[nagdu] Tenant Rights

Tue Mar 10 12:41:33 UTC 2009

It sounds like you have a good plan.  I hope it all works out and the 
landlords don't get away with their horrible behavior.

Best of luck with the apartment hunt,
Julie

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Heather Hutchison" <heather at heather-hutchison.com>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, March 09, 2009 10:02 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Tenant Rights

> Hi all,
>
> Thanks to everyone for your advice and words of encouragement.
>
> My comment about pet friendly rental units was to mean that it would  be 
> easier to apply to rent there without getting into a fight, not  that I 
> was viewing my guide dog as a pet.
>
> Section 4 of the BC Guide Animal act says:
>
> (2) A person must not
> (a) deny to a person with a disability a rental unit or manufactured  home 
> site advertised or otherwise represented as available for  occupancy by a 
> tenant, or
> (b) impose a term or condition on a person with a disability for the 
> tenancy of a rental unit or manufactured home site if that term or 
> condition discriminates
> because of the disability or because the person with the disability 
> intends to keep a guide animal in the rental unit or manufactured home 
> site.
> (3) Subsection (2) does not apply if the advertisement or  representation 
> specifies occupancy of the rental unit may entail  sharing sleeping, 
> bathroom or cooking facilities in the space with a  person from another 
> family.
>
> The BC Residential Tenancy Act states a similar thing and says that if 
> discrimination of this type does occur to contact the BC Human Rights 
> Tribunal for a hearing, which I have now done.
>
> I can't find any mention of the property having to be a certain number  of 
> suites in the applicable laws of BC, so I'm not sure that it  applies 
> here. I guess their concern was with my dog interacting with  the other 
> dog on the property, though this would not happen as it is a  completely 
> separate suite from where the other dog lives, and we  assured them 
> multiple times that she would not be running free in the  common areas 
> harassing the other dog and relieving wherever she wanted  to. So that 
> leaves me to wonder if there was a different concern  entirely about the 
> presence of my dog (perhaps even myself... people  are still so 
> misinformed).
>
> Does this seem to be a valid case?
>
>  I am also thinking of contacting media outlets. Of course I no  longer 
> wish to live in this place, but I'd like to try and use these  people and 
> this situation as an example to educate landlords that this  isn't 
> acceptable. It is all too common here.
>
> I did really weigh the option of not telling them about my guide dog,  but 
> I felt that if there was going to be an issue it would probably  happen 
> either way. I think I will try not informing the landlord about  my dog 
> when I go look at the next apartment (though I'm none too eager  to repeat 
> an incident like this).
>
> Again thanks for all of your support.
>
> Heather with Bibby
> On 9-Mar-09, at 9:50 AM, Nicole B. Torcolini wrote:
>
>> JMO, I would rather tell the person up front and deal with any  problems
>> before getting there rather than showing up with my guide dog and  being
>> turned away. Definitely don't let this one go, though. They need to  know
>> that this is not acceptable.  Your guide dog is not just some pet;  it's 
>> a
>> mobility aide.
>> Interesting how sometimes guide dogs attract people while at other  times
>> they cause people to turn away. I wonder how the apartment owners  would 
>> have
>> responded if you had told them that you were blind, but not  mentioned 
>> the
>> dog.
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Julie J." <jlcrane at alltel.net>
>> To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users"
>> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Monday, March 09, 2009 5:57 AM
>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Tenant Rights
>>
>>
>> Heather,
>>
>> This is most definitely allowed on this list!  I'm glad you asked  for 
>> help
>> with this.  I hope Marion will be able to assist you in getting it
>> straightened out.
>>
>> Have you thought about not mentioning that you have a guide dog in 
>> advance?
>> Here, in the U.S., we are not required to notify a business in  advance 
>> of
>> our disability or guide dog.  It doesn't eliminate problems, but at 
>> least I
>> can deal with them in person. *smile*
>>
>> I hope you find the perfect apartment very soon, best of luck!
>> Julie
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Heather Hutchison" <heather at heather-hutchison.com>
>> To: <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Saturday, March 07, 2009 5:24 PM
>> Subject: [nagdu] Tenant Rights
>>
>>
>>> Hi all,
>>>
>>> My apologies if this isn't allowed because I live in British  Columbia,
>>> Canada, but I was wondering if I could get some general input on  what 
>>> to
>>> do about being discriminated against due to the presence of my   guide 
>>> dog
>>> in applying for a rental unit.
>>>
>>> An acquaintance of my boyfriend was moving out of her apartment and  we
>>> decided it would be a great area and a perfect place for us to  live 
>>> in,
>>> so we contacted the landlords (a husband and wife) to set up a   viewing
>>> (we've seen the place before, but to do it officially). She  set up  a 
>>> time
>>> the next morning for us to come and view the suite. My  boyfriend
>>> mentioned the fact that I have a guide dog (not as a  question of  if it
>>> would be alright, but simply to state a fact) and  everything  changed. 
>>> She
>>> said she would have to check with her husband  and quickly hung up.  She
>>> called back and left a message specifically  stating that because  there
>>> was another dog on the premises (these are  completely separate units
>>> though) that because of my dog, we would not  be considered to rent  the
>>> suite. We have kept this message. We called  her to try and explain  the
>>> law (the guide animal act of British  Columbia states that it is 
>>> illegal
>>> to discriminate against a person  with a disability because of their
>>> intent to keep a service animal in  the rental unit unless sleeping,
>>> cooking or bathroom facilities are  shared) but she would not  listen. 
>>> She
>>> put her husband on the phone and  he proceeded to be incredibly rude,
>>> screaming that they did not have  to accept a guide dog,  essentially 
>>> that
>>> the law was wrong. He said  they weren't even having viewings  (which is
>>> incorrect because we had  previously had an appointment for that  same 
>>> day
>>> until they found out  about my dog). He then said we could come  look at 
>>> it
>>> if we really  wanted but that we wouldn't get it anyways. He said  they
>>> were being  threatened when we said we would take legal action. One 
>>> last
>>> time we  tried to read him the act, but he hung up in the middle of  it.
>>>
>>> What should I do? I am having a very difficult time finding a place  to
>>> live (I've heard every excuse in the book) and I'm tired of people
>>> blatantly ignoring the law. It is very difficult to find pet friendly
>>> suites in Vancouver and they are almost impossible to get into  because
>>> they are in such high demand. I filled out a human rights  complaint 
>>> but
>>> have not sent it yet. Anything else I should do? Should I pursue   this?
>>>
>>> Thank you very much in advance for any input you might have.
>>>
>>> Heather with Bibby
>>>
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>>
>>
>>
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