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More than 500,000 people in the United States live with an emotional support animal. For people with disabilities and mental health conditions, these animals are a handy source of companionship, unconditional love, and emotional support.
As a San Diego landlord, however, seeing a support animal on an application can make you nervous. Maybe you have a no pets policy to avoid property damage or liability issues. So what do you do in these situations?
The short answer is, yes, you are legally obligated to accept support animals on your rental property. But the issue goes a little deeper than this and requires a bit more consideration.
A Moral Obligation to Allow Support Animals
When you set out to buy a rental property, you probably didn't have any preferences on the kind of people you'd like to have as tenants. The rental is available to anyone who can pay the rent on time and pass other routine tenant screening checks.
Over time, however, being a landlord makes you wary of certain things with applicants. Poor rental history or dog breeds with a tendency to cause harm to people or property can make you nervous. So what about support animals?
People don't register a support animal to get around lease rules. They are most often people with physical or mental disabilities or even veterans who require their animal's help in their day-to-day lives.
As a landlord and a decent human being, you have a moral obligation to accommodate such tenants in your property. You could even go a step further and make the space more accommodating.
Expand Your Tenant Pool
With a competitive rental market like San Diego, finding tenants can be a challenge. You don't want your property to go for several months without a tenant as you'll lose rental income.
In such a market, it's essential to make your property appealing to a wider target market. Having a no-pet policy, which by extension makes renters who have support animals feel unwelcome, significantly shrinks your target market.
Allowing support animals is an especially good business decision if the property is located in a senior community, where many residents are likely to have a support or service animal.
The Law Can Force Your Hand
The first two factors notwithstanding, a landlord CANNOT reject an applicant because they have a support animal. This is because federal and state laws give tenants the right to keep support or service animals regardless of a landlord's pet policies.
Furthermore, landlords cannot charge an additional deposit or extra fees because a tenant has a support animal, and they should make reasonable modifications to the property to accommodate the tenant. If you don't, you can find yourself facing a discrimination lawsuit in court.
Practice Prudent Rental Property Management
Landlords have the right to set their own rules for their rental, but those rules should be well-reasoned, rational, and not in violation of any laws. When it comes to support animals, you have a moral and legal obligation to allow them.
If making hard decisions as a landlord isn't your strong suit, you can leave the management of your San Diego property to McLain Properties. Established in 1978, we have the experience to make the best property management decisions on your behalf.
We can't wait to hear from you!
