People with Disabilities & SD Awareness

The Fair Housing Act Federal Register Part III.

Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of the Secretary, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity:

24 CFR 100.

3. Assistive Animals... (update 2007-12-28)
Assistive animals are animals that serve as a reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities by assisting those individuals in some identifiable way by making it possible for them to make more effective use of their housing. Such animals are often referred to as "service animals, assistive animals, support animals, or therapeutic animals” and may include any animal that actually performs tasks or a service for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including, but not limited to, guiding individuals with impaired vision, alerting individuals with hearing impairments to intruders or sounds, pulling a wheelchair, fetching items or providing emotional support to persons with mental disabilities. Regular pet policies do not apply to assistive animals...

4. Unlawful Inquiries... (update 2007-12-28)
The Fair Housing Act provides that it is unlawful for a housing provider (a) to inquire whether an applicant for a dwelling, a person intending to reside in a dwelling after it becomes available, or anyone associated with an applicant or resident, has a disability or (b) to inquire as to the nature or severity of a disability of such persons. Housing providers may, however, make the following inquiries, provided these inquiries are made of all applicants, whether or not they are persons with disabilities..... (Section 100.202)

5. Reasonable Accommodations (Section 100.204)
It shall be unlawful for any person to refuse to make reasonable accommodations in Rules, Policies, Practices, or Services, when such accommodations may be necessary to afford a handicapped person Equal Opportunity to use and Enjoy a dwelling unit, including public and common use areas.



Home Page: http://hud.gov

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16.1 Non-Applicability of Pet Policies to Assistance Animals

Assistance animals that are needed as a reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities are not considered pets, and thus, is not subject to PHA pet policies.

Assistance animals are animals that work, provide assistance, or perform tasks for the benefit of a person with a disability, or animals that provides emotional support that alleviates one or more identified symptoms or effects of a person's disability. Assistance animals – often referred to as “service animals,” “assistive animals,” “support animals,” or “therapy animals” – perform many disability-related functions, including but not limited to the following:

Guiding individuals who are blind or have low vision;
Alerting individuals who are deaf or hearing impaired;
Providing minimal protection or rescue assistance;
Pulling a wheelchair;
Fetching items;
Alerting persons to impending seizures; or Providing emotional support to persons with disabilities who have a disability-related need for such support.

A PHA may not refuse to allow a person with a disability to have an assistance animal merely because the animal does not have formal training. Some, but not all, animals that assist persons with disabilities are professionally trained. Other assistance animals are trained by the owners themselves and, in some cases,
no special training is required. The question is whether or not the animal performs the assistance or provides the benefit needed by the person with the disability.

A PHA’s refusal to modify or provide an exception to a "no pets" rule or policy to permit a person with a disability to use and live with an assistance animal would violate Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
and the Fair Housing Act unless:

There is reliable objective evidence that the animal poses a direct threat to the health or safety of others
that cannot be reduced or eliminated by a reasonable accommodation;
There is reliable objective evidence that the animal would cause substantial physical damage to the property of others;
The presence of the assistance animal would pose an undue financial and administrative burden to the provider; or
The presence of the assistance animal would fundamentally alter the nature of the provider's services.

Assistance animals are a means to provide a reasonable accommodation for an individual with a disability, but a person with a disability is not automatically entitled to have an assistance animal.

Reasonable accommodation requires that there is a relationship between the person’s disability and his or her need for the animal. The PHA would be permitted to verify that the individual requesting the assistance animal is a person with a disability and that the animal is needed to assist with the disability.

As with all other disability-related inquiries, the PHA may not ask about the nature or severity of the resident’s disability.
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PDF File: http://www.hud.gov/offices/pih/programs/ph/rhiip/phguidebooknew.pdf