Emotional Support Animal in "No Pets" Apartment

ESA is basically a loophole. Any pet and any owner can qualify for such designation, there are no standards. And almost everyone knows this by now.

The people living in the coop chose a no pet building, probably with some reasons: allergies, phobias, etc., but you want to bring a pet there anyway. They have to accept you, but you will be the one neighbor that used a loophole to get a cat and trample your neighbors' desire for a pet-free environment. Wouldn't that be uncomfortable?

Why not find a pet-friendly building where everyone is on the same page?

Don't disclose the ESA at the time of application. The ESA is the equivalent of installing a light-driven smoke alarm for deaf people or a second dishwasher for observant kosher-keepers. It's your right.

As for whether the others prefer an amimal-less environment, that's something they'll have to come to terms with. Congress can amend the ADA if Congress wanted. Meanwhile, a dog that pees in the elevator or jumps on others is a problem that can be addressed as such.

Make sure your treatment provider has documented that you have a disability and that the animal would help treat the disability. The letter does not have to state the disability. The older that letter is, the better (because you don't want it to look like you just went out and got the letter so you could get the animal into the apartment).

https://www.nyc.gov/assets/cchr/downloads/pdf/materials/EmotionalSupportAnimals_Housing_FactSheet.pdf

Lot of dog owners get non-medical professionals to sign the psychological letters
While professionals would not risk their license, some people don't care and approve all requests

My building has a no dog policy but I later found out some people do have small dogs. The doorman said they're for emotional support. So yeah there may be wiggle room after the purchase, depending on the building.

Are there that many no cat buildings?

I am in a no cat building. No pets allowed, not even goldfish (not sure how they could enforce this). Few people seem to have small, respectful emotional support dogs by exception. Or maybe these are renters in sponsor units.

When I moved into my last rental apartment, the place smelled strongly of cat pee. Special cleaning chemicals did not solve the problem and the management ended up redoing some of the floor in the bedroom (though even after that two closets continued to smell like pee on humid days).

If you fly any airplane between New York and Los Angeles in business or first class, half of the rows are filled with families and dogs. "Emotional support" pets is just another way rich folks on the two coasts that fervently tout some higher moral ground to exploit their connections to avoid rules applicable to everyone else. Varsity blues will get you in the side door to college, and your golfing buddy doctor with a prescription pad will get your dog on an airplane. Mind you, I prefer dogs to most humans, but let's now pretend that there is any shred of legitimacy to this topic.

My building supposedly has a no pets policy, stated on every ad for any apartment for sale in the building.

But it seems as if anyone can get their dog in as an ESA certified by almost anyone (including a former board member). And very difficult to get them out.

Not sure if there is some weird thing about if the animal is in the apartment for more than 90 days they somehow become “legal”?

And some of the dog owners refuse to take the service elevator, which makes flouting the “rules” even more egregious!

ph41,https://rentbetta.com/blog/nyc-pet-law

I am aware of a building in which a renter's aggressive pit-bull actually lunged at and bit another resident while inside the building. This prompted the building to ban any new dogs deemed as aggressive breeds (pit bulls, etc). But the dog owner decided to bring in a new pit bull, and skirt the bylaws by claiming it was an ESA.

This kind of thing is indeed egregious.

Or respect the wishes of the current homeowners and don't jam in an "ESA" animal when they specifically don't want pets. Why be a nuisance on purpose?

>>Or respect the wishes of the current homeowners and don't jam in an "ESA" animal when they specifically don't want pets. Why be a nuisance on purpose?<<

Especially when the majority of residential buildings in NYC ARE pet-friendly...

>>>>>Or respect the wishes of the current homeowners and don't jam in an "ESA" animal when they specifically don't want pets. Why be a nuisance on purpose?<<<<<

Yes!

ESA is basically a scam. Any pet and any owner can qualify for such designation, there are no real standards. Fake medical professionals abound
Everyone knows this .
In fact there are some Board members who pretend to follow building policy, but allow and promote this with their friends. They are on the Board for other reasons than helping the building.... they are there for favoritism

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/20/realestate/no-pet-policy-emotional-support-animal.html?

Check out this helpful advice from NYT on how to use ESA as a "workaround". Also check out the furious reader comments. This maybe a loophole, but most people see through this, with condemnation.

https://www.nyc.gov/assets/doh/downloads/pdf/rii/dog-dining-factsheet.pdf

Did not know this, but according to this factsheet only service dogs are allowed inside restaurants!

Question : if a prospective tenant puts on their rental application for a no pet apartment that they have a service animal, presumably the landlord could come up with a reason, legitimate or not, to deny the application and avoid having a pet in their unit. Can a landlord of an no pet apartment evict a tenant if the tenant fails to disclose they have a service animal and then subsequently the landlord discovers this fact? What about if the tenant says “I didn’t have this service animal when I applied for the apartment but subsequently I was diagnosed with XYZ and I have a letter from a doctor saying I need this service animal “? Is the landlord of the no pet apartment now stuck with this tenant and their pet with no recourse?

