When you become disabled, the world becomes a very different place. Things that may have once been easy may become more difficult to do. For this reason, laws have been put in place to ensure an individual with a disability is treated fairly.
Two of the commonly known organizations is the Fair Housing Act and the Americans With Disabilities Act. However, if you are new to a disability, you may have some questions as to what each of these agencies is and what they can do for you.
In this post, we will discover the difference between the Fair Housing Act and the ADA.
If you feel that you qualify to live with an emotional support animal, complete the questionnaire in the link below to get started. A licensed health professional will be able to assist you in getting the correct documents so that you can live with your ESA.
What is the Fair Housing Act?
The Fair Housing Act (FHA) is a law that was created to put an end to discriminatory practices in any activities related to housing. It was established in 1968 (just one week after Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated).
The goal of the FHA is to ensure all people are afforded the same rights when it comes to buying or renting a home.
There are seven main classes of people protected under the Fair Housing Act. These include;
- Color
- Race
- Disability (physical or mental)
- Sex
- Religion
- National Origin
- Familial Status (having children under 18 and pregnant women).
The Goals of the FHA
The Fair Housing Act protects people with disabilities that need emotional support animals to live with them.
The Fair Housing Act has a three-part goal system put into place. Which includes ending discrimination in the areas of;
1. Home Renting & Selling
- Refusing to rent housing, sell housing or negotiate for housing.
- Making housing unavailable or lying about the availability of housing.
- Denying housing.
- Establishing different terms or conditions in home selling or renting.
- Providing different housing accommodations or amenities.
- Denying participation in housing-related services (such as a Multiple Listing Service).
2. Mortgage Lending
- Refusing to make or purchase a mortgage loan.
- Setting different terms or conditions on the loan, such as interest rates or fees.
- Setting different requirements for purchasing a loan.
- Refusing to make information about the loan available.
- Discriminatory practices in property appraising.
3. Additional Illegal Practices
- Make discriminatory statements or advertise your property indicating a preference for a person with a certain background or excluding a protected class. This applies to those who are otherwise exempt from the Fair Housing Act, such as owner-occupied four-unit homes.
- Threaten or interfere with anyone’s fair housing rights.
The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA)
Unlike the Fair Housing Act that covers areas of property rentals and ownership, the ADA is a civil rights law put in place to protect people with disabilities in all areas of public and private life. These include;
- Employment
- Education/schools
- Transportation
- All public and private places that are open to the general public.
The purpose of the ADA is to ensure those individuals with disabilities are treated fairly and the same as those who do not have a physical or mental disability.
According to their website;
“In 2008, the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (ADAAA) was signed into law and became effective on January 1, 2009. The ADAAA made a number of significant changes to the definition of “disability.” The changes in the definition of disability in the ADAAA apply to all titles of the ADA, including Title I (employment practices of private employers with 15 or more employees, state and local governments, employment agencies, labor unions, agents of the employer and joint management labor committees); Title II (programs and activities of state and local government entities); and Title III (private entities that are considered places of public accommodation).”
The Fair Housing Act and Emotional Support Animals
The Fair Housing Act gives emotional support animals special rights when it comes to apartments, condos, and rental homes.
The Fair Housing Act protects people with mental and emotional disabilities and allows them to live with emotional support and service animals. The law requires apartment complexes, landlords, and condo associations to accept people and their ESA even if they are a “no-pets” property. Emotional support animals or comfort animals are not specially trained to provide a service, but are necessary for people suffering from mental disabilities to help cope with their disability.
How Do I Qualify for the Fair Housing Act?
Click here to qualify for your ESA letter with a licensed therapist.
In order to qualify for the Fair Housing Act and live with an emotional support animal, you must first get an ESA letter from a licensed health professional. The ESA letter must be written on the official letterhead of a licensed health professional and must be dated within one year. Be aware of fake ESA registrations and ESA letters that do not follow your state’s rules and regulations.
In order to qualify for the Fair Housing Act and live with an emotional support animal, you must first get an ESA letter from a licensed health professional.
People with emotional support animals are exempt from the following:
- Additional pet deposits
- Additional pet rent
- Animal age restrictions
- Animal weight restrictions
- No Pets Policy
What To Do If Your ESA Is Denied
You can contact and ESA lawyer that specializes in ESA and housing laws. If you feel that you are being discriminated against, you can also file a complaint with the HUD online or by mailing them a letter to the address below.
