Should I mention the ESA ahead of time?

[Roxie]

When I am looking for a HUD subsidized apartment or Section 8 housing, or rural development HUD subsidized housing I never mention I have any pet animals on my application. Because I don't have pet animals. I do advise them I have a disabilitiy and am "elderly". Because that is required for the type of housing I am applying for.

However, after I have been selected and approved for the housing, I then make my formal request for a reasonable modification of "no pet, breed restrictions, weight restrictions, no dogs" policy.

At that time, I have been assigned a unit to live in, and it is now necessary to document my medical expenses in order for them to calculate my rent payment. At that point I disclose I have SD and ESA, and submit their expenses with all of my other medical expenses.

Bringing up moving in with dog(s) before that time serves no purpose other than potential conflict and discrimination. (As in, "oh, I'm so sorry I just rented the apartment a few hours ago. Yes! I will keep your application and call you when we have another opening!" and they don't... and you can't prove that they discriminated against you)

Renting a place to live is a business deal... not a friendship. All the states I've lived in have laws that regulate the time landlords have to fix things in one's apartment, and how/when rents are to be paid and penalties should landlords or tenants not follow the laws.

I like to have a peaceful neutral relationship with my landlords... but not taking them gifts! That's a real violation of boundaries... and kinda manipulative. (JMO)

Most apartments I've had experience with rely on what your credit score is. I've never had a landlord check rental references.

I follow the laws. I expect others to follow the laws. If I fail to follow laws - someone grieves against me. Others fail to follow the laws - I grieve against them. (When I have a vested interested or committment to grieve against someone)

From my thinking: if a business doesn't want me to file a complaint or grievance or case against them..... just follow the laws they're supposed to follow and I never give anyone any grief! In all these decades, when I've had "human rights battles" with management of anything (cities, businesses, schools, housing, public entitlements, insurance...etc) I have never once lost a grievance.

I never consider it a battle. I consider it a learning situation for the business... that they can not discriminate without consequences.

Ignoring or backing down from what I believe is the right and just thing to do is not something I do.

Roxie

[Spectrum]

I've decided that I'm not going to mention the ESA until after the application in approved. Most rental places I've seen have a policy that if your application is approved the application fee goes towards the deposits/first month rent, but if you cannot move in after being approved, as long as it is their fault (nothing available), they refund the application fee. So I may tell them about the ESA after I am approved, but before signing the lease - but signing the lease is a ways away yet, so I have time to decide how I want to do it, still.

I agree with Roxie that renting an apartment for 6 months is not a friendship, but a business deal. And if repairs are slow, that's fine - it's better than no repairs, as is the case where I live now. And a gift is the last thing I would bring to the management here. Heck, I'm planning how to go about taking them to court to get my deposits back if they refuse to give them to me (this, too, has been an issue with this complex for many, many people, yet I didn't know before I moved in). I don't know how easily I would be apprived for an apartment. I've always been on time with my rent (and paid my first 6 months in full...then got eviction notices anyway >_>), so I have a good rental history for as long as I've been renting. But to get this apartment, my dad was a security guard here, and his boss signed off on my lease without question (my dad did have to cosign for me because they don't take first-time renters without a cosigner, period). That's by biggest concern, really - since I don't know how likely it is for me to get approved anyway, I not only need to get approved, but  I have no idea how to determine if it was actual discrimination or if I wouldn't have been approved anyway, regardless of the ESA.
 

[Roxie]

My life has just turned upside down (again!) and I'm looking for HUD housing. I checked out Council Bluffs IA, and their application specifically asks if you have a Service Animal and variety.

"24. Do you have a Pet or Service Animal? Type of Animal:_________________ Is it a service animal that is specifically trained to aide in your disability? Yes No
If you have a service animal, please provide supporting documentation on the Reasonable Accommodations form included.
25. Is the animal properly licensed in the City of Council Bluffs? Yes No All animals must be spayed or neutered, be properly vaccinated, and have proper restraints in all common areas and grounds of MHA property."

