Renting with a pet or an assistance animal: what to check for each

A pet and an assistance animal are different things

Under Massachusetts fair housing law, service animals and emotional support animals are assistance animals, and they are not pets. A service animal is a dog individually trained to do work or perform tasks for a person with a disability. An emotional support animal provides support to a person with a disability by its presence, and need not be a dog. There can also be other assistance animals, such as an animal other than a dog that has been trained to perform a task.

The difference decides which rules apply. A pet is governed by the lease and the housing provider's policies, within the limits of the law. An assistance animal is handled through a reasonable accommodation request, which can exempt it from animal restrictions, policies and fees. If a person does not have a disability, or does not have a disability-related need for the animal, the animal is a pet, even if it is a comfort.

Renting with a pet

With a pet, the housing provider sets the policy within legal limits. A landlord may decline pets, or accept them with limits on number, size or breed, and the lease usually spells out rules on leashes, waste and noise. In a condominium, the condominium documents may also restrict animals, so a unit owner's permission may not be enough on its own. Ask for the pet policy, the lease pet clause and, for a condo, the relevant rules before you apply.

Massachusetts limits what can be charged. At the start of a tenancy a landlord may collect only first and last month's rent, a security deposit of no more than one month's rent and the lock cost, and the Attorney General's guide says landlords may not charge up-front pet fees. A separate pet deposit on top of a full one-month deposit would exceed that cap. If the lease or a rider includes any other charge connected with a pet, ask in writing what it is before you sign and have it checked.

Be accurate on the application. A lease is a contract, and if it says no animals and you move in with one without permission, you are in breach. Dogs must be licensed with the city or town, and local rules on rabies vaccination and leashes apply.

Where assistance animal rules apply

Fair housing laws apply to most long-term housing, including private rentals and condominiums, and to landlords, condominium associations, real estate companies and municipalities. In covered housing, a housing provider cannot apply pet fees, pet deposits, pet insurance requirements or breed and weight limits to an assistance animal.

There are exceptions. An owner-occupied two-family home, where the landlord lives in one unit and rents out the other, does not have to provide reasonable accommodations, and neither do short-term lodgings such as hotels that are not your primary residence. An owner-occupied building with three or four units is covered by Massachusetts law but not by the federal Fair Housing Act, which affects where a complaint can be filed.

Making a reasonable accommodation request

If you have a disability-related need for an assistance animal and the home has animal restrictions, you ask the housing provider for a reasonable accommodation. The request can be made verbally or in writing. Putting it in writing and keeping a copy gives you a record if questions come up later. A provider may have a preferred form, and using it can make things easier, but it cannot refuse to treat an email or a letter as a request.

A clear request says whether you are a person with a disability, without naming a diagnosis; what species the animal is and whether it is a service dog, an emotional support animal or another kind of assistance animal; what the animal does for you; which policies or fees you are asking to be excused from; and a reasonable date for a reply. For an emotional support animal, include the letter of support described below.

The housing provider may ask clarifying questions, and if it sees a reason it might not approve, it should discuss this with you and try in good faith to find a solution. If it denies the request, it should explain why, and a denial for missing information can often be revisited once you give a clearer explanation. The Massachusetts Office on Disability recommends telling the housing provider about an assistance animal early: a request made only after the provider has raised problems with the animal tends to look less credible.

What can be asked, and what stays private

For a service dog whose role is not obvious, a housing provider may ask two questions: is the dog required because of a disability, and what work or task has it been trained to perform. It should not ask for documentation of the disability, ask about the disability itself, or ask the dog to demonstrate its work. If the role is obvious, as with a guide dog, these questions should not be asked.

For an emotional support animal, or another assistance animal that is not a service dog, the housing provider can require a reliable letter from a licensed health care professional who treats you, verifying that you have a disability and a disability-related need for the animal. The letter does not need to state a diagnosis, and the provider cannot insist on one or on more detail than it needs to evaluate the request. A professional who practices out of state, or who treats you by telehealth, can write the letter.

Certificates, registrations, ID cards or vests bought from websites, and letters bought online after a short interview, are not sufficient. Massachusetts has no official registry or certification for assistance animals. If documentation is missing or inadequate, you should be given a chance to provide more before the request is denied. The housing provider should keep information about your disability private and share it only with those who need to know.

Responsibilities that come with an assistance animal

An approved request exempts you only from the policies and fees it names. You still follow licensing and vaccination rules, the building's rules on waste and common areas, and expectations about noise, and you keep the animal under control. Assistance animals may go into common areas, except pools.

You are responsible for damage your assistance animal causes to the same extent as damage you cause yourself, and the regular security deposit can be applied to it. A housing provider may deny or revoke permission if the specific animal is a direct threat to the health or safety of others or would cause substantial physical damage, judged on that animal's own behavior, not on its breed or size. If a problem such as noise or waste arises, the provider should notify you and give you a reasonable chance to fix it, handling it as it would a similar complaint about any resident.

A housing provider also cannot pass on to you an insurance premium increase caused by an assistance animal. A request can be refused if it would impose an undue financial or administrative burden or fundamentally change the provider's operations, but such cases are rare.

If a request is denied

Ask for the reason, in writing if possible, and see whether it points to something you can supply, such as a clearer explanation of your need or a fuller letter of support. The Massachusetts Office on Disability gives neutral information to residents and housing providers and can talk through your options; it is not an enforcement agency.

A discrimination complaint can be filed with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) within 300 days of the last discriminatory act, or with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) within one year, but not with both. The Office on Disability suggests MCAD where an emotional support animal or an owner-occupied building with three or four units is involved. A tenant attorney or a legal services organization can advise on your specific situation.

Checklist for renters

Pets and assistance animals follow different paths, so the steps differ.

• Pet: get the pet policy, the lease pet clause and any condominium rules before applying.
• Pet: check that up-front payments stay within first and last month's rent, a deposit of no more than one month's rent and the lock cost.
• Pet: license your dog with the city or town and follow local vaccination rules.
• Assistance animal: make the request in writing, name the policies and fees to be waived, and keep a copy.
• Assistance animal: for an emotional support animal, ask a medical provider who treats you for a letter of support; no diagnosis is required.
• Assistance animal: keep dated records of the decision and all correspondence.