The law is very limited in ways to get ESAs out. The most common method is to call the tenant's medical provider, verify that the person is under their care, has a disability, and needs the dog for the disability. There are services that do this for owners so owners don't ask questions they can't. They claim that half or more of ESA requests are b.s.

So the advice to tenants is that you do need to spend some real $$ on therapy and treatment not just get some online doctor to fill out a paper after a cursory "exam" and then never see you again. But once you do this, there's very little that a building can do to stop your dog.

I have seen that landlords could also claim that accepting the dog causes "undue hardship". Not sure what the standard for that is.

"Undue hardship" is really hard to prove unless, for example, the dog has a known history of biting/aggression and is a proven "direct threat". Speculation about a dog being dangerous isn't enough.

The Mrs Murphy exemption does apply to ESAs.

I know of buildings where support dog status brings on enmity from other tenants as they now feel discriminated against. They are having emotional issues because of the "support animals" infringing on their "rights" and "quality of life"
What's the support system for those people ?
Can they get false medical papers for emotional support horses , giraffes ?

Where does this end .....

911, in your hypothetical, no, the landlord cannot evict. ESAs are not pets. If someone with an ESA applies to a "no-pet" apartment and says "I don't have a pet" -- in the eyes of the law, they're not lying, even if the ESA is a dog or a cat. Fair Housing laws say the landlord has to take the ESA.

So a landlord could ask to do you have a pet OR ESA? Or is even asking the question if you have an ESA off limits?

Landlord can ask for the proper documentation

I suspect even asking the question "do you have an ESA?" is problematic, though I don't know that for a fact.

My most recent tenant did tell me they didn't have pets, and then were surprised when I was hacked because I saw dog food out. "Oh, that's my girlfriend's dog." "Fine, it can and should hang out at your girlfriend's."

And what happens if an existing tenant/owner lives in the no pets building because they have a severe documented fear/phobia of dogs, or has a severe allergy to pet dander.

Or just something else that equally infringes on their mental or physical health by the allowance of someone's ESA?

And though I have asthma, I dont have any condition that would be problematic around pets.
I love cats and dogs and I frequently babysit my neighbors cat.
Im just playing devil's advocate.

@truthskr10 I think those are the right questions! If everyone loved dogs and had no allergies, there wouldn’t be so many no pet buildings…

Patricia Marx covered it all in her October 20, 2014 New Yorker article on ESAs. The opening: "What a wonderful time it is for the scammer, the conniver, and the cheat: the underage drinkers who flash fake IDs, the able-bodied adults who drive cars with handicapped license plates, the parents who use a phony address so that their child can attend a more desirable public school, the customers with eleven items who stand in the express lane. The latest group to bend the law is pet owners."

It's always been high time for busybodies who want to tell everyone else what to do - which New York coop boards excel at doing. Pets as ESAs are a good and proper response to overbearing boards.

As for asking about ESAs as a landlord, would you also ask the person their race? If not, don't ask. Just ask for the paperwork when the ESA arrives and then call the provider to verify that it's legit.

"verify that it's legit."

That's funny!

There are services that landlords use to verify the legitimacy of the paperwork. The paperwork, not the dog.

"verify the legitimacy of the paperwork."

That's even funnier!

The main feature of a no dog building is less noise.

Second main feature of a no dog building is less smelly elevators.

So much ignorance. NO ONE IS ALLOWED TO "VERIFY" PAPERWORK - Period.

@30yrs interesting. What mechanism is supposed to prevent tenants from lying and writing/signing their own fake ESA letters?

@Aaron2 and everyone else on this discussion citing that ESA's are a 'loophole. Please lmk in what universe you would determine that my ESA is a 'loophole'. My ESA helps to alleviate symptoms of PTSD that is a result of witnessing the rape and murder of my mother. Tell me how my ESA is a 'loophole' - c'mon - tell me.

A landlord has a limited ability to 'verify paperwork'. Specifically: (from the previous link I provided)

" If a resident’s disability or need for an emotional support animal is not readily apparent to a housing provider, the housing provider may request confirmation from a treatment provider that
(1) the person has a disability and
(2) the animal would help treat the disability.
Housing providers can not require disclosure of the specific underlying disability or reject accommodation requests based on rigid requirements, such as requiring a specific form or type of
documentation, or that the documentation be dated within a certain time of the request for accommodation."

It could be reasonably assumed that a landlord could also verify that the 'treatment provider' was duly licensed as well, if there was a suspicion of fraud.

Indeed. The only ignorance is of how the interpretation of the law has changed. There are now entire companies that just verify the ESA paperwork. Half or more is often fraudulent.

https://www.certapet.com/landlords-rights-esa/

'This determination of a “direct threat” must be based on “individualized assessment that relies on objective evidence about the specific animal’s actual conduct.” It may not be based on fears about a certain type of animal or evidence from damage done by previous animals of the same type.'

'HUD specifically states this: “While dogs are the most common type of assistance animal, other animals can also be assistance animals.”

Meet Fifi. my pet gorilla

Just find another building, simple as that.

Does anyone else find it odd that SE lets you search for "pets allowed" and "no preference", but there is no convenient way to unearth "no pets" buildings?