Service dogs in Florida

[Robert Lindsley]

Hello Biggerpockets,

A prospective tenant reached out to me for an apartment in my FL building.  They have a service dog (Bulldog) and asked if that would be an issue.  We do not allow dogs at this property, thus my question here.

Assuming the service dog has papers and they otherwise qualify for the unit, do I need to allow the service dog?  We've had problems with dogs in the past and I'd like to better understand my responsibility with regard to a service dog.

Thanks!
Robert.

[Justin K.]

If service animals are protected under the Americans With Disabilities act, if businesses have to abide by that act and cater to people with disabilities, and if you're operating a business then I would assume yes you have to allow it. But good question and I'm awaiting someone with more knowledge than I to answer so I can know too. 

After looking a little more I came across this link which hits on discriminating against people with disabilities. Note: I know that you're not overtly discriminating against people, just dogs. 

https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/free-books/renters-rights-book/chapter5-2.html

At the very bottom are lists of exemptions. 

[Robert Lindsley]

Thanks Justin.  My gut is telling me this person is trying to get her pitbull (disguised as a 'bulldog') into the apartment.  I have no interest in violating fair housing law, but the last thing I'm interested in is getting dropped from my insurance for a pitbull claiming to be a service dog.  As far as I know I'm not allowed to ask for certification paperwork but only if they've been trained as a service dog.

If anybody can lend some clarification on this topic, I would very much appreciate it.

Thanks!
Robert.

[Robert Lindsley]

Hi,

In case you are following the thread, I wanted to let you know I spoke with an attorney about this.

In his opinion, there's no way a pitbull/bulldog would be registered as a service dog.  They are an aggressive breed, and aggressive breeds are not generally allowed to be service dogs.

If you are trying to verify whether a service dog is legitimate, the key is to ask for the prescription for the dog.  If the prescription is written by an MD or equivalent, it's legit.  Otherwise it's classified more as an support dog, which is not a protected class.

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to reach out!

Thanks,

Robert.

[Russell Brazil]

@Robert Lindsley The attorney you spoke to simply has no idea what he is talking about.  They are 100% wrong.

All breeds can be, and have been service dogs.

There is no difference between emotional support animal and service animal under the Civil Rights Act of 1968, AKA the Fair Housing Act.  There is a difference under the Americans with Disabilities Act, ADA, which is not the applicable law to Residential Real Estate.

I happen to teach Fair Housing for continuing education.  

Please reference HUD Guidance Memo FHEO-2013-01.

[Daryl Luc]

If you don't want animals in your property, then first provide the prospect with a showing.  If they have a physical disability and the dog gives assistance, then the dog is most likely a legit service animal.  If no physical impairment is obvious and being assisted, then the animal is a support animal.  Yes, they too are protected, however we've entered an era of absolute abuse of the protection clause.  To be protected class of person, the support animal must be there to give assistance to a diagnosed mental disorder of the person or a diagnosed emotional disorder.  That is the definition of an emotional support animal, not a service animal.  If the prospect has a letter from a licensed practitioner of psychology or psychiatry, you need to accept that their claim is legit.  It's not the dog that is 'certified', it's the person.  If that certification letter can't be produced, then their 'need' is a non sequitur.....ie: B/S
If you have other prospects, then by all means examine them for suitability regarding income and your other criteria and then select the best.  After the selection is made, you only owe those who filled out an application the courtesy of a rejection.  Keep it simple.  No explanation other than another prospect was chosen.  This is no different than a job interview.  Very few get much more than 'we chose another candidate' that was a better fit upon examination.  The more you allow yourself to disclose, the more you expose yourself to a possible action by the rejected prospect.

[Anna Sagatelova]

Rob, your attorney gave you absolutely crazy wrong information. Plenty of "pitbulls" (that's not even a breed, it's a category) can be and are both Service Animals and Emotional Support Animals. Both are covered by Fair Housing in the HUD Memo referenced.

