Tenant brought in a pet and is calling it an emotional support animal

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Aargh. I do know of people who have an emotional support animal for PTSD, for example. It seems really weird, though, to expect strangers in a rented group house to all of a sudden be okay with sharing a house with an untrained dog.

Following up what I wrote previously, this young lady is never going to get the emotional support that she needs from friends if she treats people this way.

[Anonymous]

Fairfax County defines service animal really narrowly. An emotional support dog is not a service animal. Has her dog been specifically trained to perform tasks to help with her disability?

Service animal means any dog or miniature horse that is individually trained to
do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including a
physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability. Other species of
animals, whether wild or domestic, trained or untrained, are not service animals for the
purposes of this definition. The work or tasks performed by a service animal must be
directly related to the handler's disability. Examples of work or tasks include, but are not
limited to, assisting individuals who are blind or have low vision with navigation and
other tasks, alerting individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing to the presence of
people or sounds, providing non-violent protection or rescue work, pulling a wheelchair,
assisting an individual during a seizure, alerting individuals to the presence of allergens,
retrieving items such as medicine or the telephone, providing physical support and
assistance with balance and stability to individuals with mobility disabilities, and helping
persons with psychiatric and neurological disabilities by preventing or interrupting
impulsive or destructive behaviors. The crime deterrent effects of an animal's presence
and the provision of emotional support, well-being, comfort, or companionship do not
constitute work or tasks for the purposes of this definition.


(from here: https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/health/sites/health/files/assets/documents/pdf/animal-control-ordinance.pdf)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have an investment property in Fairfax county. We rent it to 4 young women. One of them got a dog that has been terrorizing the other three tenants. One of the tenants has moved out because of the dog. We have asked the woman who got the dog to move out and she refuses, claiming the dog is an emotional support animal. What can we do? I feel for the other tenants and want to resolve this amicably.

Former FFX landlord here. FFX is more tenant friendly than landlord even if you have tenants that turned your house into a crack den and have completely destroyed the entire inside....ahem sorry.

You have to go through this long ridiculous process. You have to serve a 30 day notice. Pay a service to do it otherwise its void in court. On day 31 you go to the courthouse and file the eviction paperwork. 30-ish days later you end up in court where the judge asks them if they agree to the eviction and of course they will not agree, so you'll get a follow up court date approx 14 days later to argue your case in front of the judge. You'll get awarded the eviction, hopefully, and then you have to wait for the sheriffs office to serve the eviction (up to 14 days) and then wait up to another 30 days after that to actually have them out of your house. It sucks. If you can afford it hire a lawyer to alleviate some of the frustration, do it. But you must follow the steps or you'll have to start all over.

Also expect for her to file a case with the landlord/tenant division in fairfax county and you'll have to give an official response to her complaint and it stays in their system for 5 years. They are generally ok if they feel sorry for you, but they will start off like treating you like a jerk landlord. Some were helpful with helping us figure out the rules, laws and procedures we needed to follow to get them out. others were really rude and mean. Keeping calling back to ask questions until you figure out which ones and then always call back ask for them. Our ahole tenants was great at googling things to stay off eviction so we went with a lawyer since we didn't have the time to keep dealing with all of it and the lawyer knew how to deal with all the loopholes. A lawyer would know the exact write wording needed to not allow the service dog exception. I would think since they did not claim disability when moving in, they can't claim it now and I would request paperwork showing how she was diagnosed and that her doctor said she needed one, and not just the paperwork off the internet. I would also get a written statement from the tenant that moved out.

Some judges are so jaded they don't care and will give you a hard time and the sheriffs office definitely doesn't give a hoot and will do nothing to help the process. ours went on vacation and so ours didn't post the eviction until day 14 after we were awarded with the eviction and then didn't complete process the eviction until day 29 after that. all they do is show up on eviction day and stand there, but no way can you just hire an off duty cop to do it sooner.

It's a horrible process. VA stinks for landlords. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Fairfax County defines service animal really narrowly. An emotional support dog is not a service animal. Has her dog been specifically trained to perform tasks to help with her disability?

Service animal means any dog or miniature horse that is individually trained to
do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including a
physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability. Other species of
animals, whether wild or domestic, trained or untrained, are not service animals for the
purposes of this definition. The work or tasks performed by a service animal must be
directly related to the handler's disability. Examples of work or tasks include, but are not
limited to, assisting individuals who are blind or have low vision with navigation and
other tasks, alerting individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing to the presence of
people or sounds, providing non-violent protection or rescue work, pulling a wheelchair,
assisting an individual during a seizure, alerting individuals to the presence of allergens,
retrieving items such as medicine or the telephone, providing physical support and
assistance with balance and stability to individuals with mobility disabilities, and helping
persons with psychiatric and neurological disabilities by preventing or interrupting
impulsive or destructive behaviors. The crime deterrent effects of an animal's presence
and the provision of emotional support, well-being, comfort, or companionship do not
constitute work or tasks for the purposes of this definition.


