Emotional support animals, sometimes referred to as assistance animals, have been a continuous source of speculation and confusion for many condo and HOA communities.

You’ve probably heard stories where individuals bring birds, rats, and even alligators into places under the claim that they are emotional support animals. Could a gator really help someone with anxiety issues? Truthfully, it could!

  

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Though public places can create more stringent rules about whether animals are allowed to accompany owners, condo and HOA communities must take these requests seriously.

Read on to learn about what condos and HOAs must do if an owner or tenant requests to have a support animal in their home.

  

Table of contents

• What is an emotional support animal?
• How is an emotional support animal different than a service animal?
• Can condos/HOAs ban emotional support animals?
• What kind of information should a condo/HOA ask for?
• Fake documentation
• Uncommon support animals
• Denying or reversing requests
• A cautionary tale

  

What is an emotional support animal?

An emotional support/assistance animal is an animal that works, provides assistance, performs tasks for the benefit of a person with a disability, or provides emotional support that alleviates one or more identified effects or symptoms of a person’s disability.

 A support animal is not a pet. Therefore, an owner may be entitled to have the animal, even if the condo or HOA has an established no-pet policy.

  

How is an emotional support animal different than a service animal?

Training

Service animals are formally trained to help their owners in specific ways. The most common example of this is a guide dog.

Service animals are almost always allowed in public places because businesses are familiar with the rules that govern these animals. Furthermore, they can often see how the animal is helping the owner.  

Conversely, there is no official certification or training for support animals, and they can assist in a wide variety of ways. This makes it harder for housing providers and public establishments to determine if the need for the animal is legitimate.   

According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the entity that oversees fair housing guidelines, in order for an individual to receive an emotional support animal designation, the animal’s owner must attain a diagnosis by a health professional, and obtain a document confirming that the animal provides specific benefits to the owner with regard to the diagnosed disability.

  

Rules and regulations

There are also different sets of federal rules governing animals that provide assistance to humans. The Americans With Disabilities Act regulates the use of service animals in public places, and only permits dogs and miniature horses that have been trained to do tasks.

Rules for assistance animals are governed by the Fair Housing Act (FHA). Its regulations are broader, allowing for a variety of animals that offer emotional support, as long as they do not pose a risk to people or property.

  

Can condos/HOAs ban emotional support animals?

Support animals can be a complicated issue and associations may want to consult an attorney if they are uncertain about how to proceed once they’ve received a request about a support animal.

But the short answer is, in most cases, condos and HOAs cannot ban emotional support animals. Generally speaking, if an owner or tenant has proof that the animal is either helping them or alleviating symptoms of the disability, then they have a right to house the animal.   

Under the FHA, a disability is defined as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits at least one major life activity. Observable impairments tend to be obvious, however, certain impairments may not be discernible. In those instances, a condo or HOA may request information regarding both the disability and the disability-related need for a support animal.

Associations cannot refuse to make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices, or services when such accommodations may be necessary to afford a person with a disability the equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling.

  

What kind of information should a condo/HOA ask for?

It’s not always possible to tell when someone has a disability, so the law permits condos and HOAs to ask some questions to verify that the owner or tenant is living with a disability and requires a support animal to help the person navigate obstacles created by the disability.

 In order to demonstrate a disability-related need for a support animal, the information must:

• Address the owner or tenant with a disability and the assistance or therapeutic emotional support provided by the animal
• Address the relationship or connection between the disability and the need for the assistance animal

  

Information about a disability may come from:

• A determination of a disability from a federal, state, or local government agency
• A receipt of disability benefits or services (Social Security Disability Income), Medicare or Supplemental Security Income for a person under age 65, veterans’ disability benefits, services from a vocational rehabilitation agency, or disability benefits or services from another federal, state, or local agency
• Eligibility for housing assistance or a housing voucher received because of a disability
• A health care professional (physician, optometrist, psychiatrist, psychologist, physician’s assistant, nurse practitioner, or nurse)

The lack of such documentation may be reasonable grounds for denying a requested accommodation.