Then later it asks:

2. Nature of need:
A barrier-free apartment Unit for vision-impaired
Other modifications to unit Unit for hearing-impaired
Live-in aide
Service Animal

5. Verification and explanation of need(s): Please do not provide any information about the nature or extent of the applicant’s disability. Simply indicate whether, in your professional judgment, the applicant needs the above feature in
an apartment: ____________________________

In this case, I said I do have a SD before my application was completed and I was accepted.

Roxie

[Spectrum]

I asked for more information for the one apartment I was looking at that sounds perfect - the one that doesn't allow pets - and it asked about pets on the information request form. I chose "other" and explained my situation in the "special needs" section. Today I got this response:

"Yes, from what you told me the exception of allowing your boxer would be a reasonable accommodation and we always make reasonable accommodations when requested. Would you be interested in viewing an apartment when she has one available or have you already viewed the floorplan? Please let me know if I can be of further assistance. Thank you for inquiring about our beautiful apartment homes, we look forward to serving your housing needs."

So problem solved, it sounds like it won't even be an issue ^.^ Thank you everyone for the input! Quite honestly, I was expecting to have to put up some sort of fight if I had to move into no pets housing, but that's not the case. Also, this is the first reply I have received from any of the ones I was looking at. This will most likely be the place I will be moving into.

[Roxie]

 

Way to go!!!  Everything always works out for the best! We fret and worry... and things just seem to work out!

Roxie

[Cera]

Awsome!  Honestly, I have also never found anyone even hesitate when I mentioned my SD.  Also, if they have a little house icon on the bottom of their web page, that means they willingly make the accomodations required by law.

[Spectrum]

Awsome!  Honestly, I have also never found anyone even hesitate when I mentioned my SD.  Also, if they have a little house icon on the bottom of their web page, that means they willingly make the accomodations required by law.

Heh, I never noticed that icon before. But it is on their page, and on their ad in the books I have.  I'll remember that for the future! 

[bj2circeleb]

great news!!

I do not wish to have a friendship with any property manager/owner/etc but I have at times been forced to take legal action to get repairs done and so I do wish to try to do things to ensure that those sorts of things are not needed, and to have a peaceful working relationship with them. The difficulty of taking legal action to get basic repairs done is not something I wish to ever take again. Sure the law is on my side, but I simply wish to avoid using it if at all possible!!!

I am not able to get into government housing here, and I would not want it anyway. I do however get assistance from the government, via an increase in my disability pension based on how much rent that I pay. I am in the private rental market. I go to real estate agents and look at their lists of rental properties and then I put my name down as interested and when at least 3 people have shown interest they organise an open inspection time at which time you turn up to view the property and they give out applications at that stage. The only way for me not to mention the SD would be to not have her with me during those stages, and I could not really do that. I have supplied them with references from my program, vet, and neighbours on either side of me. I crossed out the word pet and wrote "assistance dog" the term used here. I have just been accepted for the first place that I lodged an application for and they thanked me for the references, etc. They commented that while they know of guide dogs and the training they have had, they have never ever accomdoated one. They knew the law said they could not legally refuse them, but it puts them in a difficult positions because the community is also told that once at home they are like normal dogs, and they do not really want a normal dog in most places!!! They said that the references have really helped all of their staff to really understand the training that these dogs have had and that they will behave at home as they do in public, with some minor differences. Hopefully it will help other people with service dogs who ever want to rent through their agency in the future. They commented, that my application was the best, and had it not been for the dog references they would have put it lower down in the pile as they were simply unsure of what the dog would really mean, even though the law says they cannot discriminate. For me it has paid to be open and honest. I do think that most people do want to do the right thing by SD in general but are not always fully aware of them enough to understand everything about them. They also said that only 1 pet owner has ever given any references about their pets and the landlord which had previously been really hesitant about pets was more than happy based on that referecne. To the landlord it meant that the person cared enough about the animal to even bother getting references, etc and so it was safe to assume they would look after it properly!!

Just my experiences on this side of the world!!!