Fair housing laws are always changing in California and nationwide, and tenants or applicants with disabilities are protected by those laws. Protecting the accommodations that these residents need now includes service and support animals, which are protected accommodations under the Fair Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act.
They are not pets, and they cannot be treated as pets.
Service and Support Animals vs. Pets
As a Los Angeles landlord, you have the right to decide whether or not to allow pets into your property. You can maintain a no-pet policy or you can make decisions on a case-by-case basis. Even if you do allow pets, you’ll likely have a pet fee or a deposit that’s collected. Some owners charge pet rent for each animal.
Service animals and emotional support animals are not pets because, in the eyes of the law, they are accommodations. This means that you cannot deny an application or a tenant’s request to have a service animal or an emotional support animal, even if you have a strict no-pet policy.
The fact that these are not pets also affects what you can and cannot charge. You cannot charge a pet deposit or a pet fee when tenants have support animals. You cannot collect pet rent.
Service Animals and Support Animals
Service animals and emotional support animals are similar in that they are both accommodations for people with disabilities. But, they also have nuances that you should understand when you’re renting out a property.
Service animals are trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability. That disability could be a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability. Examples of service animals would be a Seeing Eye Dog or a Seizure Response Dog. These animals have credentials and are easily identified. They can be any breed, age, or size.
Emotional support animals or therapy animals are a bit different. They’re usually part of a treatment plan prescribed by a doctor or therapist. They provide companionship and often treat depression and anxiety. They don’t have any special training, however, and they are not considered service animals.
There are different things you can ask for when it comes to these animals. If you’re unsure about your legal responsibilities, talk to a Los Angeles property management company. Making a mistake can be expensive.
When a tenant has a service animal, you are not permitted to ask for documentation or certification. However, with an emotional support animal, you can ask to see the written treatment plan prescribed the support animal. You are entitled to talk to the medical professional and review their credentials and license.
Protecting your Los Angeles Rental Property
When you allow pets, you should have a detailed pet policy in place to mitigate any damage and save yourself from risk and liability. With emotional support animals, you’re permitted to ask your tenants to keep their animals clean and safe, but there’s not much more you can do. The tenant is still responsible for the animal and must clean up after it and ensure it behaves and isn’t a nuisance.
If you’d like some help understanding the laws pertaining to emotional support animals or you need some further information on LA property management, please contact us at EGL Properties.