Recent HUD Fair Housing Actions Involving Disabilities Discrimination - Emotional Support Animals

In Washington, D.C., the Department of Housing & Urban Development recently announced the commencement of the following administrative actions against landlords for alleged conduct in connection with requests for reasonable accommodations (ie. use of support animals) by people with disabilities:

• HUD Charges South Dakota Property Owners w/ Discriminating Against Resident w/ Disabilities (charging the owners and landlords of a 36-unit complex in Sioux Falls, South Dakota with violating the Fair Housing Act by initially refusing to allow a resident with disabilities to have an emotional support animal. HUD’s charge alleges that even after the resident obtained a support dog, the owners placed overly burdensome requirements on the resident’s use of the dog. Read HUD’s administrative complaint):
  
  The case came to HUD’s attention when the woman, who has a mental disability, filed a complaint alleging that the apartment owners initially refused to allow her to have a support animal and asked her to give 60-days’ notice to vacate the apartment if she insisted on getting one.
  
  When she obtained a dog and requested a reasonable accommodation to keep the animal, the owners requested verification of the animal’s proper inoculations and licensure with the city before responding to her request. Upon granting her request, they also required her to sign a “Companion Animal/Pet Policy Agreement” that included discriminatory provisions that (1) allowed the landlords to revoke approval of the animal at their “sole discretion;” (2) imposed size, weight, and breed limitations on assistance animals; (3) required that assistance animals be more than six months old at the time they are acquired; (4) allowed the landlord to enter the apartment to inspect for damage suspected to have been caused by the assistance animal; and (5) allowed the landlord to evict her for failure to comply with any of the agreement’s provisions.
  
  Eventually the woman moved out for fear of losing her housing because of her support animal.
  
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• New York City Landlords With Discriminating Against Resident With Disabilities (charging the owners and landlords of a high-rise complex in New York City with violating the Fair Housing Act by refusing to allow a resident with disabilities to have an emotional support animal. HUD’s charge alleges that the owners and managers refused to accept that the resident required a dog to cope with the symptoms of his disability. Read HUD’s administrative complaint):
  
  The case came to HUD’s attention after the resident, who has a psychiatric disability, filed a complaint with HUD alleging that his right to have an emotional support animal was denied. The man lives in a two-bedroom apartment at The Dorothy Ross Friedman Residence, a 30-story supportive housing residence for senior citizens, working professionals and persons living with HIV/AIDS that is sponsored by the Actors’ Fund, a New York nonprofit for performing arts and entertainment professionals.
  
  When the tenant moved into Friedman Residence in 2004 he did not have a support animal. However, in 2010 the resident began being treated by a licensed clinical psychologist and a year later bought a small dog. After recognizing an improvement in the man’s condition, his doctor recommended that he register the animal as an official emotional support animal.
  
  In February 2013, the landlords initiated eviction procedures against the man due to the presence of the dog. The man subsequently provided the property management director with documents from his doctor and the National Service Animal Registry showing that the dog was an emotional support animal, but instead of accepting the documentation, the landlords sent the man a final “Notice of Termination,” stating that he had not sufficiently demonstrated his need for the animal.
  
  Legal proceedings between the resident and the landlords in New York County Civil Court were stayed while this charge was investigated.
  
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Read HUD’s notice regarding service or companion animals for people with disabilities.