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…..The Act’s prohibitions against discrimination in housing against a person with disabilities is of most importance to the issue of companion animals in housing.

The Act may be used to prohibit a person from refusing to sell or rent to a person who needs a companion animal in his or her home for reasons of mental or physical health. …..The provision prohibiting discrimination against persons with disabilities may give broader rights for tenants to live with companion animals than may be immediately apparent.

….the landlord must make a reasonable accommodation for that disability, including permitting the tenant to live with a companion animal as an “assistive” animal. While guide dogs, hearing assistive dogs and other specially trained companions are clearly assistive animals, animals who provide other physical assistance or emotional support are also considered assistive animals. Such animals do not have to have received special training….

(It could be as easy as getting a note from your doctor stating the separation would affect your health – mentally or physically)

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http://www.mtstcil.org/skills/housing-2.html

Service animals as a reasonable accommodation

One of the areas of disability discrimination that generates many calls to the HUD office is the subject of service animals for persons with disabilities. Housing providers who have “no pets” policies must make a reasonable accommodation to a person with disabilities whose physician has determined that an animal would be beneficial to the treatment and well being of their patient.

If a tenant with a disability provides the housing provider with a written statement from the tenant’s treating physician stating that the tenant is under his/her care, and the tenant’s mental or physical condition would benefit from having a service animal, the housing provider must allow such animal.

The housing provider may not charge a pet fee, if you feel you are subject to, animal housing discrimination against persons with disabilities, you may contact Carole Boster in the West Virginia HUD office at 304-347-5216, 504 Capitol Street, Suite 708, Charleston, WV 25301.

http://www.qando.net/comments.aspx?Entry=1212Under the Federal Housing rules, a no-pets policy is overruled for people whose doctors prescribe them an Emotional Support Animal. An ESA is more than just a pet; it is a form of treatment for certain types of patients. And it works. Research and trials prove this.

This is not about the doctors “believing” it will work; they know it will be a help, which is why they prescribed the ESA to this woman. ESAs are important to the health of people with physical and mental illnesses. Although they have no public access rights like service/assistant animals do, they do have the right to live in no-pets housing and to travel in the cabin of an airplane and they do help their owners.

Service/assistant animals, which are animals that are trained to do tasks to help their physically or mentally disabled owners, have the right to live in no-pets housing, to travel in the cabin of an airplane, and to go to public places (including restaurants and grocery stores and other types of stores) with their owner.

Remember, in the case of ESAs and S/AAs, the right is not granted to the animal but to the owner of the animal. The animal has no rights; it is the disabled owner who has the right to have their animal with them, just like people have the right to have their wheelchair with them.

Info compiled from resources on the web by Dawn K ForTheAnimals for http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ForeclosurePetRescue