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ESA Emotional Support Animals - Landlord Forum thread 359012

ESA Emotional Support Animals by Daniel (CA) on February 6, 2019 @01:07

                              
Can I require the tenant to provide a letter every month to validate their ESA qualifications? ( this would also reduce the use to real cases instead of the bogus ones that are not seeing an actual therapist ).

Also I did get an ESA factory letter from a licensed therapist but they are unwilling to confirm the letters that they produce. can someone put a protocol together that instructs landlords on how to confirm these ESA letters?

I consider the need to be clinical which would therefore require an ongoing assessment of the conditions.

And for instance they get a therapist ( an ESA letter factory ) to write that they see a need for a 6 month or more then that should be compared to other treatment and assessment standards for review.
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Re: ESA Emotional Support Animals by Garry on February 6, 2019 @14:26 [ Reply ]
NO!! ABSOLUTELY NOT!! You are entitled to ONE letter from a Dr, or other professional that can verify the tenant needs a ESA. IF you check it out and it's ok by you, the letter is good for as long as the T lives there. The real question is, WHY are you so hung-up on animals in general? I have always for the past 39 years, allowed a small pet in my places for and additional deposit. So now, with the ESA laws, it just means I cannot ask for more money for that same animal. The tenants STILL have to clean up after their ESA, and the ESA cannot bother other people or create problems for the neighborhood. In all my years of being a LL, I have found that the actual tenants, and/or their children, created a LOT more damages than animals EVER did. Not only that, but in the past 5 years in my city, I have seen 2-3 large apartment complexes (100-200 units) go from a no pet policy, to taking any size animal. WHY?? Because they were losing out on a LOT of good tenants, that their only "problem/crime" was they had a pet. Those otherwise GOOD tenants were going to apartments where their children(pets) were allowed.

Daniel, instead of trying to "get around" the ESA laws, EMBRACE them. ADVERTISE that you will take dogs and cats with a deposit, and no deposit for their provable ESA. I think you will find you will get a lot more potential tenants applying for your places than you ever did before.
Re: ESA Emotional Support Animals by AnonymousFL on February 7, 2019 @09:31 [ Reply ]
Gary, I disagree with you. If you can provide some legitimate source that states 'how long' a doctor's letter 'lasts', I could be convinced.

I think that asking for a doctor's letter every month is excessive and could even be considered badgering. However, I don't think it would be out of line to require a new letter at renewal time.
Re: ESA Emotional Support Animals by ERIC on February 8, 2019 @07:01 [ Reply ]
If the tenant says the dog is a "Service Dog", not an ESA, no documentation is necessary. There are only two questions you can ask.

Is the dog medically necessary.
What service does the dog provide.

That's it. No papers, no fees, no exclusions. If your insurance company prohibits pit bulls, maybe you can not rent to them.

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