Emotional support animal is a kind of psychiatric therapy suggested by most medical practitioners in which they let few psychiatric patients having any sort of disability in them to get some companion animal. These companion animals are like dogs, cats or any other such animals. Unites sate country has mentioned federal separate law for this purpose stating that person should have verified disability according to physical and medical professional. It has been researched regarding this kind of medical treatment that companion animal provides emotional support for individual bearing a sort of disability.
A common animal needs not have any extra training for this purpose. As per Unite States law for deferral protection for housing discrimination, such persons are divided into two special categories under section 504, Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and federal Fair Housing Amendments Acts of 1988 (FHAA). These rules suggest that landlord don’t have any kind of right for discriminating disabled people for their housing and they should provide then accommodation as desired. In addition such disabled person has equal right of making request for having reasonable accommodation that too with waiver of keeping pet animals.
Rehabilitation Act Section 504
This act enacted at first in year 1973 stated about illegality for any discrimination made against disabled in program and received federal financial help. Sect6ion 504 stated that any qualified individual found with disability in United States country when was excluded from any participation, lacked benefits or was subjected with few other kinds of discrimination can receive federal financial assistance. When it comes to housing discrimination, it is completely connected with public housing authorities which gives instructions regarding any deny cannot be made for housing to such person for his disability. If there are chances for making reasonable accommodation, then housing should be made available for such persons by landlord.
Section 504 states the tenant should bear clear disability for getting reasonable benefit or otherwise they can be disqualified from getting benefit of housing under federal law and they cannot receive financial assistance. The term “otherwise qualified” was stated for tenants to meet all requirements of program. He or she should meet general rules for tenancy like take care of animals after regular cleaning and walking with animals in certain areas.
As per Majors and Whittier Terrace courts instructions, tenant can be “otherwise qualified” state under section 504 though having inability to meet with “no pets” policy and waiver regarding “no pets” policy is reasonable accommodation or section 504. There are few other instructions from side of court for tenant to request an emotional support animal and should provide proof for sustaining a clear relationship between his or her functional ability and companionship of animal. Several courts have considered this nexus of disability and companion animal.
According to Massachusetts trail court there is required some reasonable accommodation for healing the problem of disabled person rather than just keeping emotional support animal and so made deny for motion of tenant for preliminary injunction. Courts have denied passing claim for reasonable accommodation through emotional support animal letter in case when tenant deny for giving up his emotional support animal out of distress.