Pet question in Nebraska

[Dean Boyer]

Just had a renter call me and say that she was diagnosed with PTSD.  She says that the doctor suggest that she get a trained service dog.  She is about 6 months into a year lease that say no pets.  She says this is not a pet, its a service dog.  I told her that if she had to have the dog that she would have to pay another $25 per month rent and an extra $150 for pet deposit.

She says she is going to contact her lawyer because she was told in Nebraska you can't charge extra for a service dog.  Can anyone tell me if you have ran into this situation before?

[Mindy Jensen]

@Dean Boyer , You cannot charge extra pet rent, because it is not a pet. You CAN (and should) get an additional deposit.

You are allowed to request proof of prescription - a valid Emotional Support Animal (ESA) is prescribed by a physician. You are not allowed to ask WHY she needs it, although it seems as though she already told you why. 

You are required by law to make reasonable accommodations - meaning if you have a no animals policy, it is a reasonable accommodation to change that to allow support animals. 

You can require her to pick up the poop, you can require her to have a dog that is well behaved at all times - she isn't allowed to have Cujo run off all your other tenants.

Having a no pet policy means you don't allow pets. If you don't want pets, then don't allow them. But you must allow ESA's - even if you don't agree with the rules.