Hi, all! I’m helping out a relative with renting their house out, and we ran across something new: a prospective tenant has an emotional support animal.
The house is a no-pets rental, and we’re not sure of a landlord’s rights in CA when it comes to ESAs.
I did some googling and it looks like at the federal level, there are protections for landlords:
The Fair Housing Act covers most housing. In some circumstances, the Act exempts owner-occupied buildings with no more than four units, single-family housing sold or rented without the use of a broker, and housing operated by organizations and private clubs that limit occupancy to members.
This rental is a SFH, so this should allow the property to be exempt from having to accommodate an ESA.
However, the sites I found with information specific for California doesn’t mention the above exceptions. They mention only that landlords may deny an ESA if, even with reasonable accommodations, the animal poses a threat to the health and safety of others or would cause substantial property damage.
Anyone have experience dealing with this issue? All advice is welcome–thanks!
P.S.: If things aren’t clear-cut, we may just check in with a lawyer. Please PM me if you have any good referrals. Thanks!