ESA letter advice

[Ben Russell]

Hi all. 

We have a tenant that is not supposed to have any animals. I was at the building doing work and she had a puppy. She said she just got the dog and was in the process of getting her ESA paperwork. 

A few days later, she sends us a letter saying that she can have an ESA because of high stress levels.

The letter has a DRs name and valid Colorado license number, but there is no address or business name listed. The phone number goes to an automated message for Behavioral Health Services, or something along those lines.

Searching for the phone number shows the first result as persupportnetwork.com

Under this number, there are a few examples online of the exact same letter we were provided, but in the name of a different doctor.  I attached a picture of one of the letters I found online (not our resident's)

I think it's pretty obvious this letter came from an online ESA website, but irrelevant of that, it doesnt seem to meet the HUD requirements. HUD states the DR must have personal knowledge of the patient. In the letter the DR says, "I have evaluated the emotional profile of....."

To me, this is saying the Dr has never met or talked with the person and is prescribing an ESA based on a questioner. I dont belive this would meet HUDs requirements.

I asked the resident what healthcare provider the Dr works for and how long she has been a patient.   I have not received any answer.

Thoughts?

Thanks

[Matt Devincenzo]

So two thoughts first she is supposed to inform you prior to the ESA arrival, not afterwards. That said, fighting over that is a waste of time at this point. 

For the actual ESA evaluation I'd go ahead and refer her to 'petscreening.com' let them handle the evaluation and determine whether she has an ESA or not. Then you've taken yourself out of it, and if denied and she's unhappy there's a sense of 'authority' behind the service that does the evaluation. You may have the same info and be 100% right, but I'm willing to bet she'll fight you more than she will the service.