[WSBARP] WSBARP Emotional support articles

[Carmen Rowe]

In brief summary on this topic, I fully agree in particular with Annie's
overview, and Patrick's strong caution about denying the request.

The landlord must look to the official governmental opinions out there on
this topic, and the official sites have a lot of great information/guidance
that is quite specific about what you can - and cannot - ask. Some deal
with multiple pets. I'm sorry I don't have handy references but Google
actually gets you there pretty well. Be sure to plug in "HUD" in some of
the searches, to get to the official statements.

Be leery of "secondary source" summaries, some are tenant advocates that
may overly brush aside a landlord's (albeit narrow) range of options in
challenging ESAs.

The one thing I do strongly feel is that the landlord very likely could
challenge the THREE animals. As Annie said, there is official
commentary/opinions out there about multiples. I believe the tenant has to
justify each one independently (the letter must be specific as to the
animal) - but you'd want to check the official guidelines on that. If you
follow them, I think the landlord insulates themselves much easier (say, if
you ask for XYZ documentation or information, and that's within what the
HUD guidelines suggest, hard to say you violated)

And all this said: there is the question of whether it's worth risking
litigation or being reported/investigated. The consequences of being wrong
are steep. If the animals are not a nuisance, may not be worth pushing back.

Also the landlord should be aware that under ALL circumstances, the tenant
must take proper care of the animals and they must otherwise comply with
the rules (NOT "pet" rules, as they are not  "pets", except basics like
compliance with local law (licensing, vaccination) and a designated potty
area unless a reasonable accommodation needs to be made to use another
area). Some people think it gives them a free pass to let their animal do
what they want/ disregard any possible rule regarding behavior/etc. Not
true.


Carmen Rowe



Phone: (360) 669-3576 (direct cell)
Email:  Carmen at GryphonLawGroup.com

*Olympia/Lacey and primary mailing office:*
1415 College Street SE, Lacey, WA 98503

*Seattle office: We are currently moving our Seattle location - notice of
new address coming soon!*

*NOTICE REGARDING OPERATIONS AND COVID-19:* We see our community as working
together to address COVID and its impact on our lives, health, and
business. The nature of our practice lends itself well to virtual operation
and we offer a range of flexible solutions to best work with your needs and
preferences. We are here to support you.

*Privileged and confidential: *This message is confidential. If you receive
this message in error, please let us know, and please delete and disregard
any information it contains. We thank you for your respect in not sharing
this email with anyone.


>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/wsbarp/attachments/20230811/594c8d18/attachment.html>