Emotional support animals are always a hot topic in community associations. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)’s guidelines require housing providers to waive pet fees for people who have emotional support animals. As a result, many Boards have found that homeowners have declared their pets to be emotional support animals as a way to circumvent paying pet fees.
Waiving Pet Fees for Emotional Support Animals
A recent decision from a federal court in Louisiana rejected HUD’s guidelines and found that a housing provider did not have to automatically waive its pet fee for a tenant who had an emotional support animal. The Court in this case stated that agency interpretations are not law and that it is the role of the Court to interpret statutory provisions. Here, the Court found that HUD’s notice stating that a housing provider may not charge a pet fee or deposit for an emotional support animal was unpersuasive.
The Court found that a fee waiver is only necessary if it is essential to alleviate the effects of the tenant’s disability. This requires a case by case determination. The Court stated that factors that should be looked at include the amount of fees imposed, the relationship between the overall housing cost and the fees, the proportion of other tenants paying pet fees, the importance of the fees to the housing provider’s revenue, and the importance of the fee waiver to the disabled tenant.
Paving the Way for Future Decisions
While this case may pave the way for other Courts to agree with this judge’s determination that housing providers may charge pet fees for emotional support animals, community association Boards in New York should be cautioned not to charge pet fees for emotional support animals at this time. This case comes from Louisiana and is not binding law in New York.