Pet Limits and Service Dogs (apartment, renters, mobile home)

[MrFreeze2014]

Hello,

Does anyone have any experience getting into an apartment or renting a house with emotional support animals? My friends and I have two cats and two dogs between us, which makes it hard to find a place that’ll let us have all four. I’ve heard, though, that emotional support animals basically don’t count. One of my friends has a letter from her psychiatrist saying that she needs the dogs for emotional support. Does she need to register them with some sort of agency for them to be official emotional support dogs, or is the letter from her psychiatrist all she needs? Either way, is it true that emotional support animals don’t count against you when you’re looking for housing? If so, how do you prevent renters from discriminating against you anyway? Couldn’t they just turn you down and say it’s for some other reason?

Cheers, everyone.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

No, not true. You might be able to force a landlord to take two dogs with a letter from a psychiatrist, but the landlord won't have to take your two pet cats in addition to the dogs. The landlord might not have to take two support animals for one tenant unless the psychiatrist specially says that two support animals are both needed. If a person with an emotional or mental disability needs a support animal, why won't one animal do the job? Why are two needed? One for each side?


I suggest that you and the roommates look for a rental that will accept four animals. Probably a house and maybe outside the city limits. Don't cross mobile homes off of your list; some of those have a more generous pet limit and they really aren't bad to live in.

[texasdiver]

Google is your friend:

https://www.americanbar.org/groups/l...enant-context/

https://www.rentprep.com/property-ma...tance-animals/

[jencam]

ESAs do not count as pets or towards the pet limit, but having 2 ESAs? IDK about that.

[Cloudy Dayz]

Originally Posted by jencam

ESAs do not count as pets or towards the pet limit, but having 2 ESAs? IDK about that.

Two ESAs is a grey area. At very least the need for the second ESA has to be documented. ESAs are also limited to a reasonable number. The landlord could argue that the rental unit is simply not big enough for two ESAs.

[reenzz]

The landlord is required to make a "reasonable accommodation " for ESA's. Four pets is NOT a reasonable accommodation.

[jencam]

Originally Posted by reenzz

The landlord is required to make a "reasonable accommodation " for ESA's. Four pets is NOT a reasonable accommodation.

However, the ESA does not count towards the pet limit since it's not a pet.

[Cinema Cat]

Every law I've heard of that allows for service animals only allows one service animal per person. Not two or more, irrespective of notes from psychiatrists.

And service animals do count toward pet limits. Thus, if a building allows one pet, and you have a service animal, then that is your pet.

[jencam]

Originally Posted by Cinema Cat

Every law I've heard of that allows for service animals only allows one service animal per person. Not two or more, irrespective of notes from psychiatrists.

And service animals do count toward pet limits. Thus, if a building allows one pet, and you have a service animal, then that is your pet.

Nope, they are not pets.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

Originally Posted by jencam

Nope, they are not pets.

But they will still fill up the allowable animal limit.


There is no law anywhere that says a landlord has to allow pets. A landlord is not legally forced to allow two pets, and so he doesn't have to accept two service animals, which are not pets, and yet still allow another two pets, who are pets, into the rental.


If the building is "no pets" a service animal can still get in because it is not a pet. But if the building generally allows one pet, the one service animal is going to fill up that slot (almost always, at the landlord's discretion).


Pet allowed buildings are always pets allowed with approval. It isn't a blanket "bring whatever you want".