emotional support animals come home to roost: WWYD?

[Panscan]

Did you already contact the references? Did they say all positive stuff? If not then can't you deny them based on that, the fact that they were crappy tennants, which is independent of an ESA.

I don't really get your approach. You ask for help clearly indicating you don't want to go thru with it, then people tell you ways to do so and you're like playing devils advocate.

If people are going to go to extreme lengths there's probably a lot of landlords that could get screwed over silly stuff.

I also don't understand why someone with an ESAs rights trump mine or the agreement I made with the landlord. Why is it my burden to bear their poorly behaved dog (a pet) because they want to commit fraud and not pay for their animal in a no pet building? This actually happened to me and I left because the landlord wouldn't do anything about it.

[Radonlake]

Looking up which questions you can ask Service Animals owners, I am surprised you cannot even ask which job the ESA has?

For service animals: In situations where it is not obvious that the dog is a service animal, staff may ask only two specific questions: (1) is the dog a service animal required because of a disability? and (2) what work or task has the dog been trained to perform?

[VagabondMD]

Radonlake wrote:

Looking up which questions you can ask Service Animals owners, I am surprised you cannot even ask which job the ESA has?

For service animals: In situations where it is not obvious that the dog is a service animal, staff may ask only two specific questions: (1) is the dog a service animal required because of a disability? and (2) what work or task has the dog been trained to perform?

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Yes, it appears that the ESA (ie. pet) has greater latitude than a legitimate, trained service dog. It's an upside down ESA world!

[Radonlake]

Crazy!

This would be just more motivation for me to use any legal way to avoid renting to them at all cost. Seems to be in a challenging state too for rental property. The housing protection there seems out of control - if it instills that much fear in landlords. That would maybe tilt the scale towards selling for me.

[StarTrekDoc]

This is the difficult part of direct RE --landlording.  Anyone who says it's passive income hasn't done it.   You can't simply deny a person who's submitted an application--especially a protected class, and that's where FIREshrink is at the moment.

The protections for renters are HUGE.  Frankly, it's mostly workable and unfortunately taken advantaged by a select few that makes it that much worse for the balance of society to which it's meant to protect. ----may sound familiar to many of us working with our insured patients, whether public or private.

OP - you should have a renter's association locally and you can ask these type of questions and options for you specifically at this time.

The trouble FIREshrink has is there's already an applicant and I don't see any of the things that typically would be in place to provide 'outs' for the prospective client (application fee, background check, credit check, renters check worthiness requirements) nor any competing applicants.    One cannot drag the application process out long either.  30+days would be a flag to attract nuisance suit.

Listing the unit for 30-60 days at high end market rate would probably be the easiest out if no other  qualified applicant.

[snowcanyon]

So, OP, I think the issue is- do you want to be a landlord with all the headaches or not? If it's not an ESA, it's noise, or kids that draw on the walls, or "mold allergies." It's a headache, and much like medicine, the government wants it to run as a free enterprise except when it doesn't.

If you continue, it looks like you might have to take ESA person as a tenant, and if for some reason you find an out, the next tenant might have twins that raise even more ************************. If you want to continue, I think you need to look at this as a business, not as a cute house you want to rent out. Sure, there are many functional tenants, but in our society (unlike, say, Germany), most functional people ultimately buy.

So, if you aren't going to sell, get the cheapest laminate and avoid expensive upgrades unless you are doing corporate rentals; look at as a business, not as a cute house you happen to rent out. People just aren't going to love it as you do. That can be OK as long as you are OK with it.

I wish @White.Beard.Doc would chime in with his vast RE experience.

[childay]

Tim wrote:

These used to be called “PETS"

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This stuff is really out of hand.  Even as a psychiatrist I can hardly come up with a justification for some of these "support" animals.  Whatever happened to coping skills and deep breathing exercises?  They don't  on the carpet and bite you at least.

[jfoxcpacfp]

Ok, which one of you guys authorized this?

[Zaphod]

You should've seen it where she rode it down to baggage claim.

[shantster]

jfoxcpacfp wrote:

Ok, which one of you guys authorized this?

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From what I saw, she's a service animal, not ESA. Miniature horses have been used for people have dog allergies or other reasons that they are unable to get service dogs. Obviously size is going to be a bigger issue with miniature horses than dogs, but they supposedly live ~30 years so it's a more long-lasting service animal. Talking with some of the groups that train service dogs in the area, it can take 2 years or more to get a service animal trained and there are huge waiting lists at the charitable organizations for those who cannot pay the high fees for them, which is a large number of individuals with disabilities.

[Lordosis]

Anyone read the book "follow my leader". ? I should find that again.

[jfoxcpacfp]

shantster wrote:

jfoxcpacfp wrote:

Ok, which one of you guys authorized this?

Click to expand…

From what I saw, she’s a service animal, not ESA. Miniature horses have been used for people have dog allergies or other reasons that they are unable to get service dogs. Obviously size is going to be a bigger issue with miniature horses than dogs, but they supposedly live ~30 years so it’s a more long-lasting service animal. Talking with some of the groups that train service dogs in the area, it can take 2 years or more to get a service animal trained and there are huge waiting lists at the charitable organizations for those who cannot pay the high fees for them, which is a large number of individuals with disabilities.

Click to expand...

Hey, you’re right! Never seen that before. Have read a couple of really good books about service dogs, very enlightening. Until Tuesday and Weekends with Daisy, highly recommended.

[SLC OB]

Hank wrote:

You need to keep your pyromania in check and not burn down the rental.

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My brother owns quite a few rentals that he wishes would go up in flames... as they are well insured!

[jacoavlu]

I think with this horse the line between service animal / emotional support animal is somewhat blurry

https://www.omaha.com/livewellnebraska/health/meet-flirty-the-miniature-horse-and-service-animal-for-bellevue/article_804f56e8-dfe9-5f41-bee9-8518e95c37cb.html

“Hensley said Flirty helps her with medical alerts and mobility assistance.... Before working with Flirty, Hensley said she wasn’t able to complete shopping trips and would have a panic attack and either have to abandon her cart or leave without everything that was on her shopping list.“

and from https://www.wowt.com/content/news/Flirty-the-miniature-service-horse-from-La-Vista-450510273.html

”Hensley is allergic to dogs but she loves training horses.

"It kind of made sense to get a horse,” she said. The reason Hensley has a service animal isn't a dog and pony show.

"There was some sexual abuse when I was a kid,” she said. Hensley was also caught in the middle of an active shooter incident several years ago. It left her with emotional scars that can affect her physically.

"I was not able to really leave the house much,” Hensley told 6 News. "Usually I will end up completely shut down sitting in a corner somewhere having a hysterical sobbing attack."

[Tim]

An affinity of training horses is admirable. Service animals can help. As far as training horses, I think she has a little work to do.
https://racingcommission.nebraska.gov/license-info
Might change her mind.