Assistance Animals: Keeping Your Policies on a Leash
Handling assistance animal requests can be complicated. Are assistance animals the same as service animals? Or pets? And can a resident have more than one? The three laws that relate to rental housing and assistance animals all use different terms and definitions, which can make things even more confusing.
Clarity is vital, however, as according to the National Fair Housing Alliance, over 56% of all reported housing discrimination complaints in 2018 involved discrimination against people with disabilities. Disability discriminations are also easy to track, as they often involve denial of a reasonable request for accommodation.
Assisting You With Assistance Animal Requests
To help you navigate such accommodations, Grace Hill has provided The Multifamily Guide to Handling Assistance Animals. This important guide will equip you in these areas and more:
- Identifying and responding to suspicious verification
- What to say in tough conversations with residents
- Questions you can and cannot ask a resident about their disability
- Recommended actions for problem situations
- Rules and policies you can put in place for animals on site
Stay Informed with the Leader in Multifamily
We want to help you stay informed, reduce the risk of discrimination complaints, and elevate your property’s performance on all levels. We continually monitor the legal landscape of multifamily housing, and update our products accordingly, so we can offer up-to-date policies, training, and assessment tools that help companies like yours stay compliant and reduce risk.
Even the best company policies break down unless they’re kept current and consistent with changing laws for all animals in your community, and all employees are appropriately trained. For a full breakdown of the laws, and helpful tips on what to do, download The Multifamily Guide to Handling Assistance Animals!
