[NAGDU] Housing bill pertaining to Service animals

[marianne at denningweb.com]

Here is the information from Fair Housing.
What Is an Assistance Animal?
An assistance animal is an animal that works, provides assistance, or
performs tasks for the benefit of a person with a disability, or that
provides emotional support that alleviates one or more identified effects of
a person's disability. An assistance animal is not a pet.

Obligations of Housing Providers
Individuals with a disability may request to keep an assistance animal as a
reasonable accommodation to a housing provider's pet restrictions.

Housing providers 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.

The Fair Housing Act requires a housing provider to allow a reasonable
accommodation involving an assistance animal in situations that meet all the
following conditions:

A request was made to the housing provider by or for a person with a
disability
The request was supported by reliable disability-related information, if the
disability and the disability-related need for the animal were not apparent
and the housing provider requested such information, and
The housing provider has not demonstrated that:
Granting the request would impose an undue financial and administrative
burden on the housing provider
The request would fundamentally alter the essential nature of the housing
provider's operations
The specific assistance animal in question would pose 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 significant physical damage to the property of
others despite any other reasonable accommodations that could eliminate or
reduce the physical damage.
Examples
A reasonable accommodation request for an assistance animal may include, for
example:

A request to live with an assistance animal at a property where a housing
provider has a no-pets policy or
A request to waive a pet deposit, fee, or other rule as to an assistance
animal.
Filing a Complaint
If you believe you have been unlawfully denied a reasonable accommodation
for an assistance animal or have otherwise experienced discrimination in
housing, you can file a complaint

Here is the link where I found this information.
https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/fair_housing_equal_opp/assistance_animal
s
-----Original Message-----
From: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Cindy Ray via NAGDU
Sent: Monday, February 19, 2024 10:39 AM
To: nagdu at nfbnet.org
Cc: Cindy Ray <cindyray at gmail.com>; NAGDU <board at nagdu.org>
Subject: [NAGDU] Housing bill pertaining to Service animals

The Iowa Senate is debating a bill pertaining to the right of landlords to
refuse accommodation to people with service animals if it would cost too
much to pay for any property damage. A person would basically have to have a
prescription from a doctor, and they would have to be authorized annually.
They say this is in line with Federal law. Really!
Cindy Lou Ray
Sent from my iPhone
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