Service dog in apartment rental

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Smurray61388

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Hello, I'm hoping someone could help me with a problem that I'm having with my property manager. Here's a little background on myself: I'm bilaterally hard of hearing with a severe to profound hearing loss. I recently moved into an apartment complex with my boyfriend and dog. My boyfriend and I have trained our dog to assist me in alerting me to smoke alarms, doorbell ringing, etc... When we first moved in we provided our property manager with a doctors note stating the extent of my disability and that I considered my dog a service animal and shouldn't have to pay the $100 fee. My property manager is now insisting that this isn't enough and we must show certification that my dog is a service animal. I don't know what to do because there is no such thing and I thought that I was protected under the Fair Housing Act. All I'm asking for is that I believe the monthly pet fee should be waived because he isnt technically a pet. I met the apartment requirements of the dog being under 50 lbs and the breed restrictions even though I didn't have too. What are my legal recourses of actions? It seems like everytime my bf calls we get the runaround and I don't know what to do.
 
I would contact the ADA and get the best advice, if the dog is truely trained, you may be able to contact a local service animal center and see if they will verify this for you and issue a service animal card/ID to you and you dog.
I believe there is 2 types of ID's one for just personal/home use and one for Public use. Being it is for home use it should be easily obtained.

You can find custom IDs on amazon as well
[ame]http://www.amazon.com/Service-Tags-FREE-Super-Saver-Bundle/dp/B00CDUJSQ2/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1410370726&sr=8-8&keywords=Hearing+service+animal[/ame]
 
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also I dont know all the laws on service animals, but I believe its illegal for them to ask all that? Its a service animal and thats that.... but you cant take it out a play ball and have fun, the dog has to work 24/7 as a hearing service dog. Otherwise it is just another pet and pay the fees.
 
I was under the impression that it was illegal as well and that was no such thing as a certification for a service dog. As long as you have a disability defined under the ADA and you know that the dog does provide you assistance then what's the issue? I thought I didn't have to prove that he can assist me in everyday tasks either. My complex has a huge issue with black bears rummaging through the dumpsters and they hang out there quite frequently. (They have poor fences and haven't done anything to keep the bears out) I went to take the garbage out at night and brought the dog with me. As I was walking towards the dumpsters the dog stopped and stiffened and wouldn't let me walk with him any closer. It turns out that when I really looked the bear was by the dumpsters, I couldn't hear the bear but the dog could. I don't know what would have happened if I had walked any closer to the bear but it's a good thing he stopped me. This is just one example of the assistance that he provides for me. I don't need to take him in public places for me because my hearing aids help me well enough to get by, but at home I don't wear my hearing aids all the time. It's reasonable to say that without the dog I wouldn't be able to know when someone is in my house, a smoke alarm is going off (I can't hear this even with my hearing aids in), etc. Would you consider that a qualification for a service animal?
 
Smurray61388 said:
I was under the impression that it was illegal as well and that was no such thing as a certification for a service dog. As long as you have a disability defined under the ADA and you know that the dog does provide you assistance then what's the issue? I thought I didn't have to prove that he can assist me in everyday tasks either. My complex has a huge issue with black bears rummaging through the dumpsters and they hang out there quite frequently. (They have poor fences and haven't done anything to keep the bears out) I went to take the garbage out at night and brought the dog with me. As I was walking towards the dumpsters the dog stopped and stiffened and wouldn't let me walk with him any closer. It turns out that when I really looked the bear was by the dumpsters, I couldn't hear the bear but the dog could. I don't know what would have happened if I had walked any closer to the bear but it's a good thing he stopped me. This is just one example of the assistance that he provides for me. I don't need to take him in public places for me because my hearing aids help me well enough to get by, but at home I don't wear my hearing aids all the time. It's reasonable to say that without the dog I wouldn't be able to know when someone is in my house, a smoke alarm is going off (I can't hear this even with my hearing aids in), etc. Would you consider that a qualification for a service animal?
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There is certification for service animals, some places that train them will train your dog but most will only train the rescues or donated full breeds ( labs/shephards..ect..) for working dogs. Places like this is what you need to find, or contact the ADA in your area to see about getting your pup certified or what rights you have, they will be better at answering your questions and helping you out.
Dogs for the Deaf | a lot of info in this, read it.
 
Yes, there is actual certification for trained dogs for disabilities. Google up and u will find them. Its not cheap though.

Good luck
 
diehardbiker said:
Yes, there is actual certification for trained dogs for disabilities. Google up and u will find them. Its not cheap though.

