WOW Oregons new landlord tenant laws are ridiculous. (apartment, to rent)

[nyctc7]

Service Kangaroo, Mate


Woman with 'service' kangaroo named Jimmy asked to leave McDonald's

[fmedges]

As with any system people are going to abuse it, however not all dogs are the same. We have a pit bull that is a registered service dog (who has taken the service dog tests) and preforms her duties flawlessly.

[Leisesturm]

A landlord who puts people with dodgy circumstances in their property and then has to hear about violations of civil conduct and etc. from third party sources is negligent IMO. They have lost ANY moral high ground to tell their story to total strangers and expect sympathy. Out on Laneda Ave., the main drag in Manzanita, a redneck family is ruining the entire street from beach to highway with their eyesore of a rented house. One look tells you all you need to know. Undoubtedly there are police visits and ... drama... but the homeowner doesn't care, because s/he is getting their check every month. Only when the money stops coming do they get off their to investigate and come up to speed on what is going on with their property. I have no sympathy! Don't tell me about poor people this that or the other. There are good poor people, there are bad rich people and most people are in between. It is a landlords duty to make sure the people they rent to are at least behaving in accordance with local ordinances.

H

[pecivil]

a redneck family is ruining the entire street from beach to highway with their eyesore of a rented house

ok you are losing credibility here......who are you to judge? Are "rednecks" lesser than good Portland Liberals who do the same things? Just askin

It is a landlords duty to make sure the people they rent to are at least behaving in accordance with local ordinances.

how so? How could they possibly be responsible for what other people do? So the landlords should also be the police?
All those poor people would not have a place to live without those landlords, remember. I think if the landlords kept close tabs on what their renters did, you would be on here claiming their are overstepping their bounds and being too intrusive.

Landlords provide a place for these people to live vs them being in a homeless encampment. Would that be preferable?

[NeonGecko]

I have a friend who is totally blind and partially deaf. She does not have a seeing-eye dog because her loss of hearing has decreased her ability to respond to cues both from the dog and from the environment. However she does still have a service animal - and that is a pet dog.

She lives alone. Her dual disabilities makes her even more isolated than might otherwise be the case. Because of her deafness, she cannot even use the paratransit service because she can't see where to stand outside, it isn't safe for her to do so anyway because there are no sidewalks and it is in a bad neighborhood, and she can't hear them if she were to wait inside and wait for them to beep (she can't see them pull up, either). Paratransit will not come to the door for her nor take her to the door of her destination.

That dog is often the only contact she may have with another living being for several days running. If you think that animal is not important to her health and well-being, take another think.

[mrwibble]

Originally Posted by NeonGecko

That dog is often the only contact she may have with another living being for several days running. If you think that animal is not important to her health and well-being, take another think.

No one is arguing that service animals that fulfill a real need shouldn't be allowed. The issue is the influx of therapy pigs, PTSD ferrets and companion kangaroos that are cropping up and the fact that landlords will be forced to accept these, and untrained therapy dogs, in their rental properties.

[NeonGecko]

Originally Posted by mrwibble

No one is arguing that service animals that fulfill a real need shouldn't be allowed. The issue is the influx of therapy pigs, PTSD ferrets and companion kangaroos that are cropping up and the fact that landlords will be forced to accept these, and untrained therapy dogs, in their rental properties.

There aren't a bunch of "companion kangaroos" out there, so that is not a valid concern. To my knowledge that was ONE isolated incident. And size and species limits might (or might not) be valid issues to address. I'm not sure what your issue with ferrets might be, but I can see where a "therapy pig" can quickly get to be dangerous animal. They are cute when they're small, but they don't stay small and can get mean besides (on top of being smart).

Regardless. My friends dog is a Basset Hound, which is a fairly large dog. And no, the animal is NOT "trained" as a therapy dog; it is enough for him to be there. He needs no more training than any other companion animal. Most companion animals don't require such training, as the therapy they provide is simply to be there as a companion. They don't have to guide your steps, or bark if you're about to have a seizure, or nudge you when the phone or doorbell rings. They're just your companion.

The point is that the "need" for the therapy animal is already proven merely by the fact that the person has an affadavit from a licensed therapist that makes the designation. This may not be applicable to you in particular - but there has been an overwhelming tendency for posters in this thread to belittle the need for a therapy animal and trivialize the conditions that cause such a need.

