Have You Been Experiencing Emotional Support Animal or Service Dog Housing Discrimination?
Attorneys Available For Emotional Support Animal And Service Dog Housing Discrimination.
Do you think you're a victim of Emotional Support Animal housing discrimination?
The attorneys we represent can help you with your emotional support animal or service dog discrimination case. We understand that it is difficult to deal with the stress of being turned down for an accommodation, so attorneys offer free consultations and will represent clients in court if necessary!
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Persons with Disabilities.
Emotional Support Animals (ESAs) and Service Dogs are becoming increasingly popular as treatments for various mental health conditions. More and more people are getting ESA letters from their therapists, which protect them from discrimination in housing. Unfortunately, many landlords still aren't aware of the laws regarding ESAs, and some even go so far as to refuse to allow renters to have them. This is a form of discrimination known as "ESA Housing Discrimination."
ESA housing discrimination can take many forms. Some landlords may insist that the animal is not truly an emotional support animal, and therefore not protected under the law. Others may try to charge pet fees or deposits, even though emotional support animals are not considered pets. And some landlords may simply refuse to allow any animals in their rental
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recognizes the need of some persons with disabilities for an assistance animal, and the legal obligation of housing providers to make reasonable accommodations to allow for such animals.
Persons with various types of disabilities may need an assistance animal in their home to have an equal opportunity to use and enjoy their housing. These disabilities may or may not be known or obvious to a housing provider.
Get Started Today!
With ESA QuickCheck™, we'll see if you're prequalified in under a minute. Once done, you'll place an online order and complete our secured mental health assessment (ESAGauge™)
Over a phone call, a local licensed professional will review your situation to determine if an assistance animal is a suitable therapeutic option. Should that be the case, we'll issue our Never Fail™ ESA letter, the most reliable ESA letter available today.
In the event that you do not qualify, we offer a complete refund.
What Are Assistance Animals?
Emotional support animals provide vital companionship and assistance to people with a wide range of mental and emotional disabilities. Unfortunately, many landlords and property managers discriminate against potential tenants who have an emotional support animal, even though it is against the law.
The Fair Housing Act, which is enforced by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, prohibits housing discrimination on the basis of disability. In 2013, the Department's Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity issued a guidance document that made it clear that emotional support animals are protected under the Fair Housing Act.
What is an Service Dog?
Assistance animals do work, perform tasks, assist, and/or provide therapeutic emotional support for individuals with disabilities that affect major life activities. A trained service animal is considered an assistance animal. They are not pets and generally are animals commonly kept in the household.
Examples of tasks include guiding an individual who is blind or providing therapeutic emotional support with respect to an individual’s mental disability affecting a major life activity.
Housing providers may not exclude or charge a fee or deposit for assistance animals, including Emotional Support Animals and service animals.
Why Choose ESADoggy?
ESADoggy is committed to making sure the process works for you. That's why we work only with experienced mental health professionals, and provide a guarantee that your letter will be accepted, or your money back!
You'll be backed by a team of dedicated professionals with the latest technology, experienced fair housing attorneys, and a customer service team who will help you through every step.
Can as ESA be denied?
Despite this, many landlords continue to victimize potential tenants by demanding exorbitant fees or refusing to allow them to live with their emotional support dog. This type of discrimination can have a devastating effect on someone with a disability.
The Fair Housing Act (FHA) makes it unlawful for a housing provider to refuse to make a reasonable accommodation that a person with a disability may need in order to have equal opportunity to enjoy and use a dwelling.
Housing discrimination is conduct in which an individual or family is treated unequally when trying to buy, rent, lease, sell, or finance a dwelling based on certain ‘protected categories’ known as ‘classes’ like:
- race
- color
- disability
- religion
- sex
- national origin
- or familial status [pregnant or presence of children under 18yrs of age].
Housing discrimination is often misidentified, ignored, or it just goes completely undetected.
Landlords are allowed to deny housing on the basis of legitimate business reasons. A few examples of this include credit history, income, references from past landlords, and past behavior, such as damaging property.
This is why we do what we do.
Documentation from the Internet.
Some websites sell certificates, registrations and licensing documents for assistance animals to anyone who answers certain questions or participates in a short interview.
Under the Fair Housing Act, a housing provider has the right to request reliable documentation when an individual requests reasonable accommodation for their disability and needs that are not obvious or otherwise known.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development has found that documentation from the internet is often not enough to establish a non-observable disability or need for assistance animals.
We know you want a professional, ethical remote healthcare provider that treats your needs with care. That's why ESAD Int'l has been providing this service since 1997 and continues to be one of the most trusted names in virtual medical treatment today! We offer an unparalleled experience where we connect clients locally or internationally through our team located all around North America.
The Proliferation of Fake Documentation Bought Online.
The online sale of so-called “certificates” for Emotional Support Animals and service animals. is often a scam. According to HUD, “documentation from websites that sell certificates, registrations, and licensing documents and animal gear for animals to anyone who answers certain questions or participates in a short interview and pays a fee is not sufficient to reliably establish that an individual
How Do You Qualify For ESA?
