Service dog and a no-pet policy: what happens?

In most rentals, a no-pet policy does not apply to a tenant's service dog. The federal Fair Housing Act treats a landlord's refusal to bend a rule for a tenant with a disability as discrimination when the change is reasonable and needed, and a guide dog in a no-pets building is the example federal regulators use to explain it. The tenant still pays for any damage the dog causes, and a few small landlords are exempt.

The law calls this a reasonable accommodation. Under 42 U.S.C. 3604(f)(3)(B), discrimination includes "a refusal to make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices, or services, when such accommodations may be necessary" to give a person with a disability an equal chance to use a home. The regulation that carries out that section, 24 CFR 100.204, describes a blind applicant who wants to live with a seeing eye dog in a building that has a no pets policy. It states that refusing the dog is a violation, because without it the applicant "will not have an equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling."

A service dog is a working animal, not a pet. The Americans with Disabilities Act regulations define a service animal as "any dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability." Guiding a person who is blind, alerting to a seizure, pulling a wheelchair, and retrieving medicine all count. The Fair Housing Act uses a wider term, assistance animal, which can include animals that are not trained dogs. Emotional support animals fall under those housing rules too, and we cover them separately in our guide on whether a landlord can say no to an emotional support animal.

What a landlord can and cannot do

Here is how it plays out. Maria has epilepsy, and her dog is trained to alert her before a seizure and stay with her until it passes. She applies for an apartment in a 40-unit building in Florida. The residential lease bans pets and lists a $400 pet deposit and $35 a month in pet rent for the units where pets are allowed. Maria tells the manager the dog is a service animal and asks to bring it.

The landlord has to let the dog in. The no-pet clause gives way to the accommodation, and the building is far too large for the small-landlord exemptions described below. Florida law is direct about the money. Florida Statutes 413.08(6)(b) says a tenant with a service animal is entitled to full and equal access to housing and "may not be required to pay extra compensation for such animal." Over a one-year lease, that keeps the $400 deposit and $420 in pet rent, $820 in all, off Maria's bill. The same paragraph says she "is liable for any damage done to the premises" by the dog, and it lets the landlord ask for proof that the dog's vaccinations are current.

California reaches the same result in its own words. Civil Code 54.1(b)(6)(A) says refusing to rent to a person because they use a guide dog, signal dog, or service dog, or refusing to let them keep the dog on the premises, is a denial of equal access to housing. The next paragraph lets the owner set lease terms that "reasonably regulate the presence" of those dogs, outside their normal work as a mobility or signal aid, and keeps the tenant liable for property damage when proof of the damage exists. A leash rule in the hallways and a duty to clean up waste fit comfortably inside that. A rule barring the dog from the unit does not.

The documentation question trips up many landlords. In stores, restaurants, and other public businesses, the ADA rules allow staff to ask only two questions when the dog's job is not obvious: whether the dog is a service animal required because of a disability, and what work or task it has been trained to perform. The same guidance says staff cannot require medical documentation, a special identification card, or training papers. Those ADA rules are written for businesses open to the public, and the same guidance notes that the Fair Housing Act's broader definition of an assistance animal is separate. A sensible landlord asks only what is needed to understand the request, and keeps any health information the tenant shares private.

When a landlord can still say no

The federal law does not cover every rental. Under 42 U.S.C. 3603(b), the main rules do not apply to rooms or units in a building with no more than four units when the owner lives in one of them. They also do not apply to a single-family house rented by an owner who owns no more than three such houses and rents without a broker or agent. A landlord who fits one of those exemptions still has to check state law, and some state laws reach further. Florida's statute covers most housing but excludes a single-family home whose occupants rent out no more than one room.

Even a covered landlord can refuse a specific dog in narrow cases. Section 3604(f)(9) says nothing in the law requires a landlord to rent to someone "whose tenancy would constitute a direct threat to the health or safety of other individuals or whose tenancy would result in substantial physical damage to the property of others." That turns on the actual animal and its behavior. A breed or weight limit written for pets is a weak reason on its own. A dog that has bitten a neighbor is a much stronger one.

Tenants should know the risk on the other side. Florida makes it a second-degree misdemeanor to misrepresent yourself as using a service animal or as qualified to use one, so a pet in a store-bought vest is not a way around the lease. Landlords who want the paperwork clean can add an assistance animal paragraph to the lease, next to any pet addendum, stating that the pet fees do not apply and that the tenant remains responsible for damage and cleanup.

A clause like this one keeps both sides clear: "Tenant may keep one service animal in the Premises as a reasonable accommodation. The pet deposit, pet fee, and pet rent in this Lease do not apply to that animal. Tenant is responsible for any damage the animal causes, will keep it under control in common areas, and will promptly clean up after it."

Sources

• 42 U.S.C. 3604, Discrimination in the sale or rental of housing
• 42 U.S.C. 3603, Effective dates of certain prohibitions (exemptions)
• 24 CFR 100.204, Reasonable accommodations
• 28 CFR 36.104, Definitions (service animal)
• ADA.gov, ADA requirements: service animals
• Florida Statutes 413.08
• California Civil Code 54.1