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I saw an ad for "housing wanted" from someone who has two service dogs and two service animal birds in cages. I'm left wondering what a service animal bird does for the handicapped and just how it performs that service while it is confined in a cage.
I do wish the government would do something about this fake service animal scam that is so popular. I'm very much in favor of service dogs, and very much annoyed by the people who pass their pets off as service animals.
It's simply amazing how the majority of pitbulls belonging to tenants are service animals.
Landlords simply need to learn the laws. There is no reason any landlord would be required to allow two service dogs plus two service birds. There will always be people who try to scam any system if it is to their benefit. But, knowledge is power.
An animal is not a service animal or companion animal just because the owner paid for a service dog jacket on Ebay. Just learn the law and stand up for your rights as a landlord. The law works both ways.
Why can't a pit bull be a service pet? It's no longer the case that only a certain breed of dog is used as a service animal.
The birds are likely either emotional or psychiatric service animals.
I get incredibly annoyed at people who insist that this is some sort of fake scam. Are there many more service animals now than there used to be? Sure there are. This is because more and more studies conclude that animals can offer true assistive value to those who are disabled or experience a mental illness or they can simply improve the quality of life for any number of therapeutic reasons.
To offer several scenarios. I have a non visible disability. I was mostly confined to my home for a long period of time. Therapy was failing, medication was failing. My doctor ended up prescribing me getting a pet. Yes, written on an Rx pad and everything. A support group I attend for disabled veterans also has multiple people who were prescribed pets to assist with their particular disabilities. The pets range from turtles to hamsters to dogs to horses, depending on the person's needs and abilities. It changed everything for me and has changed everything for dozens of people I know.
A neighbor of mine has one of those dreaded pit bulls. He was a rescue, which is pretty common since pit bulls so often end up in shelters. My neighbor is epileptic. The dog is a necessity for her as it's trained to predict behaviors that indicate impending seizure, to bring medications to his owner, and even to paw a button that calls an ambulance. On the surface, the dog just looks like a regular pet and landlords have been utter *******s to this woman because they assume she's scamming the system unless she chooses to reveal her health history (which many people don't want to do, for good reason).
So next time someone reveals they have service animals, perhaps just go ahead and assume that they have a reason for having one instead of assuming someone is pulling a scam.
Service animals perform a specific service for a person whose handicap or disability makes it difficult or impossible to do for themselves. A parrot in a cage does not fit this description And I have 5 parrots of my own. They're pets. Yes, they are comforting, sensitive and definitely provide emotional support but they are not service animals under the definition of the law.
Ok after reading this, I'm going to get me a very cute Pool Boy and call him an emotional support service animal. and they will let him in! After taking care of me I am sure I will be very emotionally happy
Since the person mentioned in the OP claims to have several service animals, that begs the question:
Can a person have more than one service animal prescribed to them? Is that allowable under ADA and Fair Housing Laws?
What about emotional support animals?
"SERVICE Animals" is a term used by and regulated under the American's with Disability Act. The ADA does not apply to or has any jurisdiction on the renter or landlord. As such, what a "Service Animal" is or isn't or what the regulations state about the rights and responsibilities of "Service Animals", none of that is binding or applies to the renter or the landlord unless it is allowed under the Fair Housing Amendment Act which covers housing.
The FHAA requires that a landlord provided a reasonable accommodation to anyone with an "Assistance Animal" as defined by FHAA. An "Assistance Animal: is any animal that allows the disabled person to live as normal as possible in their residence. Under FHAA service, emotional support, and any other label is all the same and their is no distinction; so longa s iut meets the needs requirement under FHAA. There are no restrictions or limitations of the type or number of animals. Neither is there any training or certification requirement.
However, there is one very important item landlords and tenants need to know. Unlike the ADA, your rights as a tenant is the right to ask for and receive a reasonable accommodation. If your request is not reasonable under the circumstances, a landlord has the right under the law to decline the accommodation based on safety, health, undue burden, and financial hardship.
This requires a landlord apply a certain amount of due diligence in their evaluation of the request and for the most part, declines are not that uncommon and will be upheld so long as the landlord has a clear reason and properly documented.
So, a landlord in this case can request (based on the total number of "Assistance Animals") a letter from a qualified health professional outlining the need for each one. Once again, shove ADA aside as it means nothing. If the person does provide such letter (note this is not required if the need is obvious such as one of the dogs is a seeing eye dog an the person is blind) for each animal, the landlord can also view it in context of health and safety. So long as the landlord is consistent in applying their investigative due diligence, the answer would be clear if it's allowed or not.
Since the person mentioned in the OP claims to have several service animals, that begs the question:
Can a person have more than one service animal prescribed to them? Is that allowable under ADA and Fair Housing Laws?
What about emotional support animals?
In addition to what Rabrrita said, I just wanted to point out that any "service" animal, must perform a significant task for the disabled person. I would guess that in theory, you might have one animal who could pick things up off the ground for you, and one that could alert you if you were about to have an epileptic seizure. But, you'd have to show that there was a need for each one, and how they are specifically trained to do things for you.
In order to force a landlord to take your emotional support animal(s), you have to request a reasonable accommodation based on a disability, if you want the LL to break their pet rules for you.
A LL has the right to ask for proof that you have a disability under the legal definition of the ADA, which is:
The ADA defines a person with a disability as a person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activity. This includes people who have a record of such an impairment, even if they do not currently have a disability.
A LL can't ask for specifics, but could request that their doctor fill out a form that asks if the tenant meets the above definition. And in fact, if I was a LL again and I had a request for a reasonable accommodation, I would insist on faxing a form with the above request regarding the ADA definition, and request that the form be faxed back to me from their office. And I'd verify that it's a real medical office. You'd probably find that a lot of these tenants would just screen themselves out at that point, and never get back to you.
If a tenant is on Social Security disability, or SSI disability, that's enough proof, because they have to meet the above definition to get disability.
But, the request has to be "reasonable." It's my opinion that a LL could say, "Sure, I'll give you a reasonable accommodation to have one emotional support animal, but only one.
Worst case scenario, they file a complaint. The complaints take forever (I've filed one before). Plus, they will contact the LL to discuss the reasonable accommodation request.
One thing LLs should know, is that you are required to open up a discussion about the reasonable accommodation request, and not deny right off the bat, or ignore the request which would be considered to be a denial. But, you could start a communication, preferably in writing, where you request their medical provider's fax number and contact info, so you can fax the form to them. And if they actually provide that, then offer a compromise with good reasons for denying "part" of their request as "unreasonable," if it is.
Last edited by NoMoreSnowForMe; 11-24-2015 at 02:23 PM..
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