[jreenan]

I am a landlord in Colorado that listed a 2 bedroom apartment for rent. We stated in the ad that we would accept dogs up to 30 pounds. A woman met my husband at the apartment and told him that she had a 90 pound service dog and is on disability and wants the apartment. She then called me before I spoke to my husband and told me she was faxing in the application. I then spoke to my husband who told me that she had a 90# dog but didn't tell me about the service animal/disability part. The woman called me back to see if I received the application (I hadn't at that time) and I told her that we only accept dogs under 30#. She then went off on me explaining that because it's a service animal I am required to accept her application and she wants the apartment and will call the appropriate authorities if we don't rent it to her.

I haven't even checked her credit/criminal history and we had two other applications in before her (which I did tell her about). Am I required to rent to her because of her disability even though the dog FAR exceeds the weight limit and we haven other prospective tenants in line.

[twinkiedooter]

Yes, you must rent the apartment to her with a service animal per this site on Colorado Law on service animals.

Colorado Law Pertaining to Service Animals

"Housing accommodations" means any real property or portion thereof that is used or occupied, or intended, arranged, or designed to be used or occupied, as the home, residence, or sleeping place of one or more persons but does not include any single family residence, the occupants of which rent, lease, or furnish for compensation not more than one room in that residence.

[tickle]

jreenan, I totally agree with your questions and your concerns. I am totally for the use of service animals and their use in residential areas, and commercial areas. I have clients who have these highly trained animals with them at all times; normally these are people who use motorized wheel chairs. These dogs are used to open dogs, alert of medical conditions and generally trained to fetch whatever their owner needs by specific commands.

And then there are some who abuse the system and don't have the proper certification to prove that their dog is a service animal, so you have to be aware of this, but she can't bring charges against you for refusing unless the turns up presenting the proper paperwork.

If she got upset with you, there could be two reasons. One may have been she has run into people who don't understand a service dog, and she has been kicked out of establishments that don't understand or she just can't explain or doesn't have the proper paperwork to justify having a service dog.

Of course you have to have a proper wheelchair accessible establishment to cater to the woman's needs and the dog. She has to be able to walk her dog out in her conveyance at all the proper times.

ADA are the people to contact to find out the proper procedures; but essentially she has to prove she is disabled and has the proper paperwork for the service dog.

http://www.dmoz.org/Society/Disabled...e_Animals/Dogs


Tick

[tickle]

Yes, you must rent the apartment to her with a service animal per this site on Colorado Law on service animals.

Colorado Law Pertaining to Service Animals

"Housing accommodations" means any real property or portion thereof that is used or occupied, or intended, arranged, or designed to be used or occupied, as the home, residence, or sleeping place of one or more persons but does not include any single family residence, the occupants of which rent, lease, or furnish for compensation not more than one room in that residence.

Twink, this woman still has to prove she is using a 'service animal' otherwise anyone can take a dog into a residential area. But there is still the problem of having a residential area that is disabled accessible; then we get into what has to be done and should be done.

Tick

[twinkiedooter]

Tick, I just answered the Op's original question. I did not extrapolate about proving the animal's status. If the woman really has a service animal then she certainly would have the appropriate paperwork to show the landlord. That clearly would be understood by the woman with the disability as I'm sure this is not the first time she's rented an apartment and knows the drill. If she did not have the paperwork, then by all means the landlord does not have to rent to her at all.

If the woman passed the credit check/criminal history check, etc. then she would have course make sure the landlord had a copy of this paperwork on her animal.

Seeing there are two other applications ahead of her may make the landlord chose them instead of her.

[jreenan]

Thank you for your responses. The young woman is not in a wheelchair and is trying to rent a small 2 bedroom apartment on the 2nd floor of a 4-plex with her husband, three young children and large service animal. I understand that she may have a disability that cannot be seen. She did not disclose her disability to us.

I guess I am confused as to why a person with a disability is able to bypass credit and criminal checks and can demand to rent an apartment even if they aren't first in line, nor the preferred tenant even without the service animal issue. But I will just wait to see if she does in fact file charges.

[ScottGem]

I guess I am confused as to why a person with a disability is able to bypass credit and criminal checks and can demand to rent an apartment even if they aren't first in line, nor the preferred tenant even without the service animal issue. But I will just wait to see if she does in fact file charges.

That she isn't able to do. What the law requires is that you do not discriminate against her due to her need for a service animal. It does not require that you bypass your standard procedure for screening tenants. It does not require that you give preference to her.

But it does require that you be able to prove that you did not discriminate against her. So if she does bring charges you show proof that you receive other applications before hers. That you have a standard procedure for screening tenants which will apply to her.

[jreenan]

Thank you! That is helpful.

[LILL]

5 people in a two bedroom may be illegal in your area. Check with your local officials on the occupancy laws.

[Fr_Chuck]

If you deny her the rent, have it documented and be ready to be sued. Sorry that is life and how it works. So keep all the application, all the background checks and show another person was a better choice.