Must a landlord allow a tenant to have a service animal?

Must a landlord allow a tenant to have a service animal?

Attorney Tom Olsen: Robert you're on WDBO, go ahead.

Robert: Hello. Thanks for taking my call.

Attorney Tom Olsen: Sure.

Robert: I'm a landlord, and I'm interested in finding out about emotional support animals. I had a tenant that moved in once and presented me with a letter after he moved in. He was never home through work or going out and the dog was always causing problems.

Attorney Tom Olsen: I get it, Robert. You have a great question for us. Let's see if we can answer it for you. First of all, if it was truly, truly not an emotional support dog, but what do they call-

Attorney Chris Merrill: You're talking about for--

Attorney Tom Olsen: Service animal.

Attorney Chris Merrill: A service dog.

Attorney Tom Olsen: Okay. A true service dog. They wear the vest, they've been trained.

Attorney Chris Merrill: They have papers.

Attorney Tom Olsen: If you're a landlord, you cannot deny a tenant with a service dog. You cannot even charge them a pet fee. Now, compare that to an emotional support dog. Robert, I don't think so. Do you have to accept a tenant with an emotional support dog? I think the answer is no. Too many people have abused this over the years. They're trying to fly their animals on airlines. They're starting to crack down on this Robert. I would say if you have a lease that says no animals and you try to evict this tenant because they have an emotional support dog and they do use that as a defense to your eviction Robert, at this moment in time, I do believe that you would win the case.

Attorney Chris Merrill: Correct.

Robert: I appreciate you taking your time.

Attorney Chris Merrill: You're welcome.

Attorney Tom Olsen: If you want more information on that, or you want a definitive answer on that, we have a landlord tenant attorney here. His name is Rob Solomon. You can go to our website, robertolsonlawgroup.com. There's a page for each lawyer. Look for the page for attorney Rob Solomon. You can find a big red button there where you can call them, text them or email them, and they'll give you the absolute answer to that question. Robert, thank you for calling.