Good luck
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yes, some charge up to $400 but you get 100% refund after 1 year of ownership.
 
sonocativo said:
yes, some charge up to $400 but you get 100% refund after 1 year of ownership.
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Some charities may help with the cost of training a hearing dog but you need find a dog trainer that can give you a certification for your dog . A service dog should also be able to go pee and poop on demand. You don't want your dog going poop or peeing in a store or restaurant . A service dog need to be able to lay down under a table too when eating out and you should never feed a service dog while eating at table . You do not want your dog begging at other people table. A hearing dog need to know more than just alerting you to sounds if want to bring him in public places.
 
whatdidyousay! said:
Some charities may help with the cost of training a hearing dog but you need find a dog trainer that can give you a certification for your dog . A service dog should also be able to go pee and poop on demand. You don't want your dog going poop or peeing in a store or restaurant . A service dog need to be able to lay down under a table too when eating out and you should never feed a service dog while eating at table . You do not want your dog begging at other people table. A hearing dog need to know more than just alerting you to sounds if want to bring him in public places.
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She stated it was strictly for use at home. But yes, theses are guidelines to follow.
 
You are not required to show certification.

There are 10 types of people in the world: Those who understand binary, and those who don't.
 
I would just call the ADA and explain your situation and the pup, if they feel that you benefit from your dog they may take action. That would br your best course, If they decline you for specific reason ( lack of professional dog training) then I would take your dog to get certified then that much will be out of the way next time around. A $100 deposit for having a pup isnt bad at all, I have seen pet deposits go through the roof here at $350-$600, refundable when lease is up or you move as long as the carpets are clean and dont smell, or any other pet damage.
 
sonocativo said:
I would just call the ADA and explain your situation and the pup, if they feel that you benefit from your dog they may take action. That would br your best course, If they decline you for specific reason ( lack of professional dog training) then I would take your dog to get certified then that much will be out of the way next time around. A $100 deposit for having a pup isnt bad at all, I have seen pet deposits go through the roof here at $350-$600, refundable when lease is up or you move as long as the carpets are clean and dont smell, or any other pet damage.
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I agree $100 is a lot cheaper than paying $1,000 to get a hearing dog professionally trained. It can run up to a $1,000 depending on the trainer .
 
But $100 over the lifetime of the lease is actually about the same as a one time cost for training/certifying- 1 year lease would come out to about 1,200. If the person is going to stay long term (More than a year) then training/certifying may be the best way to go- and it would be a bonus the next time they do move and not run into the same ignorance again.

I agree that $100 is definitely a steal. Everywhere I've lived apartment wise the pet deposit has gone anywhere from 250 to 350 (more for more than 1). I think I remember them being about 50-150 back about 10 years ago though :).
 
That can't be right. $100 a month for pet fee? That's outrageous. Did OP make a mistake and means just a one-time fee of $100? My friend is a landlord and charges a one-time fee for pets for any duration of the time they are there.
 
I was looking at some apartments around my area & one of them has a monthly fee for cats. I don't recall what it was.
 
MangaReader said:
That can't be right. $100 a month for pet fee? That's outrageous. Did OP make a mistake and means just a one-time fee of $100? My friend is a landlord and charges a one-time fee for pets for any duration of the time they are there.
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I wonder if they did made a mistake that would be $1,200 for a year.
 
sonocativo said:
I would contact the ADA and get the best advice, if the dog is truely trained, you may be able to contact a local service animal center and see if they will verify this for you and issue a service animal card/ID to you and you dog.
I believe there is 2 types of ID's one for just personal/home use and one for Public use. Being it is for home use it should be easily obtained.

You can find custom IDs on amazon as well
http://www.amazon.com/Service-Tags-...370726&sr=8-8&keywords=Hearing+service+animal
Click to expand...

Dogs that assist the deaf can respond to whatever sounds the person is most concerned with...and yes, you can get a dog that responds to indoor/outdoor sounds or indoor only. The fact that the dog responds to sounds inside the home makes him/her no less valuable or precious to the owner. The ADA would be my first stop. Sounds like the property manager is yet another person needing an education on how animals assist people.

Laura
 
LoveBlue said:
Re-read the OP. It's a monthly fee.
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Then that explain why the landlord is saying it not a hearing dog that $1,200 made a nice bonus for the landlord. The landlord should put the money in an escrow account and if there is damages at end of leash they can take the money to fix it then give the tenant back what left. This is what most honest
landlords do.
 
Pet rent is pretty common around here. It isn't any more refundable that the rent that people pay.

It's just a price you pay if you want to keep a pet in a rental.
 
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