Emotional Support Animals : ezLandlordForms

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Emotional Support Animals

Jason C

started a topic almost 5 years ago

I have a tenant that has been in our property for almost 2 years. For the most part she is good and usually pays on time. Tonight she asked if she could get a dog as it was recommended by a doctor for her child. The lease clearly states no animals. I did some research and decided because she is a good tenant I would charge a $250 pet fee and an additional $25/month on the rent. She stated that under Federal housing laws, because this is an emotional support animal I am not allowed to charge a pet fee or a monthly fee. I did some research and unfortunately it seems this may be true. I did find one section that is quite interesting though that may make me exempt from this law. This states "(1) any single-family house sold or rented by an owner: Provided, That such private individual owner does not own more than three such single-family houses at any one time: " https://americandisabilityrights.org/fair-housing-act Being that I own 2 rentals and I did not use a rental agency to rent this property, can I legally deny her request for an animal and charge fees? I am not trying to rip people off, but I really HATE the idea of an animal being in my property and possibly causing damage and there is nothing I can do about it. FYI this is in Henrico VA (right outside Richmond).