Rental Property Investor · Corvallis, OR · Member since 2018 · 840 posts · 1k+ votes
I have owned and operated properties since 2007, and have always had a NO smoking and NO pets policy. As of late, I am getting a lot of requests for needing a "service animal" or "therapy animal". I don't know if this varies from state to state, as I live in Oregon, but it feels like people of finding the legal workaround the no pet policy
Obviously, if someone needs this therapy animal, I can fully appreciate it. But, why bring it up right after you get approved, or be sneaky later on? Anyone else have knowledge about this, or does it vary from state to state? Oregon seems to be "animal" friendly. Thank you!
In my for rent ad I ask "How many animals?" in addition to some other specific questions like How much do you smoke? They need to answer the questions to get a response from me.
I am animal-friendly where possible, but don't do surprises. If they weren't truthful when they answered my questions in the ad or during pre-screening, then I can reject based on that and it's no longer a pet or animal issue.
Folks need to have an animal policy these days, not a pet one. Therapy, ESAs and comfort animals are not pets.
You cannot ask a tenant what their disability is, and the online certificates don't actually mean anything. However, according to Disability Rights Oregon, the following is kosher:
"A landlord can ask if your service or companion animal is necessary for you to use and enjoy the housing unit. Housing providers can ask you to provide documentation from a professional, stating that you have a disability that results in one or more functional limitations."
"Staff members can ask if your animal is a service animal, and what tasks it has been trained to perform."
@Todd Powell, you should probably consult an attorney, but my understanding is that emotional support animals are not covered by either the ADA or Oregon State Law. If the tenant claims the animal is a true service animal, then they could expect to "be asked to provide reliable documentation of your disability and the relationship between your disability and your need for an accommodation in the form of a service or assistance animal. This documentation may be provided by a physician or other medical professional." See https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/oregon-law...
The Fair Housing Council of Oregon seems to agree: "The landlord has the right to ensure that the animal is necessary for the disability and may require a written verification from the medical or mental health provider treating the individual. Landlords may require licensing and vaccinations for assistance animals if that is what is required by local law for domestic animals." See http://fhco.org/discrimination-in-oregon/protected...
I found this line to be interesting too, "Landlords may ask residents with an assistance animal to sign an assistance animal agreement. The agreement would typically say that the resident is responsible for the animal's care and waste pickup and that the animal must not disturb other residents or damage property."
I just listened to the RentPrep podcast #170 (someone earlier in the thread mentioned it). An attorney talks about the rules and regulations regarding Emotional Support Animals. It was very enlightening and well worth listening to. It seems that unless they can prove - via a letter from a medical professional - that they need the support animal, you do have rights as a landlord to refuse them.
Oregon defaults to the federal HUD standard regarding service animals and ESA's. In short, you can not deny a person with an ESA (emotional support animal) any more than you can a blind person with a seeing eye dog. To do so is discrimination against a person with a disability. You do not want to get tangled up in a discrimination suit because you turned down George who brought a dog into the unit and produced a certificate from some online sight that says the Saint Bernard he has in the apartment makes him feels secure during rainstorms and full moons and this keeps him from having nervous seizures. We are not medical professionals and the courts will quickly side with the tenant if there is a discrimination suit and our only answer is "I know he is lying"
But not all is lost as a landlord. There is hope.
The Federal Hud law also states that the ESA or service animal can not create "undue financial and administrative burden" on the landlord. So now George has decided that he wants to hug a 12 foot python at night during the months that end in y and this will help him sleep and he has a letter from scam.com that says it is an ESA. What do you do?
Speak to your insurance agent and ask them for a policy quote to cover a 12 foot python that likes to eat small animals like rats, rabbits, cats and oh yeah...the four month old child that lives in the unit downstairs.
I am quite certain when you see the price tag on the policy quote to cover a non-domesticated animal that eats little babies.
There is your undue financial and administrative burden. You can not make reasonable accommodations to accept a 12 foot python.
But what about dogs and cats? If they are house cats and non aggressive breed dogs you might as well just accept the bs letter from scam.com as being as legit as if Dr. Phil himself signed it.