Owners or tenants are strongly encouraged to be forthcoming about this information, and provide it to the association before it is requested. However, they have the right to request a reasonable accommodation at any time (even after they have acquired the animal).   

Associations should do their best to make a decision and respond to the request within a couple of weeks.

  

Fake documentation

It is true that some websites sell certificates, registrations, and licensing documents for assistance animals to anyone who answers questions or participates in a short interview and pays a fee. So yes, an owner or tenant could purchase something online in an attempt to (wrongfully) keep an animal in their home.

Fortunately, The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development recognizes that such documentation from the internet is not, by itself, sufficient to reliably establish that an individual has a non-observable disability or disability-related need for a support animal.

The condo or HOA should not automatically discredit the request, but instead ask for additional information to verify that the need for the animal is legitimate. If this becomes an issue and the owner or tenant refuses to cooperate and get rid of the animal, do not hesitate to contact an attorney for help.

  

Uncommon support animals

If the owner or tenant is requesting to keep a unique type of animal, for example a monkey or a rooster, the burden is on the requestor to demonstrate a disability-related therapeutic need for the specific animal.

Again, associations should not rush to deny the request, but instead seek to gain credible information. Owners submitting these types of requests are encouraged to include the following information in their applications:

• Any unique circumstances justifying their need for the particular animal
• Whether the health care professional has reliable information about this specific animal, or whether they specifically recommended this type of animal

  

Denying or reversing requests

There are a few instances where a condo or HOA will have a legitimate reason to deny or reserve approval requests from owners for a support animal. If your board needs help explaining the denial or reversal, an attorney can offer guidance and ensure the association does everything correctly.    

• Granting the request would or has imposed an undue financial and administrative burden on the association
• The request would or has fundamentally altered the essential nature of the association’s operations
• The specific assistance animal in question would or has created a direct threat to the health or safety of others, despite any other reasonable accommodations that could eliminate or reduce the threat
• The request would result in or has resulted in significant physical damage to the property of others, despite any other reasonable accommodations that could eliminate or reduce the physical damage

Even if the owner or tenant has proven that the animal provides assistance in a way that helps them operate with a disability, the animal can’t become a nuisance or create an unsafe environment for others.

Owners who have animals who violate community rules may be asked to get rid of the animal, even if they are support animals. That’s because the association still has an obligation to enforce the rules, and the board cannot prioritize one individual’s needs over its obligation to care for the community. 

  

A cautionary tale

Community associations that are struggling with how to handle emotional support animal cases should consult an attorney before they do anything else. While it may cost the association some money, that fee is nothing compared to the cost of a lawsuit. One New York co-op found this out the hard way.

For almost 20 years, a group of parrots bothered members living in the Manhattan co-op apartment building. The parrots shrieked and squawked. They were loud, and no one enjoyed their presence other than the owner.

After years of complaints, the noise became too much. The owner, who claimed the birds were emotional support animals, originally had two birds, but she acquired a third. The building’s co-op board moved to evict the woman.

The board said it was unaware that the birds were support animals; according to court documents filed by the building, the attempted eviction prompted the owner to identify the parrots as emotional support animals for the first time. However, prosecutors said she first made the claim in 1999.

Investigators from the city’s Department of Environmental Protection visited the co-op 15 times in 2015. But, according to prosecutors, the inspectors never issued a notice for noise violations. Furthermore, no decibel testing was done, and a noise prevention consultant was never brought in.

During the eviction proceedings, the owner did support her claim with a letter from her psychiatrist, who said she needed all of the parrots to function optimally.

The matter was brought to court, and ended in the summer of 2024. The federal government announced that the building would be required to pay the owner $165,000 in damages, and buy her apartment for $585,000.

The decree said there was reasonable cause to believe the building had discriminated against the owner, and later retaliated against her.

This story may have ended differently if the co-op had attempted to do more to resolve the issue first, but the aggressive decision to evict the member cost the building over half a million dollars.