Housing Discrimination Complaint Online
Office of Compliance and Disability Rights Division
Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
451 7th Street, S.W. , Room 5242
Washington, D.C. 20410
FHA and the ADA – Know Your Rights
Don’t let a disability stop you from living your life. Know your rights under the Fair Housing Act and the Americans With Disabilities Act. After all, these have been put in place to help you get the rights you deserve.
Qualify for an ESA letter today!
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RE: People with emotional support animals are exempt from the following:
Additional pet deposits
Additional pet rent
Animal age restrictions
Animal weight restrictions
No Pets Policy
My daughter has a service dog. Today she rented a trailer and was told she cannot have her dog there it was against the landlords rules. What can we do?
You may contact an attorney, reach out to your landlord, or file a complaint with the HUD.
Can a hotel kick someone out due to their dog’s incessant barking?
Yes
If it is private housing that does not receive FHA or HUD funds, do they still have to comply with this?
Private housing that does not receive FHA or HUD funds must still comply with the Fair Housing Act.
My child has an emotional support chickens and a rooster. My HOA is telling me they are not allowed in my community. Is there anything I can do?
You can reach out to HUD and file a complaint.
So we have this dog that has helped me a lot with my anxiety. I haven’t gotten an anxiety attack since my dog came in the picture. We live in a No Pet apartment and i’m scared that they will take my dog away if they find her. Can they deny us if we have had the dog before receiving an ESA Letter? Can they threaten to evict us or give us a 24 hour notice to get rid of my dog if i go and give them a copy of an ESA Letter once being approved for one?
As log as you have your ESA letter, your apartment should allow for you to live with your ESA.
If a tenent has an ESA and can provide a legitimate ESA registration or letter, can the landlord still require the tenent to have a form faxed over from their licensed health
Professional?
Unfortunately, we have seen this quite frequently. HUD states that you do not have to provide medical information or access to your medical professional.
can publix deny me an entry to their stores because of my support dog?
Yes, emotional support dogs do not have public access rights.
i have an esa dog, with an esa letter, so when i iriginally mived here i had a regular dog and it was stated in my lease. that dog passed. then my property management changed to a different company and when new lease came out it said “no pets” i signed it cuz i didn’t have my dog but last year i got my esa and i never said anything cuz i didn’t think it mattered with my letter. so i go on vacation and leave my dog with a sitter. well a neighbor that i had problems with her and her dog terrorizing my dog was outside and my sitters son went out and her dog was growling and my dog heard it and charged out the door in the process of picking her unleashed dog up my dog but her. so i’ve done everything animal control told me to do and the twp. they don’t deem my dog vicious or anything but my landlord gave me 5 days to remove him. i sent my paperwork to them and the property manager and their lawyer. i get an eviction letter saying i have 30 days to vacate because i am in VIOLATION of my lease that states no pets and because of the bite (1st offense) they really didn’t care about the esa paperwork, they said i’m not entitled because he is not a TRAINED service dog. so basically i want to know do i have any rights or are they right???? i’m in the process of typing a complaint up with the ADA/FHA
They cannot deny your request because your dog is not a trained service dog.
I am in the process of getting my son a dog due to his list of complications. I already received an ESA letter from his dr and turned it in to the landlord. The landlord just gave me a letter stating that he is not accepting the letter because it is for a support dog and not a service dog. He also gave me papers that include the laws for ADA. My question is does he also have to follow the FHA? They also stated that the FHA has to comply with the ADA is this true?
Your landlord is incorrect. The Fair Housing Act must be followed and is not the same as the ADA. We suggest filing a complaint with HUD.
How is a dog or any animal be called a service animal if its not trained ad a srvice animal when people go on line and buy fake certificate for cheap and they look like the real ones.
Service animals must be trained to provide a service for their disabled owner.
I signed a 1 yr lease on a no pets property and initialed the Every page of the lease including a “no pets policy page” and I signed the lease. My one year lease is expired and it is now month to month.The lease states that landlord can end the lease with 30 days notice. I have recently received all authorizations needed to have an emotional support pet. Can I contest a rental fee increase?( It’s not called a pet fee). Can my landlord deny my request for an emotional support pet? Can he end my lease after I requested an emotional support amimal?
If the rental fee increase is not a pet fee, your landlord has the right to make the increase. A landlord cannot deny your request for an ESA as long the animal does not cause damages or an undue financial burden to the landlord. If the lease is month to month, they may have a right to terminate your lease, but not on the basis of your ESA. We suggest reaching out to an attorney since we can only provide a broad answer and your specific case may require a closer look. Good luck!