But, I promise your insurance company has an aggressive breed clause for dogs in your liability policy. This will cover the obvious......pit bulls, rotts, shepherds, chows, dobermans...etc.
Again, contact your insurance agent for a policy quote to cover the liability of an aggressive breed and you will have you "undue financial and administrative burden.
@Alison P. is this a podcast I can listen to as I have only been on BP for a week or so?
And I have been told that Oregon law is strict so I wonder if it varies from state to state ? Getting told that just a verbal on tenant saying they need emotional or therapy is enough to suffice. Thats what I am hearing.
@Todd Powell
(not a lawyer) In Portland at least, I'm fairly certain that a m2m lease gives you the power you're seeking. After 12 months of tenancy, some of your power is lost and the tenants have more rights, but as I read the law, I can cancel my lease agreement and they have no recourse.
The attorney on this podcast is in NY and they have some of the strictest tenant/landlord laws. She specifically states that you do have the right to get a letter from a medical professional UNLESS the person is quite obviously disabled. ie. they are in a wheelchair, or are blind etc. But if someone is trying to state they have anxiety, which is not obvious on the outside, you have the right to ask for a letter. Whether Oregon laws are stricter than NY, I can't answer that...
I started using RentPrep for screening just recently after reading about them in the Bigger Pockets book "Managing Rental Properties". They are another amazing resource for Landlords. On top of their screening service, they also have very useful podcasts and a Facebook page for landlords to ask and answer questions (just like these forums).
@Todd Powell
Yup. But, unless the request is totally legit, make it difficult for them. Ask for an MD letter. Ask for creds on the dog. Also, be sure it is not a violent breed. Tell them aLL THIS NEEDS Submitted wIthin 5 days.
These are all ways to weed out thoSE abusing the system.
Laws: HUD and FHA govern emotional support animals, ADA laws govern rights of service animals. Therapy animals have no rights. Service animals can be a dog and a mini horse, and have rights access to public places, etc. Emotional support animals only have access to housing and airlines, but not public places, and they can be any animal.
In all instances service or ESA, you can ask two questions: 1) is it a service animal or ESA? 2) what service does it perform? You can require medical documentation that the animal is required (not what the person’s disability is). The documentation should come from a qualified health professional. It could be a fairly simple statement from the health professional saying that the animal is required.
# of service animals/ESA: No legal limits, can have as many as they want.
Pet Deposit/Rent: you can’t charge it, but you can have an animal addendum to your lease. You can enforce general animal behavior expected on your properties, and the responsibility of the tenant for damages to the property, same as any other animal.
Number of units: If you have 3 or less SFH only, you are exempt from service animal laws. You also may be exempt if you live in one of your units.
Enforcing your rights to inspect your properties and actually doing it are a good way to find lease violations for those who slip in pets and really aren't great pet owners to begin with. Since they don't want to pay pet fees, they likely won't want to pay for damages either and will move on.
I recently turned down an applicant that had 2 large dogs, a cat, and a pig, trying to find housing for her farm in our urban area. She immediately started telling me local zoning laws allow the pig. She was having such a hard time finding a place to live, I can almost guarantee she will wind up on the ESA route at some point.
@Todd Powell
Yes, but if they “surprise” you and don’t disclose the fact they have a pet, then that can be grounds for lease breach. These matters need to be documented. Put that in your lease as a rule needing followed.
Also, if they don’t follow procedure (the one you set) then it can also come with disciplinary actions. As someone else said, it then becomes a procedural issue, not a pet issue. They didn’t follow procedure and rules.
I'm setting a lot of doom & gloom on this thread re ESAs... but as a landlord who isn't adverse to allowing pets in the right situations, I'm wondering why this is seen as such a negative thing? ESA owners still have to uphold maintenance guidelines like other tenants -- and ESA or not, if their pets damage the apartment in anyway, they pay. What's the difference between an irresponsible tenant that owns a pet vs one that doesn't? Holes in the walls or cat piss --the potential for damage & neglect is still the same.
Personally? I don't mind allowing pets at all under the right circumstances and upfront lease guidelines -- it opens my pool up to that many more qualified tenants!
