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HUD has issued guidance regarding assistance animals in rental properties* Highlights of the guidance includes the definition of a service animal as a DOG that is trained to do work or perform tasks for someone with a disability. An assistance animal, including an emotional support animal, is a domesticated animal that is traditionally kept in the home for pleasure.
HUD also addressed certificates that can be purchased online, “In HUD’s experience, such documentation from the internet is not, by itself, sufficient to reliably establish that an individual has a non-observable disability or disability-related need for an assistance animal.” However, HUD also noted that there are, “legitimate, licensed health care professionals” who “deliver services remotely, including over the internet.”
In order to verify that a request for a reasonable accommodation regarding an assistance animal is legitimate HUD suggests a best practice is documentation which includes: (a) the patient’s name; (b) the nature of the professional relationship with the person seeking the accommodation; and (c) the type of animal for which the reasonable accommodation is sought.
The entire notice is 19 pages long:
*https://www.hud.gov/sites/dfiles/PA/documents/HUDAsstAnimalNC1-28-2020.pdf
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Nothing found herein should be construed as an attempt to offer or render a legal opinion or otherwise engage in the practice of law. You should not rely solely on this information. We encourage our clients to work with a lawyer experienced in commercial and/or residential real estate matters as they can be complicated and confusing.
