warned in advance for a crime to have been committed; and the tenant has to intentionally misrepresent that they are entitled to the service animal; and the tenant has to intentionally misrepresent that the animal is a service animal.
What animals does the law apply to?
It is unclear. This is one of the potential problems with the new law. While the law’ s intent section specifically distinguishes between“ service animals”( dog or miniature horse trained to assist disabled person) and emotional support( companion, comfort) animals, the law goes on to use the terms“ service animal” and“ assistance animal” interchangeably. The Fair Housing laws distinguish between“ service animal”( specifically trained) and“ assistance animal”( which also includes emotional support animals), but both are treated the same under Fair Housing law.
What else should you know about the law?
Federal fair housing laws still reign supreme, and would dictate the outcome of any disputes. The new law recognizes the supremacy of the FHA( Fair Housing Act) in several ways. The law recognizes the supremacy of the FHA on these issues by stating a doctor is only required to make these findings“ if approached”. By requiring the findings only if a tenant approaches a doctor with the request, the new law implicitly recognizes, that under the FHA, landlords cannot require tenants to provide documentation from a doctor, or to have the documentation take any specific form. Finally, the new law explicitly recognizes the supremacy of the FHA by stating it doesn’ t alter the FHA.
and has to be certified by a doctor and those certifications have to comply with the new law.
The FHA does not require specific findings. Under the FHA, the tenant is only required to establish that the tenant is disabled( meets the definition of disability under the FHA), and has a disability related need for an accommodation. A doctor’ s letter stating that the tenant is disabled and needs the accommodation is almost always sufficient under the FHA. However, this may not be considered sufficient under the new Colorado law. In short, we don’ t want to see any landlord insist on documentation based on the new law when it is not required under the FHA.
Should you change your policies / procedures based on the new law?
No, assuming you have policies / procedures that currently comply with federal fair housing laws, you don’ t want to get caught in a collision between federal law and this new state law, and possibly incur liability for fair housing discrimination. Fair housing discrimination may open you up to high costs in your time, attorney fees, and possibly settlement payout. The risks to you are greater than the risks to the tenant.
This Q & A article is based on Mark N. Tschetter’ s article in the firm’ s July Edition of Landlord News, and had to be condensed due to space limitations – the full article may be found at http:// tinyurl. com / COServiceAnimalLaw
NATURAL DOG PARK PRODUCTS
What concerns do we have about the new law?
We are concerned the new law may lead some landlords down the wrong path, resulting in substantial legal liability. By requiring the licensees( doctors, nurses, and mental health professionals) to make findings, the new law attempts to achieve the worthy goal of having health care providers take these certifications seriously. Theoretically, it is beneficial to get medical health care providers to take disability related animal requests seriously. However, our concern is that landlords will incorrectly interpret the new law to mean that every disability related tenant request for an animal has to be in writing
Phone: 800-931-1562 www. GymsForDogs. com
Sales @ GymsForDogs. com www. aamdhq. org AUGUST 2016 • TRENDS | 33