(from here: https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/health/sites/health/files/assets/documents/pdf/animal-control-ordinance.pdf)

Miniature Horse! Gotta love VA and their horse crazed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have an investment property in Fairfax county. We rent it to 4 young women. One of them got a dog that has been terrorizing the other three tenants. One of the tenants has moved out because of the dog. We have asked the woman who got the dog to move out and she refuses, claiming the dog is an emotional support animal. What can we do? I feel for the other tenants and want to resolve this amicably.

Former FFX landlord here. FFX is more tenant friendly than landlord even if you have tenants that turned your house into a crack den and have completely destroyed the entire inside....ahem sorry.

You have to go through this long ridiculous process. You have to serve a 30 day notice. Pay a service to do it otherwise its void in court. On day 31 you go to the courthouse and file the eviction paperwork. 30-ish days later you end up in court where the judge asks them if they agree to the eviction and of course they will not agree, so you'll get a follow up court date approx 14 days later to argue your case in front of the judge. You'll get awarded the eviction, hopefully, and then you have to wait for the sheriffs office to serve the eviction (up to 14 days) and then wait up to another 30 days after that to actually have them out of your house. It sucks. If you can afford it hire a lawyer to alleviate some of the frustration, do it. But you must follow the steps or you'll have to start all over.

Also expect for her to file a case with the landlord/tenant division in fairfax county and you'll have to give an official response to her complaint and it stays in their system for 5 years. They are generally ok if they feel sorry for you, but they will start off like treating you like a jerk landlord. Some were helpful with helping us figure out the rules, laws and procedures we needed to follow to get them out. others were really rude and mean. Keeping calling back to ask questions until you figure out which ones and then always call back ask for them. Our ahole tenants was great at googling things to stay off eviction so we went with a lawyer since we didn't have the time to keep dealing with all of it and the lawyer knew how to deal with all the loopholes. A lawyer would know the exact write wording needed to not allow the service dog exception. I would think since they did not claim disability when moving in, they can't claim it now and I would request paperwork showing how she was diagnosed and that her doctor said she needed one, and not just the paperwork off the internet. I would also get a written statement from the tenant that moved out.

Some judges are so jaded they don't care and will give you a hard time and the sheriffs office definitely doesn't give a hoot and will do nothing to help the process. ours went on vacation and so ours didn't post the eviction until day 14 after we were awarded with the eviction and then didn't complete process the eviction until day 29 after that. all they do is show up on eviction day and stand there, but no way can you just hire an off duty cop to do it sooner.

It's a horrible process. VA stinks for landlords. Good luck.

This sucks so bad. I am so sorry.

[Anonymous]

New poster. Came here to emphasize something I see is pointed out in the excellent 13:20 and 11:53 posts above.

A legitimate service animal must perform tasks or do work. Specific tasks. A vague "it helps me to cuddle him" does not cut it. Your attorney should be able to ask her to describe the specific life tasks the dog performs and she should have to produce some evidence he was trained.

And be wary of any documents she shows. Anyone can purchase a variety of official-looking documents, some quite realistically detailed, to say an animal is a service or support animal. Doctors with actual licenses will sign off on these documents, unfortunately. I would ask your attorney--if he starts to press the tenant to give the name and contact of a medical professional who can explain her need for a support animal and the trainer who trained the dog. I'd bet that request might scare her into leaving because at least for the trainer, no such person exists.

OP, isn't it possible that if the dog injures one of the other tenants, that tenant could sue you as well as her, on grounds that you allowed the dog to continue to be there when the lease said no animals? If someone gets injured, the "fact" it's a supposed service animal might not matter. You could end up with liability. I'd get that lawyer working to get the dog out ASAP because of the other tenants.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:New poster. Came here to emphasize something I see is pointed out in the excellent 13:20 and 11:53 posts above.

A legitimate service animal must perform tasks or do work. Specific tasks. A vague "it helps me to cuddle him" does not cut it. Your attorney should be able to ask her to describe the specific life tasks the dog performs and she should have to produce some evidence he was trained.

And be wary of any documents she shows. Anyone can purchase a variety of official-looking documents, some quite realistically detailed, to say an animal is a service or support animal. Doctors with actual licenses will sign off on these documents, unfortunately. I would ask your attorney--if he starts to press the tenant to give the name and contact of a medical professional who can explain her need for a support animal and the trainer who trained the dog. I'd bet that request might scare her into leaving because at least for the trainer, no such person exists.

OP, isn't it possible that if the dog injures one of the other tenants, that tenant could sue you as well as her, on grounds that you allowed the dog to continue to be there when the lease said no animals? If someone gets injured, the "fact" it's a supposed service animal might not matter. You could end up with liability. I'd get that lawyer working to get the dog out ASAP because of the other tenants.

After speaking to our lawyer, we’re confident this is something we’ll quickly remedy. The girl has passed along her ESA doc. and it is clear by the dates/source that she cobbled the ESA defense together well after she brought the dog in and about 2 days after I was informed of the dog by the other tenants. Our lawyer is prepared to subpoena all of her medical records, which will certainly support fraud on her end.