You may be able to get emotional support animal if you need help with mental health. And that begins with speaking to licensed mental health care provider.
ESADoggy's innovative telehealth marketplace will connect you to licensed professionals who specialize in conducting mental health evaluations for assistance animals!
Information Confirming Disability-Related Need for an Assistance Animal.
According to HUD, the following is the suggested guidance for confirming an individual’s need for an assistance animal.
- Reasonably supporting information often consists of information from a licensed mental health care or medical professional, general to the condition but specific as to the individual with a disability and the assistance or therapeutic emotional support provided by the animal.
- A relationship or connection between the disability and the need for the assistance animal must be provided. This is particularly the case where the disability is non-observable, and/or the animal provides therapeutic emotional support.
- For non-observable disabilities and animals that provide therapeutic emotional support, a housing provider may ask for information to conduct an individualized assessment of whether it must provide the accommodation under the Fair Housing Act. The lack of such documentation in many cases may be reasonable grounds for denying a requested accommodation.
What’s Covered Under The Federal Housing Act.
HUD’s guidance applies only to housing, including public and common use areas of housing developments and facilities covered by the FHA, including apartments, condominiums, cooperatives, single family homes, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, group homes, and other types of housing covered by the FHA. Some types of short-term temporary shelter are not covered by the FHA.
Housing Exceptions Under the Federal Housing Act.
There are four major exceptions to the Fair Housing Act:
- Single family homes, as long as:
- The home is also rented or sold by the owner;
- The owner does not own more than three homes at a time;
- The advertising for the sale or rental was not discriminatory; and
- The owner did not use a real estate or broker
- Rooms or units in a building with a maximum of four units, as long as the owner is living in one of those units;
- Rooms or units owned either directly or indirectly by a religious organization. This is true only if preference is only given on the basis of that membership, and membership in that religion is not restricted by race, color, or nationality; and
- Rooms or units owned by a private organization for non-commercial use, as long as preference is only given on the basis of membership to that organization and is not restricted by race, color, or nationality
That's why we use our business to make the world a better place. Guided by our ethos, we consistently seek opportunities to promote human rights and dignity -- supporting those without a voice. In other words, we use dogs and cats to help change the world.
Fair Housing Act Complaints
Fair Housing Act complaints involving requests for reasonable accommodation for Emotional Support Animals and service animals. account for nearly 30% of all FHA complaints, where the majority of those complaints involve the denial of a reasonable accommodation to a person who has a physical or mental disability that the housing provider cannot readily observe.
Do You Think You’ve Been Discriminated.
If you feel you have been discriminated against, it is important that you begin by filing a complaint with the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. Complaints must be filed within one year of the last date of the alleged discrimination. Unfortunately, most complaints don’t make it past the filing stage.
Why Choose ESADoggy?
ESADoggy is committed to making sure the process works for you. That's why we work only with experienced mental health professionals, and provide a guarantee that your letter will be accepted, or your money back!
You'll be backed by a team of dedicated professionals with the latest technology, experienced fair housing attorneys, and a customer service team who will help you through every step.
Can a Fair Housing Complaint Help Me?
A fair housing complaint is a federal administrative process investigated HUD. This is not a state or local civil issue, so Courts are bypassed, thereby making participation easier.
HUD has the authority to take depositions, issue subpoenas and interrogatories, and compel testimony or documents – so a fair housing complaint is feared by any property owner, landlord, property management firm, RE Agent, mortgage broker or anyone involved in the housing process.
HUD can issue a charge of discrimination against anyone, or any organization, if reasonable cause exists to believe discrimination has occurred. A Charge of Discrimination could lead to serious consequences which are almost always avoided by negotiating a mutually agreeable settlement called a Conciliation Agreement.
Simply put- a well-executed fair housing complaint can yield tangible results for any victim of housing discrimination because of the federal leverage is real.
There are also no direct costs associated with filing a fair housing complaint.
Following an investigation, the FHEO will issue its findings, and if required, HUD or the Department of Justice will take legal action against the violator.
Get Started Today!
With ESA QuickCheck™, we'll see if you're prequalified in under a minute. Once done, you'll place an online order and complete our secured mental health assessment (ESAGauge™)
Over a phone call, a local licensed professional will review your situation to determine if an assistance animal is a suitable therapeutic option. Should that be the case, we'll issue our Never Fail™ ESA letter, the most reliable ESA letter available today.
In the event that you do not qualify, we offer a complete refund.
Do I Need Attorney for Help with Housing Discrimination Laws?
Although an attorney is not required to file a complaint with HUD, you may want to consult with a well-qualified and knowledgeable lawyer who specializes in housing discrimination. The attorney can assist you with:
- Writing, evidencing, and filing your Fair Housing complaint
- Assist in the negotiation of a settlement or resolution
- Provide you with fair housing education as well as counseling
Additionally, they can represent you in a court of law as needed.
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