Pet Trust Law Blog : Pet Trust Lawyer & Attorney : Dan Meek Law Firm : Estate Planning, Pet Guardians, Will Provisions

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"My brother Rick has some learning disabilities that have been diagnosed as an emotional disability. Because of this condition, he can only maintain a minimum wage job, but still takes care of and loves his dog. Now, his landlord told him to get rid of his dog. Is there anything I can do to help him?"

Name withheld                                                                       Havelock, Iowa

Michigan State University College of Law, Animal Legal & Historical Center, has an excellent website full of legal information. We use their reference material quite frequently. They have an answer for a question that is almost identical to the one you posed and we defer to their knowledge.

   "Medical professionals have long recognized that animals can assist persons with physical disabilities including blind or deaf persons. Recently, medical professionals have discovered the profound effects that animals can provide for persons with mental and emotional disabilities. When provided with an emotional support animal, depressed patients show decreased depression and children with severe attention deficit hyperactivity disorder show an increased attention span.

   Despite this, the answer to the above question depends on whether a person is receiving federally subsidized housing or whether he or she has a documented disability to get a private landlord to waive a "no pets" policy. Unfortunately, if a person rents housing, landlords are given the right to restrict a tenant�s ability to keep an animal in his or her rental unit. However, federal statutes, including Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 ("Sec. 504") and the Federal Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 ("FHAA"), require that persons with disabilities have an equal right to housing as those without disabilities. It is illegal for a landlord to deny housing to a person with a disability because that person, or someone associated with that person, has a mental or physical disability. Under the statutes, disabled persons are also entitled to reasonable accommodations so that they can equally use and enjoy the dwelling. Courts have held that a waiver of a "no pets" provision is a reasonable accommodation for a mentally disabled person who needs an emotional support animal to lessen the effects of the disability. If a landlord fails to allow an emotional support animal in rental housing for a person who qualifies under the statutes, the landlord violates the statutes and could owe damages to the disabled tenant.

   To qualify under both statutes, the tenant must establish that he or she has a qualifying disability. Mental disabilities, such as mental retardation, mental illness, and special learning disabilities, are qualifying disabilities under both statutes. Also, the mental impairment must affect the person's ability to perform major life activities such as caring for one's self, walking, or working."

We will provide the conclusion of this analysis tomorrow...