What Qualifies A Service Animal
One of the legal rights people with service dogs have is to go everywhere with their dog and live in housing even when pets and/or specific dog breeds are not allowed. The law governing this right is the Fair Housing Amendments Act (FHAA) which provides protection to individuals with a service dog who are seeking housing.
Years ago, the only service animal most of us knew about was a seeing-eye dog, and no one could deny the legitimacy of that essential service. Then things evolved. Service animals began to help people with both physical and emotional issues, and it became much harder to define which animals should receive the “service animal” title.
In the housing realm, if you own, manage, or sell residential rental properties, you’ve probably dealt with a request for a service animal to live there. Until this year, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) hadn’t updated the Fair Housing Act verbiage that dealt with assessing a service animal as a reasonable accommodation since 2013. The definition of “assistance animal” was vague, which was frustrating for property managers and tenants alike. Now, there is more clarity. The update outlines what information a housing provider can request and consider when deciding whether to grant a tenant “reasonable accommodation” regarding service animals.
The Fair Housing Act requires housing providers to offer reasonable accommodation so that people with disabilities can benefit from the assistance of animals in spite of any pet restrictions the providers might have. Reasonable accommodations include exceptions to rental agreements to afford people with disabilities “an equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling and public and common use areas.”
The Fair Housing Act defines assistance animals broadly as animals that work, provide assistance, or perform tasks that benefit persons with disabilities or provide emotional support to alleviate a symptom or effect of a disability. This can include trained and untrained animals. With such a broad definition, it’s easy to see how an unscrupulous renter might try to exploit this law to allow their pet Fluffy the iguana—who provides none of the services above—to be classified as an assistance animal.
The new guidance requires a licensed medical professional with personal knowledge about the individual and the disability to certify the need for accommodation. People will no longer be able to order a certificate online without ever having been diagnosed or treated for their alleged disability. The guidance also states that if the animal is not a “common household pet,” then the requestor must demonstrate a disability-related therapeutic need for that specific type of animal. Finally, the guidelines confirm that the assistance animal must help address a disability that “substantially limits at least one major life activity or major bodily function.”
This guidance helps rule-followers on all sides. Housing providers now have clear criteria to judge which animals qualify as service animals, and people who legitimately need reasonable accommodations should have no problem getting support from a medical provider to substantiate that need. We all love our pets and for some of us, it's real emotional support when they are with us to help comfort those lonely days when you have no one around. I use to own a health club and I had a cat named Jinx who lived in the gym. He wasn't there for me as support but I can tell you it made a lot of my members that came thru the door a lot happier when they saw Jinx and started petting him. You could see the relaxation and happiness shine with them when Jinx came to greet them. Animals bring a lot of joy to people in many different ways. If you need more information about service animals and registrations click on the link below for more information.
https://www.unitedservicedog.com/?gclid=CjwKCAiA65iBBhB-EiwAW253Ww4rOzaTYDc6hiT0IPMaIr8aoC4FY4OlARyar-v1oCX03EabwlCYWRoCG6wQAvD_BwE