Many times the cases with what look like the most egregious set of facts are the ones that get the most publicity. To that end, a fair housing case in California just settled with the owner of several apartment complexes and rental homes agreeing to pay $100,000 to conclude a disability discrimination action involving emotional support animals.

The complaint (which started as an administrative action with HUD filed by a local fair housing advocacy group) asserted that the apartment owner sent a letter to his residents stating he did “not like to deal with pets of any kind.” The letter contained no exceptions for assistance animals. Next, the defendant sent letters to the residents asserting that a flea problem existed and his solution was to ensure all pets were gone.  Or that the residents had to send letters from a veterinarian certifying that their animals did not have fleas. He then sent eviction notices to a handful of residents with pets and ultimately evicted two residents with emotional support animals.

In addition to the $100,000, the defendant agreed to participate in fair housing training, adopt policies for reviewing reasonable accommodation requests, and provide three years of semi-annual reports to the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing detailing reasonable accommodation requests and the resolution of the requests. The money includes damages to the former residents as well as investigatory costs and attorney’s fees.

The takeaway: Yes, you can prohibit pets at your apartment community. No, you cannot prohibit appropriately medically verified service and/or emotional support animals. If you are uncertain over this provision in the law, I suggest you reach out to a lawyer like me for some fair housing training.

Just A Thought.

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