Assistance and Service Animals - Grace Hill

Cut Through the Confusion on Assistance and Service Animals

Assistance animals are one of the most misunderstood issues in multifamily—and simple mistakes can lead to costly legal consequences without the right training and policies.

Don’t Let Confusion Lead to Costly Mistakes

Are you willing to pay over $1 million in discrimination claims for emotional support animals?

Lawsuit settlements in just the past few years have reached unprecedented heights. With as many as 61.9% of all reported housing discrimination complaints involving people with disabilities, it’s imperative to leave training to the experts!

Grace Hill provides comprehensive training and policies for assistance animals, Fair Housing, and other compliance topics to ensure your team knows exactly how to handle these situations and prevent costly mistakes.

Train the Standard

Engaging, comprehensive training your team will retain.

Communicate the Standard

Clear, targeted policies to guide your team.

Stay Up-to-Date

Stay current with ongoing industry and legal updates.

Assistance, Service, Emotional Support

If you’ve heard any of these terms and still don’t know what’s what — you’re not alone. It’s confusing even for industry veterans, let alone for anyone new to multifamily!

Man with disability and service dog at his apartment complex

Simply put, the Fair Housing Act (FHA) prohibits discrimination based on disability. It also requires housing providers to make reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities, such as exceptions to no-pet policies or breed restrictions. The FHA uses the term “assistance animals,” but this term also covers “service animals,” “companion animals,” and “emotional support animals.”

The challenge for compliance comes in the form of requests for reasonable accommodations and community policies. Without proper training or standardized policies, many rental housing operators are vulnerable to mistakes that could cost them big.

Train Compliance & How To Respond

  • Don’t leave compliance to chance! Give your team comprehensive training to protect your company.
  • Engaging and informative training means your team retains more knowledge and your company performs better.
  • Stay up-to-date! We update our training regularly to keep current with changing regulations and industry laws.
A disabled senior man in wheelchair indoors playing with a pet dog at home.

Communicate Your Expectations

  • Start with templates to ensure your policies and procedures are standardized and consistent.
  • Match compliance to your culture of customer service! Customize policies to the unique structure of your organization.
  • Stay up-to-date without lifting a finger. We monitor changes in the industry to ensure you have the most accurate compliance information for your team.

Avoid Assistance Animal Mistakes That Could Cost You

Get expert training and ready-to-use policies—your best defense starts here.

More Assistance and Service Animals Tools

Fur-Real Answers to Ruff Questions

Download this infographic to start handling conversations about assistance animals effectively and compassionately.

Doggonit! Do I HAVE To Approve That Animal?

Learn how to handle service and emotional support animal requests under Fair Housing laws. Watch this webinar to understand legal definitions, compliance, and best practices.

Paws-itive Management: What You Need To Know About Assistance Animals

This ebook outlines the basic principles of reasonable accommodations for assistance animals to help you comply with the law while ensuring everyone feels welcome in your community.
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