There are distinct differences between pets, service animals, and companion animals. As a Philadelphia landlord, you need to understand those differences because it impacts how you manage your property and your tenants.
Pets are completely up to you. While renting out a pet-friendly property is often advantageous to landlords because it leads to a lower vacancy period, you might not want the risk and potential property damage that can come with pets. It’s your decision whether or not you allow them.
Service animals and companion animals are a bit different. If an otherwise qualified tenant needs a service animal or a companion animal because of a disability, you are legally required to allow them. This is an important distinction, and making a mistake can come with expensive legal consequences.
Fair Housing Act and the ADA
There are no federal, state, or local laws that say landlords must allow pets into their rental properties. However, service and companion animals are governed by two specific federal laws: the Fair Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Both of these laws protect people with physical, emotional, and intellectual disabilities against discrimination. According to these laws, you cannot deny a tenant the use of a service animal or a companion animal, which is most frequently an emotional support animal or a therapy animal. You have to allow those animals because they are accommodations, not pets. Think about it the same way you’d think about a wheelchair. You cannot say “No wheelchairs” when you’re renting out a home. This is the same reason you cannot say “No service animals.”
When you allow pets in your property, you can charge a pet deposit or a pet fee. You can also charge extra rent every month and call it pet rent. These additional charges are not permitted when your tenant has a service or companion animal.
Service Animals and Companion Animals: There’s a Difference
Service animals are trained to help a person do a specific task. When your Philadelphia tenant needs a service animal for a physical or intellectual disability, it’s usually obvious what that animal is needed for, and therefore you can’t ask for details or specifics. Asking a person with an obvious vision impediment why they need a Seeing Eye Dog is illegal and nonsensical.
However, companion animals are different. They’re not trained or certified in any way, but they do support and comfort the person who owns them, and they’re acquired at the direction of a healthcare professional. You can ask for documentation if the disability is not immediately apparent and your tenant is requesting an emotional support animal or a companion animal.
In these cases, you can ask your tenant for documentation from a medical professional explaining the disability and why the animal is required. You can also call and talk to the doctor or provider who prescribed the animal. Make sure you do this in a professional way and document your conversation.
Tenants are Still Responsible for Service and Companion Animals
While you cannot collect a pet fee or pet rent, you’ll still collect a security deposit for any tenant moving into your property. You can use the security deposit at the end of the lease term to repair any damage that was done by the service or support animal. You can also require your tenant to clean up after the animal and ensure it isn’t a threat or a nuisance to other tenants or the property.
Understanding how pets are different from service and support animals is not always easy. Fair housing laws are always changing and it’s important to stay up to date on the latest when it comes to pets and service or companion animals.
We can help with any questions you may have about these laws and requirements. If you’d like some assistance when you’re working through the requirements of fair housing and anti-discrimination laws, please contact us at TCS Management.
TCS Management is a full service property management company headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, also serving Cherry Hill, NJ, Wilmington, Delaware and the surrounding areas. We focus on single-family and multifamily residential property management of homes, condos, townhomes, and apartment buildings.
