How to address a tenant with an unauthorized pet

Question

We just found out that a tenant of ours just got a puppy as a supposed emotional support animal. They signed a lease stipulating that pets were not allowed. We are in CA and wondering the best way to address this. Thanks.

Nathan Gesner · Answer

I would give them notice requiring them to demonstrate evidence that this is an emotional support animal, otherwise they are required to remove it from the property immediately. If it is an emotional support animal, you are not allowed to charge a deposit, fee, pet rent, etc. However, you are allowed to impose certain rules like keeping the animal leashed, not allowing it to bother the neighbors, repairing any damages caused by the animal, etc. Violations could result in removal of the animal or termination of the lease.

Rodney Sums · Answer

As others have said ask for the documentation and verify it. I can tell you as someone who is rented two people who have pets it's not always a death sentence for your property. I've been fortunate enough to not have had any damage caused by pets. I say this because you may find it's not entirely necessary to go pay an attorney to find out how to deal with an emotional support dog. In your shoes I would do legal, routine inspections to keep an eye on things. It sends the message that they need to take care of the place and gives me peace of mind that the animal is s not tearing up the home. You may find at the end of the lease.Their dog is not an issue

Justin Kerstetter · Answer

@Quincy Lockett I completely agree about that statement. It definitely has changed our viewpoint on these tenants. We have always gone above and beyond expectations to address any concerns as we felt up to this point there was mutual respect. That has been forever diminished due to them hiding the animal and not approaching us beforehand.

We just consulted with a lawyer, and he is stating that we should serve a 3-day notice to comply as they have still yet to even bring up the animal in the house and that goes against our leases no pets policy. Then if they bring up that the animal is an ESA to ask that they provide documentation from a Licensed Physician stating the need for one. Lastly, the tenant that brought the animal to our attention has bad allergies to dogs so the attorney has advised that we can deny the ESA based on these grounds.

Thanks everyone for the feedback and advice. I really value all of the feedback. I am really hoping that this can work out well in the end.

Theresa Harris · Answer

If they are claiming it is an emotional support animal, all you can do is ask for documentation from a local medical doctor verifying it.  Don't accept any documentation from a website.

Service animals (NOT emotional support animals) are very different and well trained.  Emotional support animals are pets with papers and a loophole people use to get around the no pets policy.

Scott E. · Answer

After a quick google search to help you understand your rights with this situation in California, I'm just going to say that there is some dangerous advice in this thread.

Call an attorney. This is a serious situation and you need to talk with a licensed professional, not random people on the internet.

Nathan Grabau · Answer

I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice, but my understand of this is...

In most situations you cannot do anything here. Your only hope is asking for documentation that the pet is an ESA. That being said, this documentation is easy to obtain on short notice. I would recommend taking this up with legal counsel though, as you can get in a lot of trouble very fast here.

Unless you believe the animal is going to do serve damage to the property, it is probably cheaper to just let it be than to fight it.

You also need to make sure that you do not do anything such as not renewing the lease because of the person's emotional support animal. You are playing with the Federal Fair Housing Act which protects people, including those who need a service animal (considering a reasonable accommodation for a disability legally). Regardless of how we feel about this loophole, behavior that could be considered discriminatory against this tenant is legally on the same level of having a "white only" or "no wheelchair access" in your advertisements.

James Wise · Answer

Superkick to the face.

Adam Martin · Answer

That's an interesting twist here that their needs being accommodated by an ESA is also disrupting someone else's medical needs by the fact they specifically chose a pet free building.  Generally to my understanding while most likely just a ruse an emotional support animal is not a pet but a medical device.  Petscreening.com is mentioned often since they have the ability to determine the legitimacy of an ESA document, this would be my first step and it is free.  If it is a legitimate ESA than you cannot charge a deposit or additional pet rent since you don't have a pet, you just have a medical device that happens to bark, poop, shed, and may bite someone.  I allow dogs so no real big deal here besides the fact that it is a puppy which tends to do more damage.  A lot of advice I have read on this is suspect at best on this thread.  Don't discriminate and don't retaliate but do you best as a landlord to ensure you are getting fair market rent at renewal.  Take that as you will.

Hoa Nguyen · Answer

Not legal advice - Full DisclaimerEmotional support and service animals are two different things and different states have different laws regarding them. In most (if not all) cases, you cannot discriminate against a registered service animal, but an emotional support animal is in a grey area. It doesn't take much to register a pet as an emotional support animal these days. Some states value emotional support animals as necessities, while others have levels to their need, a lot of it goes alongside the person's diagnosis which you cannot ask for.My advice would be to brush up on your state's laws regarding emotional support animals, and seek legal advice on the matter if its that big of a deal.

John Hastings · Answer

@Justin Kerstetter So how did this work out for you ?

How to address a tenant with an unauthorized pet

Most Popular Reply