We still want to option her to leave peaceably, as this is certainly the best case for our other tenants. As some have noted we have great cause for the other girls to understand we a fighting for their protection. A stern letter from our lawyer should do the trick. If they are foolish enough to continue to contend moving forward with eviction should work in our favor.

Thanks again for all your help/advice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:New poster. Came here to emphasize something I see is pointed out in the excellent 13:20 and 11:53 posts above.

A legitimate service animal must perform tasks or do work. Specific tasks. A vague "it helps me to cuddle him" does not cut it. Your attorney should be able to ask her to describe the specific life tasks the dog performs and she should have to produce some evidence he was trained.

And be wary of any documents she shows. Anyone can purchase a variety of official-looking documents, some quite realistically detailed, to say an animal is a service or support animal. Doctors with actual licenses will sign off on these documents, unfortunately. I would ask your attorney--if he starts to press the tenant to give the name and contact of a medical professional who can explain her need for a support animal and the trainer who trained the dog. I'd bet that request might scare her into leaving because at least for the trainer, no such person exists.

OP, isn't it possible that if the dog injures one of the other tenants, that tenant could sue you as well as her, on grounds that you allowed the dog to continue to be there when the lease said no animals? If someone gets injured, the "fact" it's a supposed service animal might not matter. You could end up with liability. I'd get that lawyer working to get the dog out ASAP because of the other tenants.

After speaking to our lawyer, we’re confident this is something we’ll quickly remedy. The girl has passed along her ESA doc. and it is clear by the dates/source that she cobbled the ESA defense together well after she brought the dog in and about 2 days after I was informed of the dog by the other tenants. Our lawyer is prepared to subpoena all of her medical records, which will certainly support fraud on her end.

We still want to option her to leave peaceably, as this is certainly the best case for our other tenants. As some have noted we have great cause for the other girls to understand we a fighting for their protection. A stern letter from our lawyer should do the trick. If they are foolish enough to continue to contend moving forward with eviction should work in our favor.

Thanks again for all your help/advice.

Good! Great update!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I assume you have an attorney on retainer. Have the attorney send a notice ordering the tenant to remove the dog within 7 days under penalty of eviction. Then evict.

This isn't hard.

I do assume you have a provision prohibiting pets.

This should not require an attorney. Google how to do it or call the city. No point wasting money on a lawyer.

I am a lawyer by the way.

You are right, but I assume a landlord keeps a lawyer on retainer, and a stern letter from a lawyer would probably get quicker results than going through the eviction process, yes?

Why on earth would you assume a landlord has an attorney on retainer. Most don’t. I’m a landlord btw.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I assume you have an attorney on retainer. Have the attorney send a notice ordering the tenant to remove the dog within 7 days under penalty of eviction. Then evict.

This isn't hard.

I do assume you have a provision prohibiting pets.

This should not require an attorney. Google how to do it or call the city. No point wasting money on a lawyer.

I am a lawyer by the way.

You are right, but I assume a landlord keeps a lawyer on retainer, and a stern letter from a lawyer would probably get quicker results than going through the eviction process, yes?

Why on earth would you assume a landlord has an attorney on retainer. Most don’t. I’m a landlord btw.

We didn’t, but we do now. Considering it money well spent!

[Anonymous]

Do the research yourself, but in most cases the fair housing act does not apply to landlords with a single rental property.

[Anonymous]

It Hs called subleashing

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I assume you have an attorney on retainer. Have the attorney send a notice ordering the tenant to remove the dog within 7 days under penalty of eviction. Then evict.

This isn't hard.

I do assume you have a provision prohibiting pets.

This should not require an attorney. Google how to do it or call the city. No point wasting money on a lawyer.

I am a lawyer by the way.

You are right, but I assume a landlord keeps a lawyer on retainer, and a stern letter from a lawyer would probably get quicker results than going through the eviction process, yes?

Why on earth would you assume a landlord has an attorney on retainer. Most don’t. I’m a landlord btw.

We didn’t, but we do now. Considering it money well spent!

OP, are you happy with your lawyer? do you mind sharing contact details please? also curious, how much does it cost to keep a lawyer on retainer....

[Anonymous]

The tenet picked the wrong excuse, but you are on thin ice so be careful. Service animals (and horses qualify https://www.businessinsider.com/american-airlines-passenger-takes-horse-service-animal-flight-2019-9) and emotional support animals are both real things. The required training and documentation of them is basically a free for all. The one key difference is that a service animal falls under the ADA.

For service animals, even asking about the disability of training can get you in hot water. Emotional support animals are not covered under the ADA and you can ask to see a letter from a doctor that "proves" the need for the animal. Even with the letter, you have options about accommodating it. Either way, I would talk to a lawyer.

[Anonymous]

Are you having trouble collecting rent because one tenant moved out and they can't get another? Isn't not paying rent enough grounds for eviction? You are not under rent control and these are not protected tenants. If they are short on rent, you can evict them all for no reason and there would be no excuses.