October 2nd, 2023 at 1:47 pm
A. A landlord must allow a disabled tenant’s service animal.
B. A landlord must make reasonable accommodations for a disabled tenant’s support animal.
C. A landlord can prohibit pets.
D. All of the above.
Answer: Answer A is a true statement. A “service animal” is a dog or miniature horse that has been specifically trained to perform certain tasks to assist a person with his or her disability, such as a guide dog for a vision-impaired person. The key word is “trained.” Many people misuse the term “service animal.”
Answer B is also a true statement. A support animal provides emotional, cognitive, or similar support that helps with a person’s disability. Unlike a service animal, a “support animal” is generally not trained to perform disability-related tasks.
Answer C is also a true statement. A landlord can prohibit pets, but service animals and support animals are not considered “pets.”
Answer D is the correct answer! There are different legal parameters for renting to tenants with service animals, support animals, and pets.
As a reminder, when we are the lease listing agent, it’s up to our landlord-client, not us, to decide to whom the landlord wants to rent the premises. That delegation of responsibility to the landlord is clearly spelled out in our BHHSCP Landlord Advisory, which is a required disclosure form for our lease listing transaction files.
More information is available from C.A.R.’s Pets and Assistance Animals Q&A (password-protected for C.A.R. members only).
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