Fair Housing Legal Questions

Having an emotional support animal in a dwelling is governed by laws protecting those with disabilities from illegal discrimination.  It is very important that you understand that the animal is not being protected--you are being protected from discrimination based upon your disability.  There are rafts of websites that provide "ESA certificates" that can easily be challenged because the owner of the pet does not actually have a disability that significantly interferes with a major life activity.  They just got an ESA certificate because they want to have a pet somewhere pets aren't allowed.Assuming you have a legitimate disability and require an ESA, a landlord can lawfully deny a request for waiver of a no pet policy if the animal in question poses a direct threat to the health or safety of others and that threat cannot be eliminated by other reasonable means.  A severe documented pet allergy can provide the basis for such a denial.  But general allergies or a dislike of dogs cannot provide such a basis.Your case will depend heavily upon the specific facts and circumstances of your particular situation.  Does your landlord really have a severe medically documented allergy to dog hair?  What happens when exposed to dog hair?  Do you really have a disability that requires you to have an ESA?  What happens to you when you don't have your ESA nearby?  How long were you living there without an ESA?  Was your landlord discriminating against you because of your disability even before you got the ESA?  What happened with respect to your disability that now requires you to get an ESA?This could be a very complex, lengthy, and expensive lawsuit.  It is impossible to predict the outcome.... Read More

First thing is to do some research and know your rights.  As a tenant, you have a right to "quiet enjoyment" of the rental.  It sounds to me like the landlord may be violating that right if your boyfriend is just visiting.  Do you have a written lease?  If so, review it.  A landlord can impose conditions like advance notice before throwing a party or guests can't stay for longer than a week without landlord consent, but if there are no terms in your lease limiting your boyfriend's visits, and he isn't breaking the law or engaging in disruptive or dangerous behavior on the premises that might endanger others, the landlord cannot impose such conditions later.  Along the same lines, as long as your boyfriend behaves when he visits, then you have a right to privacy that the landlord must respect. Where this gets tricky is if your boyfriend is spending most nights there, receives mail there, has belongings there, etc., then the landlord could make an argument that it is an illegal sublet. This is more of a landlord/tenant case than a discrimination case, unless of course, you reasonably believe the landlord is behaving this way because of your disability, your daughter's disability, etc.  Is your boyfriend also disabled? If this is a northern California case, contact me.  I would be happy to discuss it further.... Read More