I highly recommend using a third party pet and animal screening website that can verify whether the dog is in fact a legitimate service animal by asking HUD-permissible questions and requesting and checking documentation. That way you don't carry the liability of making a mistake in how you screen for what is legitimate or not, especially since you've made it clear (and your attorney gave you dangerously bad advice) that you are trying to prevent "pitbulls" from residing in your units for insurance reasons.

[Tchaka Owen]

Originally posted by @Robert Lindsley:

In his opinion, there's no way a pitbull/bulldog would be registered as a service dog.  They are an aggressive breed, and aggressive breeds are not generally allowed to be service dogs.

He has no idea of what he speaks. They're actually excellent service dogs.
Your biggest issue in FL is whether the it's a legitimate service animal or if the owner picked up a $60 internet certificate. The latter is a common practice. Good luck!

[Ron H.]

There are many service dogs whose service is not immediately noticable. A seizure dog is one example.

Originally posted by @Daryl Luc:

If you don't want animals in your property, then first provide the prospect with a showing.  If they have a physical disability and the dog gives assistance, then the dog is most likely a legit service animal.  If no physical impairment is obvious and being assisted, then the animal is a support animal.  Yes, they too are protected, however we've entered an era of absolute abuse of the protection clause.  To be protected class of person, the support animal must be there to give assistance to a diagnosed mental disorder of the person or a diagnosed emotional disorder.  That is the definition of an emotional support animal, not a service animal.  If the prospect has a letter from a licensed practitioner of psychology or psychiatry, you need to accept that their claim is legit.  It's not the dog that is 'certified', it's the person.  If that certification letter can't be produced, then their 'need' is a non sequitur.....ie: B/S
If you have other prospects, then by all means examine them for suitability regarding income and your other criteria and then select the best.  After the selection is made, you only owe those who filled out an application the courtesy of a rejection.  Keep it simple.  No explanation other than another prospect was chosen.  This is no different than a job interview.  Very few get much more than 'we chose another candidate' that was a better fit upon examination.  The more you allow yourself to disclose, the more you expose yourself to a possible action by the rejected prospect.

[Robert Lindsley]

Thanks for the clarification everybody.  It sounds like the key is to verify they're actually a legit service dog and that somebody didn't buy some certificate off the internet.

My larger question is around pitbulls as service dogs.  I have been dropped from an insurance policy because a tenant snuck pitbulls into his apartment without me knowing.  I've spoken with multiple insurance companies and they won't cover pitbulls even if they are a service dog.  So if a pitball can indeed be a legit service dog, I just need to accept that my insurance will drop me and I'll need to pay more for some high-premium insurance policy?

[Kris L.]

Not always.  

Acceptance of service or emotional support animals are not intended to cause undue financial hardship on you the owner.  If it would result in dropping insurance coverage, that might qualify for an exemption, but I am not a lawyer, (I don't even play one on TV), so you really need to check with a reputable lawyer, preferably one who specializes in tenant/landlord law before denying the tenant on this item alone.  

[Daryl Luc]

When I was presented with a prospect that had a service/support animal, I informed them that the property itself was not ADA compliant and any accommodations for a physical disability were financially impossible to perform due to the number of stairs.  In addition, our company policy requires $1M liability rider to their Renter's policy ooverage specifically covering the dog.  Never have rented to an SA or ESA prospect yet.

[Anthony Rosa]

From I understand a Service Dog is a fully trained legit certified service dog that assists a disabled person. 

An Emotional Support is a dog that is for emotional support.  The dog doesn't have to be trained in anything. The dog and the owner get emotional support documents from an MD whether its online or not.  Google emotional support dog and there are websites that issue these documents from MD's and supposedly they are legit docs.

The breed doesn't matter it can be any breed or mut and there is nothing you can do about it even if you have a no pet policy...Of course, this applies if the person already lives there.

[Taylor L.]

@Russell Brazil well put, there so much bad "information" on this topic it's mind-boggling.

[Mindy Jensen]

This is actually one of the best-informed threads on this topic. The only exception is that attorney who said Pitbulls can't be service animals.

I believe American Family Insurance covers pitbulls. A friend had one and I'm pretty sure that was her insurance company.