@Alison P. is this a podcast I can listen to as I have only been on BP for a week or so?
And I have been told that Oregon law is strict so I wonder if it varies from state to state ? Getting told that just a verbal on tenant saying they need emotional or therapy is enough to suffice. Thats what I am hearing.
HUD, which applies nation wide, states (I bolded the most relevant part):
"An assistance animal is not a pet. It is an animal that works, provides assistance, or performs tasks for the benefit of a person with a disability, or provides emotional support that alleviates one or more identified symptoms or effects of a person's disability. Assistance animals perform many disability-related functions, including but not limited to, guiding individuals who are blind or have low vision, alerting individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing to sounds, providing protection or rescue assistance, pulling a wheelchair, fetching items, alerting persons to impending seizures, or providing emotional support to persons with disabilities who have a disability-related need for such support. For purposes of reasonable accommodation requests, neither the Fair Housing Act nor Section 504 requires an assistance animal to be individually trained or certified.5 While dogs are the most common type of assistance animal, other animals can also be assistance animals."
The animal does not require any training or certificate. However, there are limitations that can be used to get out of the issue in certain cases. For example, hostile dogs (insurance cost), significant impact of existing tenants (the attached unit has someone allergic to dogs, etc.), etc.
Note the HUD direction is far more lenient on their definition of a support animal than the ADA definition of a service animal. The problem is that HUD applies to rentals.
In summary, HUD provides a lenient definition of support animal but with a little thinking there are often legal means to deny the tenant with such an animal. In addition, with a little thinking it is easy to legally get rid of a tenant that is on a month to month lease. I have a favorite means to get rid of tenants that I do not desire. Every landlord should have a method, that can pass legal scrutiny, to get rid of undesired tenants .
Just do not do something stupid like indicate that you are not extending their lease because they have an emotional support animal.
BTW we have a unit with a legit support animal. The tenant was up front about it even though it was a no animal unit (we have units that allow pets). it was a no animal unit due to a shared yard. The other tenants sharing the yard were fine with the animal and the tenant clearly has a visible issue. Not a problem. No thought of requesting a pet deposit or pet rent because it is LEGIT.
We also have had quite a few attempts at bogus support/service animals. None of them are currently in any of our units.
@Todd Powell
Put a question on the application re: pets, therapy animals, comfort animals, service animals, mothers-in-law, etc. If they "sneak" one in after approval, you can toss them for lying on the application.
@Rafael Quinonez
They used to fly all the time, but there's been push-back since the "Emotional Support Pig" pooped all over the aisle and the story went viral. I've heard recently where a passenger tried to get on with their "Emotional Support Peacock" and the airline just said "NO". So take heart, landlords and landladies, there is yet hope for a return of some semblance of sanity to the world.
Look up HUD and service animals on the internet. State or local laws may be more or less restrictive. In the case of less restrictive, HUD rules apply.
We allow pets in some older buildings and do not allow pets in recent rehabs. Service animals are not considered pets. This can be tricky so it is important to know the applicable laws.
@Todd Powel Fair Housing does not allow the landlord to require documentation for a 'service animal' (i.e. helping the blind) nor can you inquire about their disability unless they tell you. Fair Housing does allow you to ask for documentation if it is an 'emotional support animal' (i.e. anxiety). Either way, the landlord still can't collect a pet rent or deposit, but still liable for all damage once vacated.
When it comes to sneaking in a pet immediately after being approved...maybe add something to your rental criteria stating an applications must be filled out and correct. My thought is, if they lie on the app and then say they have the pet (service/emotional), it would be grounds for a denial assuming you treat every case the same. All the best of luck Todd!
As a property manager of STR's and some LTR's I am facing this challenge on a weekly basis. We have a zero pets policy on our STR's and still we get asked all the time to bring therapy animals into the home. We inform them of our zero policy and to think about if the people that rent behind them might have a pet allergy, but that's all you can really do by law. You can't demand proof it's a therapy animal and there's zero governance in favor of the property owner on this.
@Todd Powell This is the steady norm here in San Diego. Constantly seeing this in the apartment complex I live which is a no pets allowed. I see dogs all over the place.