Informed of Service Animal in Unit Shared by College student

General Landlording & Rental Properties
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Informed of Service Animal in Unit Shared by College student

Matt Hendrickson
Investor · Kansas City, MO · Member since 2014 · 42 posts · 10 votes

Help!

I self manage a few properties, one of which is a house that I rent out to multiple college students by room. I just received this email from a tenant: 

"I just wanted to inform you that I got a service animal and that she’ll be joining me in the room."
 -Brandon

I know this is a hot topic/issue, but this is my first time encountering it. I realize FHA will require that I accommodate this request should he provide doctors note, etc. I'm worried, however, about allergies of other tenants as well as potential damage. What have you done about this issue? I appreciate any help!

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Jeff Lehman
Boyertown, PA · Member since 2016 · 27 posts · 8 votes
7y

@Kevin Blanchard If a tenant truly has a need for an emotional support animal,  you may not charge any "pet fee" or "pet rent". I looked into this because I had a tenant who was asking to get a dog as an emotional support animal. I also found out that you cannot restrict a tenant when it comes to breed Etc.

My tenant did up end up getting a dog without giving me a letter from a doctor or therapist. I simply ended the lease because my insurance company said that I could lose my insurance if that dog ever bit someone. This was because the dog was a breed that was on the insurance companies list of prohibited dogs. It simply wasn't worth the risk to me.

I have since been contemplating the idea of simply allowing pets and charging for them. My theory is that most tenants will likely not use the excuse that they need an emotional support animal if they are allowed to have the pet.  I believe that they use not for an excuse, simply to get a pet. If they're going to have a pet, why not be able to legally charge for it. This way I also have say as to what breed of dog they can have

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  • David Fairall
    Salt Lake City, UT · Member since 2019 · 42 posts · 30 votes
    7y

    @Matt Hendrickson I'll PM you with the info.@Matt Hendrickson

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  • Account Closed
    Rental Property Investor · Central, FL · Member since 2016 · 950 posts · 821 votes
    7y
    Originally posted by @Gytenis B.:

    @Eric C.

    Hey Eric. Does it have to be a newly purchased animal tho? I think people actually can have the "old" family dog as a emotional support (animal) dog.

    Correct me if I am wrong but I cant find any info of it needing to be "newly" acquired dog for it to be an ESA.

    If it’s their family dog or animal that’s been a pet for years there’s no way I’d accept anything from any doctor or online certificate printing company as valid.  

       The typical person trying to pawn off an emotional support animal is just trying to circumvent the pet policy in place.  

    This is all comes back to having a iron clad lease. Have it go thru a lawyer, get a preapproved one thru your state HUD office, buy one here.

    If this was a huge issue for me I’d probably just go to a month to month lease business model and then continue to raise rent until they left.       It’s my property and they are tenants. If they don’t want to play by the rules then I will use the laws and courts and my rules to make them find a new place to live. 

         I provide a place I would be happy to live in to the normal working man that typically lives paycheck to paycheck.  I provide more then any other property in my area does and as such I get great tenants.  I can handle weeding out the one off individual that believes they can disrespect the rules and make my property go down in value. 

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  • Mike Franco
    Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2013 · 555 posts · 261 votes
    7y

    What clause would you guys add to your contract to prevent this kind of BS?

    Require they declare ESA before signing contract?

    It seems no matter what, LL's have almost no leverage against ESA

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  • Kevin Miller
    Realtor · Columbus, OH · Member since 2019 · 83 posts · 62 votes
    7y

    @Russell Brazil with that being said, can you charge them a pet fee?

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  • Russell BrazilBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Real Estate Agent · Washington, D.C. · Member since 2012 · 17k+ posts · 30k+ votes
    7y

    @Kevin Miller

    No. A service animal is not a pet.

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  • Jeffrey DanielsBusiness Member
    Real Estate Broker · Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2016 · 68 posts · 38 votes
    7y

    @Matt Hendrickson I tried to read all the posts before commenting, there seems to be a great deal of mis-information here that could expose owners to the risk of discrimination. I would recommend consulting a local attorney, and familiarizing yourself with Fair Housing / Discrimination laws. The courts do not rule in favor of ignorance, and it’s advantageous to be more knowledgeable than tenants.

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  • Jeff Lehman
    Boyertown, PA · Member since 2016 · 27 posts · 8 votes
    7y

    @Jeffrey Daniels

    I agree. Discrimination, whether perceived or real, is a real threat to landlords in this scenario. In my case I simply ended the lease with my tenant because I did not want to go to court over the matter. My fear was that if we went to court and she produced a document that was legitimate, I would be forced to allow her dog or be faced with a lawsuit for discriminating. With what my insurance company was telling me, it simply wasn't worth the risk and then the end it all ended well.

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