Over 26% of the population or 61 million Americans live with disabilities. Over 500,000 service dogs are around to help them.
Animals can also provide emotional support. A recent survey of 1,500 Americans showed that 73% owned a pet and 32% had them certified as an emotional support animal.
Read on to learn the importance of landlord and tenant rights when it comes to service animals, emotional support animals, and pets.
Fair Housing Laws
North Carolina disability laws echo the federal FDA or Federal Fair Housing laws. They say that everyone with a disability has the same right to housing as anyone else. That includes the right to have an assistance animal, also known as a service or emotional support animal.
Letting in pets is a difficult decision for any landlord, but assistance animals aren't pets. The rules of the current pet policy don't legally apply. Neither do size and breed restrictions or pet fees or deposits.
Pets vs. Service Animals vs. Emotional Support Animals
A service animal is a dog or miniature horse that's trained to do a task for a person with a disability. This may include:
- Guiding the blind or visually impaired
- Alerting the hearing impaired to sounds
- Pulling wheelchairs
- Pushing elevator buttons
- Retrieving items
- Supporting those with mobility restrictions
- Alerting those with epilepsy to seizures
Emotional support animals are common for those with mental disabilities such as OCD, depression, or PTSD. They can be almost any animal that's commonly kept in households, such as dogs, cats, birds, fish, or small rodents.
Accepting Service Animals
Landlords can't ask any questions about animals such as a guide dog or miniature horse pulling a wheelchair. The disability and the need for the animal are clear.
There are only two other questions they can ask about other service animals. Are they required because of a disability? What work or task are they trained to perform?
If they get a yes to the first question and a description of the task, they need to let the animal in. They can't ask for the task to be demonstrated.
They can ask for documentation about emotional support animals. This may include:
- Disability determinations from federal, state, or local governments
- SSI or SSDI
- Eligibility of housing voucher
- Confirmation of the disability from a healthcare professional
Exceptions
There are reasons to deny a request for an assistance animal. These relate to how it affects the rest of the building. They may cause an undue financial burden to the landlord or risk danger to the property or other tenants.
These exceptions apply on a case-by-case basis. Put assumptions aside and judge on a case-by-case basis.
One other piece of non-legal landlord advice is to get to know the animals you do accept. That personal care will keep your renters happy.
How Property Management Makes the Decision Easier
Landlords decide whether to allow pets, but service and emotional support animals aren't pets. They're necessary to help those with disabilities. Non-discrimination laws require them to be let in except in a few special cases.
PMI of the Triad has 20 years of experience offering full-service property management in Winston Salem, NC. We make difficult issues like creating a pet agreement that honors assistance animals simple. Contact us to get started today.
