How practical is it to "emotional support animal" your way into a "no pets" apartment?
How practical is it to "emotional support animal" your way into a "no pets" apartment?
Let's say you have two cats and you'd rather go homeless than them.
I'm not even sure it would open up my search to include anywhere I'd be able to afford.
My landlord said no pets
My pet said no landlords
Guess which one I put down
Depends how brushed up on the ADA the landleech in question is. Registered Service Animals have protections under federal law, but ESAs don't.
Most people dont know the difference and it's 100% legal to make a very Official Looking document stating your cats are Medically Nessicary ESAs and imply they really shouldn't discriminate over such matters without a lawyer.
I've gotten my cat (and my ex-roomate her malamute) into a couple of different apartments run by large managment companies this way. The leasing agents at the desk arent paid enough to deal with it.
It seems like California gives ESAs more legal weight than national law https://calcivilrights.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2022/12/Emotional-Support-Animals-and-Fair-Housing-Law-FAQ_ENG.pdf
So I guess it's okay to try? I'm honestly terrified of doing anything what with my whole 'hanging on by a thread' deal lately. Do you keep it under your hat until you get a lease and then spring them on the landlord or do you bring it up while you're applying? I imagine it doesn't work so well when the 'apartment' is a bed+bath combo in some suburban house
Registered Service Animals have protections under federal law, but ESAs don't.
ESAs are covered under the Fair Housing Act. They don’t have as many protections as registered service animals but they do have federal protections.
Ahh, good to know!
My lease requires 24 hours notice before inspections or etc, so I just ask a friend to watch my dog for a bit. If you have a room mate maybe you can crate them and give them a nice car ride until management is gone?
Would it be hard to keep the cats from prying eyes? I've usually just lied.
I know friends who have gotten away with this with a letter from a counselor or therapist.
No way a landlord that already has banned pets is going to allow emotional pets.
In many places they legally have to allow it so long as OP has paperwork ("paperwork" essentially being a signed note from a health professional lol). Edit: Wait I just noticed you were making a joke. I'm dumb.
If I was in your situation I would lie and say I didn't have a pet, sign the lease and smuggle them in. Put their crates inside cardboard boxes to carry them in. Then after a few weeks approach management and try to get permission to bring your emotional support cats in.
Worse case scenario you've bought yourself some time to save up to find a better place. Just make sure that if they find out to start looking for a place as soon as they give you notice to move because it's super hard to find an apartment with an open eviction case. Look into your state's laws, most states they require longer notice periods when the eviction isn't for non-payment of rent.
Normally I'd say be honest from the start so you can find a landlord that will accept them, but it seems like you're in a tough situation right now.
I've never paid a pet fee and I've done it at every apartment I've ever lived at. I've lived in probably 8 different apartments over the course of 15 years. It is incredibly easy.
Absolutely possible, I’ve done it multiple times. Get a letter from your psychiatrist/other doctor, sign lease, give letter to landlord after lease has been signed.
Letter should say you need an animal to help your condition (shouldn’t have to specify the condition) and ideally should name the law that requires they allow it, the Fair Housing Act (depending on your state there may also be a relevant state law.
They’re not allowed to prohibit pets or charge pet rent or pet “deposits” (pet deposits aren’t usually refundable, they’re just fees). You are responsible for the cost of damages your pets do, but that’s always the case.
May be more difficult for 2 cats, but when you already have one it’s not hard to hide a second one.
I've had a cat classified as an ESA for about seven years now. My partner has some legitimate anxiety issues and we were given an official notice from a therapist and a second one from a medical doctor that we need to renew every few years. Funny enough we actually only had him classified as an ESA at the suggestion of a leasing agent in the first place to avoid pet rent which has been awesome. We've avoided all pet deposits, extra pet rent, and have had him in "no pets allowed" apartments. Honestly, in the beginning it was as simple as asking our primary doctor for it outright and they wrote a hilariously simple - "I'm a doctor and I recommend this person have an animal" letter. It was genuinely one sentence.
I have also lived in 4 different states in managed apartment complexes during this period. Some complexes have not given even the slightest fuck and some have called our doctors to verify the legitimacy of the paperwork (HIPPA is a thing and they get told to fuck off if they do😂). It's all going to depend where you're trying to move to and the type of place. In every case we've let the agents know we have an ESA classified animal at lease signing and submitted whatever they've requested.
