A Nevada landlord is facing discrimination charges after telling his tenants that their guest could not bring his emotional support dog along for a visit.
The landlord maintains a no-pets policy.
HUD claims that by objecting to the friend’s dog, the landlord failed to make a reasonable accommodation for a person with a disability.
The landlord is also accused of retaliation for evicting the tenants over the dispute.
According to a statement by HUD, the Fair Housing Act protects against discrimination because of a tenant’s disabilities, or those of their guests.
After seeing a dog in the building, the landlord told one of the tenants that the building’s “no-pets” policy barred their visitors from bringing animals into the unit. The tenant claims that she explained her visitor’s dog is an “emotional support animal”, and that she could provide documentation that the animal was necessary because of a disability.
When the guest and dog returned for another visit, the landlord served the tenants with an eviction notice, and allegedly posted a note near their unit stating, “If harassed or bothered by tenants of these apartments call 911 immediately.”
HUD has asked that the case go before an administrative law judge. Either party could ask that the case be moved to a federal court instead.
This post is provided by Tenant Verification Service, Inc., helping landlords reduce the risks of renting with fraud prevention tools that include Tenant Screening, Tenant Background Checks, (U.S. and Canada), as well as Criminal Background Checks, and Eviction Reports (U.S. only).
Click Here to Receive Landlord Credit Reports.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this post in not intended to be construed as legal advice, nor should it be considered a substitute for obtaining individual legal counsel or consulting your local, state, federal or provincial tenancy laws.
