Emotional Support Dog Laws California Landlord

The need for an emotional support animal is not grounds for reasonable accommodation under the americans with disabilities act.

Emotional support dog laws california landlord.

This is the case. The use of emotional support animals is emerging as a popular way for coping with mental and emotional conditions such as stress anxiety and depression. As a landlord you must offer reasonable accommodation to renters with emotional support animals or someone who develops a need for one while they are your tenant. As a landlord you have the right to ask your tenant the following questions about their emotional support animal.

If the animal causes damage or becomes a threat to other tenants in the building. You re in the right place. And certapet is here to help. Attorney katie holt writes.

What are my rights if i have an emotional support animal rather than a service animal or a service animal that is not a dog. Emotional support animals are different from service animals which are governed by additional laws and defined under the americans with disabilities act as a dog. However the law does not consider emotional support animals to be the same as service dogs for disabled persons. Landlords and other housing providers in california may not refuse to make reasonable accommodations in their rules or policies if such accommodations are necessary to afford a person with a disability the equal opportunity to use and enjoy a house or.

If making accommodations for the emotional support animal places an undue financial hardship on the landlord. For the emotional support animal to be legal tenants need documentation from a licenced medical professional stating that the animal is being used to manage a health condition. In california tenants have the right to bring their service dogs and emotional support animals to live with them in many circumstances. It s likely that you re here because a tenant or future tenant handed you an emotional support animal letter from their therapist and you re interested in finding out what your rights are as a landlord.

As a result the laws protecting service dogs do not similarly cover emotional support animals. Remember how you ask is important as well. A public place includes libraries hotels shops restaurants theatres and hospitals. In addition federal law allows people with disabilities to bring their emotional support animal onto an airplane.

In addition to the laws discussed above housing discrimination against people with disabilities is prohibited under federal law in the fair housing amendments act fhaa 42 u s c. The laws in california allow a person with a disability to bring a trained service dog or psychiatric service dog to all public places but not emotional support animals. Questions a landlord has the right to ask a tenant that needs an emotional support animal. If the tenant does not meet the qualifying standards the landlord has for all tenants such as having an income that is two and a half times the monthly rent.