Companion Animals

I live in California. My spouse and I in July 2008 moved into a new apartment. My spouse works 7 days a week 12-16 hours a day. Our child is grown and on her own, my parents are deceased and I have no other family to speak of. I'm a stay at home partner.

When we moved into the new place in July, the owner refused to allow pets so we got rid of our dog. Towards the end of July, my spouse made me an appointment to see my doctor. I was sleeping too much and had no energy. When I went to see the doctor, he stated I was showing signs of depression. I refuse to take pills so he prescribed a companion animal.

We went and spoke with the person we had given our Chihuahua to and asked if they minded returning him to us as my companion animal. He is house broken, minds well, don’t bark, clean, and friendly to everyone. I walk him completely off the property before he uses the bathroom and I clean up after him. I took all the proper steps necessary to inform the manager and owner of my doctor's recommendation, along with providing them with information regarding companion animals.

Just recently I spoke with the owner who said he was raising my rent $200 a month because I have a dog. That's almost a 40% rent increase after just two months. He also stated that there were two other tenants with pet cats and they too were getting their rent raised (although these cats have been here long before I moved in). I explained that mine was not a pet but a companion animal. The conversation ended with the owner telling me that everyone was going to get their rent raised.

This is where my questions come in. I know the law does not allow for my rent to be increased just because I have a companion animal but if everyone is getting there rent increased does that allow for my rent to be higher than everyone else’s or does the rent increase have to be equal amongst everyone? What if no one other than me receives a rent increase? Is there anything I can do? (other than move) I know in California that the owner can raise the rent at will but can he vindictively raise mine because of my companion animal? And almost 40%?

The ADA allows service animals in a unit without penalties. It does not cover companion animals. These are not specially trained animals as service animals are. Service animals are required due to a person's disability. Your medical condition could be treated with medicine and does not require a service animal. The fact that you chose an animal over medicine is your personal choice. It was not required. A blind person has no such choice.

However, since you are from CA, there may be a precedent for such. (Stranger things have happened in CA.) Look for case law on companion animals. However, since this animal is not required, I would expect to pay a pet fee of some kind for this pet. The amount can be different for other people's animals since they do not have the same type of pet as you and their units may have different amenities (no carpet, older carpet and paint, etc.). Also, since those tenants have been there longer, their leases may state different amounts for pets than yours. (The amount may have been raised since they signed.)

Maybe this will help some:

The Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act protect the right of people with disabilities to keep emotional support animals, even when a landlord's policy explicitly prohibits pets. Because emotional support and service animals are not "pets," but rather are considered to be more like assistive aids such as wheelchairs, the law will generally require the landlord to make an exception to its "no pet" policy so that a tenant with a disability can fully use and enjoy his or her dwelling. In most housing complexes, so long as the tenant has a letter or prescription from an appropriate professional, such as a therapist or physician.

Federal law allows a tenant to have a "companion animal," even if the lease says that no pets are allowed.

The operator of the facility may not prohibit the companion animal nor discriminate against the owner of the companion animal, 8-2202, unless the companion animal constitutes a threat or nuisance to the health or safety of the other occupants. 8-2203.

COMPANION ANIMAL
A court ruling will help many disabled tenants who require animals for emotional companions. The court ruling said that companion animals may now receive the same protection as guide or service animals. This means that under certain conditions, a tenant may be allowed to keep a companion animal even in a no pet building (since the companion animal is not a "pet)

REASONABLE ACCOMMODATIONS
Under California (and under certain Federal) law, a disabled person is entitled to a reasonable accommodation from the landlord. This may mean allowing certain changes to the rental unit (at the tenant's expense) to accommodate the disability. This may include handrails, ramps, lighted doorbells etc. A California court has stated that companion animals may now receive the same protection as guide or service animals. This means that under certain conditions, a tenant may be allowed to keep a companion animal even in a no pet building (since the animal is not a "pet) as a reasonable accommodation. Denying such accommodations may be unlawful discrimination.
Unless there is something in your local or state landlord/tenant law that specifically prohibits it, you can generally add rules, fees, deposits and other charges regarding pets provided you apply the rules equally and consistently to every applicant and resident. (Please remember that assistive animals - service, guide and companion animals are never considered pets and therefore are not subject to any of your pet rules, fee and deposits)

Emotional support, therapy or companion animals are not legally defined in the same way as service animals, and may not have been individually trained to perform specific tasks. They may, however, be exempt from pet policies and deposits if certified by a knowledgeable expert as enabling their owner to compensate for or cope with a qualifying mental, emotional or physical disability.


My looking into this is what has caused me to ask the quewstions I have asked.

Except that this tenant is not disabled. She only refused to take the medications that would make her well, instead preferring to retrieve her old pet under the guise of a companion animal. That is not a disabled person under the Fair Housing Act. If someone can take their medications and be fine, they aren't truely disabled.

I am wondering. What about if you work. How does that work? Are you able to take your companion animal to work with you?
I live in Texas. I was just wondering how all that works. I do have an emotional disability. Right now I am on pills. But with my system they wont work for much longer. I have a high tolerance to meds. And many meds quit working on me after a while. I know pain killers do that. I can't take vicadin extra strength with out 2 other o/c pain killers just to make a dent into the pain. Not much else they can give me in pill form that is higher than that. I am on lexapro right now. It is helping with my depression and my anxiety.

Lexapro is not addictive and should have no problems with tolerance (needing increasing amounts). Unlike pain releivers, you will not need increasing amounts of this medication to achieve the same effects over time. This medicine works by adjusting the chemicals (serotonin) in your brain. Once the correct dosage and medication is found to be effective, it should not need to be changed. The key to treating depression and anxiety is to find the correct medication in the correct dosage to be effective against your symptoms. Once that is achieved, you should remain on the effective regimine for life. It is not advised to change medication levels for depression medicines, as changing dosages (when they are effective) can be dangerous and lead to suicidality. If this medicine is currently effective, it should not be changed or increased. Changing medication levels will upset the levels of serotonin in your brain and make it difficult to function again. These pills will work effectively for a long time to come. They do not operate like pain relievers. Tolerance works against pain relivers, not against SSRIs which is what your medication is. The levels of the brain chemicals will remain stable.