You, yourself, did so, perhaps unwittingly, when you made the remark about "therapy ferrets for PTSD". A lot of other posters have been far more egregious about this, and obviously did so with full intent.

PTSD is a serious and debilitating condition. So are a wide variety of other conditions, including anxiety and depression. And, simply being older or disabled and alone can and should be alleviated by the presence of a loving pet as a companion animal whenever that is indicated.

I have often stated, since the onset of my disability, that I do not ever want another pet. However, as the time approaches for me to move out on my own again (I currently reside with my son and his 2 cats), I may well find that the additional isolation will lead me to change my mind about that.

As I will own my home, I don't have to worry about a landlord who belittles my need for companionship. But I surely do sympathize with those who do have that worry.

If there are no provisions in the current law for safety and health requirements coincident with the presence of a companion animal, then that should be addressed. But the solution is NOT to ban all companion animals because some people refuse to believe they are service animals.

[Metlakatla]

Originally Posted by pecivil

Landlords provide a place for these people to live vs them being in a homeless encampment. Would that be preferable?

If it weren't for renters, a lot of landlords would be living in tents as well. Plenty of people count on income properties to keep their respective wolves from the door.

As far as companion/therapy/service animals, there are some restrictions and guidelines for those who care to look them up. No one is going to be forced to rent to someone with a kangaroo.

[KaaBoom]

Originally Posted by NeonGecko

She lives alone. Her dual disabilities makes her even more isolated than might otherwise be the case. Because of her deafness, she cannot even use the paratransit service because she can't see where to stand outside, it isn't safe for her to do so anyway because there are no sidewalks and it is in a bad neighborhood, and she can't hear them if she were to wait inside and wait for them to beep (she can't see them pull up, either). Paratransit will not come to the door for her nor take her to the door of her destination.

This makes no sense. Paratransit is a door to door service. Not only can they come to the door, but I believe they have a responsibility to assist the passenger to and from the door, if necessary. The only thing they can't do is enter the building. If your friend is told otherwise, then the Paratransit company or employee, does not understand the law, and a lawsuit should be in order.

http://ftawebprod.fta.dot.gov/Contac...x?CategoryID=4

[NeonGecko]

Originally Posted by KaaBoom

This makes no sense. Paratransit is a door to door service. Not only can they come to the door, but I believe they have a responsibility to assist the passenger to and from the door, if necessary. The only thing they can't do is enter the building. If your friend is told otherwise, then the Paratransit company or employee, does not understand the law, and a lawsuit should be in order.

Contact Us Tool: Public: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

I'm a frequent flyer on paratransit, and no paratransit system I have ever been involved with - in 4 states now, and including when I was caring for my elderly father - will provide door to door service. Only curb to curb. I have, in fact, acted as a guide on occasion for blind riders - because the bus drivers aren't going to.

You do realize that people who make waves about issues like this run the risk of retaliation? This can take the form of making scheduling as difficult as possible, to actually denying service. I have experienced both situations personally, once because they improperly scheduled a trip for me and I called them to make them correct the mistake; the other was the paratransit service in Chapel Hill, NC, where they repeatedly "lost" my paperwork, or sent it back for trivial mistakes, for a period of nearly a year before we finally moved out of the region altogether. My doctor filled out their paperwork I am not kidding, at LEAST a half dozen times.

Another woman - in her 70s and an amputee - was actually kicked out of the program altogether because she was part of a group that was trying to draw attention to the gross malfeasance that was going on (I was NOT the only person being given the runaround via "lost" paperwork etc). She had to beg to be reinstated, and was only partially reinstated because of the intervention of one of the higher-ups in the local police department. Their excuse? She had one good leg, she should be able to hop to a bus stop (more than a few blocks away) on her own. At the age of 70+. I spoke with her, and she was afraid - AFRAID - to have anything to do with any more efforts to make these folks straighten up and fly right.

My friend has also been the victim of retaliation years ago, when her housemate was still alive and able to help her get from place to place. I don't remember what the triggering event was - a complaint about repeated late pickups, I think - but they basically started making scheduling as difficult and inconvenient as possible.

Before you tell me that should be reported as well - keep in mind that these kinds of things are very hard to prove.

In the main, paratransit officials and workers with whom I have dealt have been helpful - but when they are not, or when they are actively obstructive - the people who rely on them and have no other choice are generally pretty helpless to do anything about it.