What to Know About Renting to Tenants with Service Animals

Key Takeaways

• As a landlord, you have the right to operate your rental property how you see fit, but while you can elect not to allow pets in your property, local laws will often require you to make exceptions for certain categories of renters.
• These regulations are crucial to follow as a rental owner, as failure to do so can land you in legal trouble and cause financial harm.
• Partnering with a property management team can guarantee legal compliance and make your rental experience easier.

As a landlord, the law does not let you reject applications from tenants with service animals even if you have a “no-pet” policy in place in your rental property. In other words, you must allow service animals in your rental if a prospective tenant has a verifiable need for an assistance animal. Failing to do this can lead to claims of discriminatory behavior against you.

This requirement can cause serious problems for landlords, because service animals are still animals. They often pose the same threats to your property as a pet. This is why, as a landlord, you must understand the guidelines for renting to applicants with service animals and also have a strategy for protecting your property in those situations. Continue reading this guide by Campus Connection Property Management to learn more.

What Is A Service Animal And Who Needs One?

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) describes a service animal as a dog (or miniature horse in very special circumstances) that has been trained to perform specific work or tasks directly related to the physical, sensory, psychiatric, or intellectual needs of a person with disability. They are not considered pets, but working animals.

These animals perform a range of tasks, including:

• Mobility assistance: Providing balance, stability, or counter-balance while walking. Opening doors, pulling wheelchairs, and retrieving dropped items.
• Sensory and alerting: They provide sensory signals and perform alerting tasks for individuals who are deaf, visually-impaired individuals, or who suffer from allergies.
• Medical responses: They detect and respond to medical emergencies like seizures, low blood pressure, or heart attacks.
• Psychiatric service tasks: They mitigate the individual’s mental health disabilities by interrupting harmful behavior, providing therapy, and ensuring safety.
• Safety and navigation: They guide their handler by signaling elevation changes, helping them navigate obstacles, finding exits and elevators, etc.

Landlords are required by law to make reasonable accommodations for individuals with these types of animals. Who qualifies for this? According to the Fair Housing Act (FHA) and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the following individuals may qualify for reasonable accommodations:

• People with a history of physical impairment that substantially limit their ability to perform critical life activities such as walking, seeing, hearing, thinking, or breathing.
• People with medical or mental health conditions that substantially limit their ability to perform critical life functions.
• Individuals with a history of such impairments or who are regarded as having such impairments.

Given the potential impact of having an animal in your rental property, you should acquaint yourself with the guidelines for renting to tenants with service animals. A proper understanding of that tenant’s rights and privileges, as well as your own right to protect your rental property and the well-being of other tenants, is required.

What To Know When Renting To Tenants With Service Animals

The following rules apply when renting to tenants with service animals:

Service animals are not viewed as pets, but as working animals. They must be accommodated even if there is a “no-pets” policy in place.
A service animal can go anywhere that humans can, including places that bar entry for animals. This ensures that they can keep assisting their handler.
Landlords may not charge tenants with service animals a pet fee or pet deposit, because the animals are not technically considered pets.
If the rental property has existing weight limits and breed restrictions for pets, these rules must be waived for the service animal.

Landlords may not ask tenants with service animals the following questions:

• All inquiries about the individual’s medical disability are not allowed.
• Landlords may not ask for the tenant’s medical records or treatment plans.
• They cannot ask to see the dog’s training documentation or certification, require a special ID for the dog, or inquire about its weight or breed.
• Landlords cannot request a demonstration of the animal’s ability to work or perform a task.

On the other hand, landlords are allowed to do the following:

• They may require written verification from the tenant’s healthcare provider as proof that they are disabled, but they may not ask about the specific nature of the disability.
• They can also require written confirmation from the tenant's healthcare provider that the service animal is indeed necessary.
• To prove that it is in good health (vaccinated, immunized, and free of parasites), the landlord may require the tenants to provide copies of the animal’s health records.

Landlords’ Guide For Managing Renters With Service Animals

The rules and regulations discussed in the previous sections protect the rights and privacy of people living with disabilities. But when renting to tenants with disabilities, landlords also have a right to protect their rental property and other tenants living in the building. The following rules help landlords safeguard their own interests.

When renting to tenants with service animals, landlords can:

• Impose reasonable limits on noise disturbances by asking the tenant to ensure that the animal does not make any excessive noise, especially at night.
• Demand that the owner keep their dog under control at all times and also be responsible for cleaning up after the animal.
• Charge the tenant for any damage caused by the animal. If the animal poses a major threat of property damage or injury, the landlord can evict the tenant.
• Take legal action against the tenant after writing warning letters. This helps the property owner document the issues.
• Evict the tenant if they fail to comply with the landlord’s warnings and the problems continue. It is vital to get legal counsel before initiating eviction procedures.

Conclusion

When renting to tenants with disabilities, landlords must grant “reasonable”, not “unlimited” accommodations. Under the law, a landlord is not allowed to reject a tenant’s application on the grounds of their disability or because of their rental’s “no pet” policy. Landlords who do this open themselves to costly and avoidable lawsuits.

At the same time, however, the law also expects the tenant not to impose undue financial, safety, or administrative burdens on the property owner. The landlord is thus allowed to require the service animal to be housebroken as a precondition for renting to the tenant. These laws ensure access to decent housing for people living with disabilities while also protecting landlords.

To learn more, get in touch with Campus Connection Property Management today.