{"id":12422,"date":"2020-02-05T10:05:23","date_gmt":"2020-02-05T18:05:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rentecdirect.com\/blog\/?p=12422"},"modified":"2020-02-05T10:11:39","modified_gmt":"2020-02-05T18:11:39","slug":"emotional-support-animal-hud-guidelines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rentecdirect.com\/blog\/emotional-support-animal-hud-guidelines\/","title":{"rendered":"New HUD Guidelines for an Emotional Support Animal"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"New<\/p>\n

When it comes to letting an emotional support animal fly, the airline industry has been in a balancing act between accommodating the needs of an individual with those of the collective passengers on board.<\/span><\/p>\n

The phrase ‘when pigs fly’<\/a> has new meaning when you consider the types of animals that have been airborne. <\/span><\/p>\n

It hasn\u2019t been unheard of for <\/span>emotional support miniature horses<\/span><\/a> to fly. Other non-traditional support animals such as ducks<\/a>, snakes, cats, and monkeys have taken to the sky. These special accommodations come with risks regarding property damage as well as health and safety. <\/span>A few years back an emotional support peacock<\/a> was denied a seat on an airplane for that reason.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Landlord Concerns for Allowing Pets in a Rental<\/strong><\/h2>\n

It\u2019s no different for the rental industry. Landlords have a concern that animals will cause damage to the rental unit. They may also harm other residents, and\/or cause health issues if not cared for properly. In that, many landlords have established either strict pet policies that cover type, breed, behavior or have gone so far as to ban pets altogether.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As a landlord, understand that although your property may be \u2018pet-free\u2019 or there are breed or other restrictions, under the Fair Housing Act (FHA)<\/a>, a reasonable request for a service or emotional support animal (ESA) must be entertained.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Emotional

A German Shepard might be on your breed restriction list for a pet. However, a service animal may be any breed unless it has shown itself a direct threat to others.<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/h2>\n

HUD New Guidelines for Reasonable Accommodation Requests<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has just released new guidelines on handling those reasonable accommodation requests to help landlords and property managers with those obligations.<\/span><\/p>\n

The document indicates that the most HUD charges of discrimination are against housing providers denying reasonable accommodations. It goes on to say FHA complaints regarding denied reasonable accommodations are up 60% and are on the rise. <\/span><\/p>\n

They anticipate that these new guidelines will help landlords understand their obligations and set best practices for addressing requests while reducing the number of discrimination claims and complaints.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The new HUD guidelines<\/a> cover how to assess a person\u2019s request to have a service animal as a reasonable accommodation under the FHA and includes:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n