applicants just because they have service animals. As long as you know your rights and respect theirs, it wouldn’t be much of a problem.