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So I'm just curious. I was always wondering how this works. I work in a city building, and yesterday we had a meeting on service animals inside all city buildings. The HR rep couldn't elaborate on service animals in rental homes. All she could tell me was that the LL could not discriminate. In houses/apartments where animals are not allowed, the service dog was exempt of this.
But what's the law about charging for a pet deposit? Where does the law stand on this? Like I said, I'm just curious. I've always kinda wanted to know, and yesterday's meeting peaked my curiosity on this.
If you do a quick search, it's a subject that's been discussed at some length on a couple of threads in the past few months but these two links will probably help explain:
If you do a quick search, it's a subject that's been discussed at some length on a couple of threads in the past few months but these two links will probably help explain:
In one of the links, it says that cats, ferrets and other animals are considered service animals. Here in AZ, only dogs and miniature ponies are considered. Hey guys, thanks for the replies.
BUT HUD Housing Authority Didn't Consider Katie a Service Dog til she was trained & we demonstrated what she did for me. Until then she was a Pet I paid Deposit & fees involved at the time. Once I got her trained they Refunded the Pet deposit to me ... We lived there another 4 months before I got Section 8 & moved.
In one of the links, it says that cats, ferrets and other animals are considered service animals. Here in AZ, only dogs and miniature ponies are considered. Hey guys, thanks for the replies.
That's because you are using the WRONG definition and laws.
The American's with Disability Act (ADA) covers and defines Service Animals in public accommodations. Service Animals are any dog or in certain cases miniature horses that meets the definition of Service Animal. Rental Housing is NOT covered under ADA unless it's a public housing unit. Private rental units are covered under the Fair Housing Amendment Act (FHA Act) which defines the animals as "Assistance Animals" and they can be ANY animal.
It's a very Very VERY common blunder for people to use ADA instead of FHA when talking about rentals. A simpler way to look at it is ADA covers the public areas of a rental while FHA covers the tenant, rental unit and lease provisions.
As for Arizona, AZ laws recognizes ANY animal in rental units as that is the superior law.
That's because you are using the WRONG definition and laws.
The American's with Disability Act (ADA) covers and defines Service Animals in public accommodations. Service Animals are any dog or in certain cases miniature horses that meets the definition of Service Animal. Rental Housing is NOT covered under ADA unless it's a public housing unit. Private rental units are covered under the Fair Housing Amendment Act (FHA Act) which defines the animals as "Assistance Animals" and they can be ANY animal.
It's a very Very VERY common blunder for people to use ADA instead of FHA when talking about rentals. A simpler way to look at it is ADA covers the public areas of a rental while FHA covers the tenant, rental unit and lease provisions.
As for Arizona, AZ laws recognizes ANY animal in rental units as that is the superior law.
I might disagree about the definition of "superior" here. It is the law with the broader scope.
I have a major problem with these laws and hope they get changed soon. Twice this month, we had applications turned in by tenants with pets, and when we approved them, and went to sign the lease, they said "oh, you can't charge me a pet deposit, they are emotional support animals." Nowhere on the application did it state this. In both cases, the letter from their doctor was dated in the last 6 months.
Besides being no deposit allowed, you can't limit the breed or the quantity. We had one recently that had 2 dogs and 2 cats, all support animals. This was in excess of the number allowed by the subdivision, but because they qualified otherwise, we had to accept them. The owner was livid that we didn't collect a pet deposit (would normally have been $300 per, or $1200 total pet deposit), but we legally couldn't. If they have a support Rottweiler, and the owner's insurance would be dropped by allowing it, the owner legally has to "shop the market" and can only deny if no one will give insurance.
Don't get me wrong, I am TOTALLY 100% in favor of the ADA laws. We've had a deaf tenant who had 2 service dogs and an epileptic tenant who had a service dog. I fully support laws that prevent discrimination against those tenant. But the FHA law is COMPLETELY out of control and needs to be cut back in scope substantially.
I'm at the point I want to turn down every tenant who has a "companion animal" because I know that at least 90% of them are just gaming the system (I don't, but I really really want to). I'd take them if they just had a "pet", but the game pisses me off. I feel bad for the few who have PTSD or some other mental illness who have a real, genuine need for a support animal. I know they exist, but it has been ruined for them by the majority of idiots who just don't want to pay a pet deposit.
Ok, rant over. The one good thing is that, so far at least, a landlord can still charge for any damage done by a companion, support or service animal.
........I'm at the point I want to turn down every tenant who has a "companion animal" because I know that at least 90% of them are just gaming the system (I don't, but I really really want to). I'd take them if they just had a "pet", but the game pisses me off........
Tighten up your rental criteria so that you can reject them for a different reason than the animal.
I can't reject an applicant for trying to pass off their pet as a service animal, but you'd better believe I can find another legal reason to reject them.
I accept nicely behaved dogs and I have started to charge a deposit of rental amount plus $300, to anyone and everyone who rents from me.
In the past, I would charge the rental amount plus an additional $300 pet deposit. Now, every one pays the new higher deposit. Pet, no pet, service animal, it doesn't matter, everyone pays the same deposit.
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