Checklist: Assistance Animals
Fair Housing Definition of Disability
- Having impairments significantly impacting one or more major life activities, OR;
- Having a record of such impairment, OR;
- Being perceived as having such an impairment.
- Includes temporary disabilities (WA state).
Examples of Major Life Activities
- Walking, standing, climbing, balancing.
- Holding, gripping, turning, carrying, lifting.
- Seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, touching.
- Sleeping, eating, personal hygiene.
- Memory retention and emotional regulation.
Checklist for Assistance Animals
Approving a reasonable accommodation for an assistance animal = waiving all related animal fees not connected to damaged caused by the animal, waiving pet restrictions (weight, size, age, breed), and not targeting the tenant/guest for extra scrutiny, harassment or other forms of retaliation due to their request for an assistance animal.
No third-party verification may be requested if either of the following is true:
- The person states the dog is their ADA service dog and can answer the question, "What work or task has this animal been trained to perform", OR;
- The person's disability and their disability-related need for the animal are both readily apparent.
For all other assistance animals, approve if the answer to the following questions is "true":
- The person has submitted third-party verification stating the animal is necessary, required, or prescribed for their disability.
- If the person states they need multiple assistance animals, the verification must state how many animals are needed for their disability.
- Any professional who knows of and/or has treated the person's disability may verify.
- Training certificates or "ESA/ADA" certificates are rarely considered to be valid third-party verifications.
- The animal has not displayed aggressive behaviors towards people or animals.
- The animal has not damaged the property.
- The animal is not an excessive nuisance to neighbors.
If the answer is "no" for any of the above and the problematic behavior has not resulted in significant damage to property or harm to others, consider conditional approvals such:
- Granting the person enough time to contact their medical provider or other third-party verifier for the necessary verification paperwork before assessing additional fees or notices.
- Approving animals with behavior problems if the owner pays for damages/harm caused by their animal AND can demonstrate an ability to reduce or prevent those behaviors in the future using management tools (muzzles, crates, barriers, etc..), completing training plans and allowing one or two "progress inspections" over a couple months.
Questions about Fair Housing laws? Contact the Fair Housing Center of Washington by email or call 253-274-9523 or click here to visit their website.
