Letter to Landlord Requesting Service Dog Accommodation?

Question : Letter to Landlord Requesting Service Dog Accommodation?
I just got a letter from my physician recommending the use of a service dog. I live in Oregon, and I guess I need to send a letter asking for accommodation, but I’m not sure what needs to be I the letter, nor have I found any applicable templates that relate to my situation. I really don’t want the landlord to know my diagnoses, and from what I understand they are not required to know. They need only know what service the dog will be providing me and what disabilities he will be assisting me with from what I can understand. If anyone know anything about tenant and service dogs in Oregon can you review the letter below in quotes and tell me if I’ve given all the write information or if I’ve given too much information. Thanks!

“May 28, 2010
ACME Rental Company, Building Manager
000 Main Street
Portland, OR 00000

Dear Mr. Manager:
I am a tenant at 00000 in unit #0. I have a disability and a service animal as defined under the federal Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 (42 U.S.C. 3601, et seq.). Service dogs provide assistance and independence. They make doing activities of daily living easier. Loki, my new service dog, is trained to stay by my side and Brace or lean against me during periods of dizziness or disorientation; Lead me back to my apartment when unable concentrate due to extreme pain; Carry items in a backpack to relieve periods of extreme pain and exhaustion; Picking up dropped items ; Interrupt nightmares, and wake me up persistently the same time each day when I suffer from Hypersomnia.
The Fair Housing Amendments Act requires that landlords modify “no pets” policies or policies restricting types of pets to permit trained service animals to reside with their disabled handlers. I am therefore requesting that you modify those rules to permit me to have my trained service dog reside with me.

I have attached verification from my doctor that I am disabled and use a service animal.
Please send your reply in writing about this request for accommodation within ten business days. Thank you for your time and consideration, and I look forward to receiving your reply.”
assisted living portland oregon

Best answer:

Answer by Where’s my scooby snack?
I think it sounds fine. Hopefully the landlord will grant you your request.

Good luck.

This entry was posted by admin on October 4, 2010 at 1:22 am, and is filed under Private Communities. Follow any responses to this post through RSS 2.0.You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.

Comments (5)
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#1 written by mariahleadme 1 year ago

Some suggestions:

The FHAA notes “handicap”, not “disability”. It is the ADA which defines what a “disability” is, and the ADA does not apply to housing. I would change the terminology.

It is also the ADA which gives the legal definition of a service animal, not the FHAA. Under this legal definition, a service animal does not “make doing activities of daily living easier”. Legally defined under the ADA, a service animal mitigates a life-limiting disability by performing specifically trained tasks or work which the disabled person is unable to do for or of themselves, which are directly related to the disability. “Daily living activities” are not legally the same as “life-limiting”, so I would strike the “daily living” and substitute. It is essential that the legal terminology be correct.

Send the request certified mail with a return receipt requested. That way, the landlord has to sign for the letter and you get a receipt confirming that this was done. This will help insure that there is no “I never got your letter” bomb dropped on you.

You have thought this out well. Make some minor legal definition changes, re: Kirsten and myself, and you should have little to no problems.

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#2 written by lightupthesky25 1 year ago

That sounds fine. As long as you have your doctor send the landlord some kind of verification that you need a service animal then the landlord should accomodate. Make sure you receive the landlord’s OK in writing though, and that your lease is amended to reflect that the animal is okay. That way, if the landlord changes his mind later, you will have some kind of recourse.

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#3 written by Trouble 1 year ago

Kirsten gave good advice as far as the change of wording. With her changes, you could drop this whole section:

“Loki, my new service dog, is trained to stay by my side and Brace or lean against me during periods of dizziness or disorientation; Lead me back to my apartment when unable concentrate due to extreme pain; Carry items in a backpack to relieve periods of extreme pain and exhaustion; Picking up dropped items ; Interrupt nightmares, and wake me up persistently the same time each day when I suffer from Hypersomnia. ”

There is no need to get into details which are not required.

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#4 written by Janet P 1 year ago

The letter is not what your landlord needs. He needs your documentation from SSDI that you are legally disabled. He should have this already, as it is also your proof of income. He also needs a copy your dogs certification, those are the legal documents you received with the dog so that you can take the dog into grocery stores and other places where it is illegal for you to normally take the dog.

That is all he needs, the landlord does not need any information of what the dog is trained to do, only that is was legitimately trained to be a service, and not a companion, animal.

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#5 written by Kirsten 1 year ago

The doctor’s letter should also state the service animal is necessary, what you can’t do for yourself because of the disability and what the animal does for you.

You may be asked to provide documentation of the dog’s training. In Bronk v. Ineichen the court found the landlord was permitted to require proof of training. This issue has shown up in a few other cases since then.

The landlord might be able to require more detailed information about your condition. I’ve seen it go that way in a few court cases, including in Re: Kenna Homes, and in Prindable, for example. In fact, in Re: Kenna Homes, the court found the landlord could require the tenant to be examined by a doctor of the landlord’s choosing to verify the disability. That was pretty extreme and is not typically the case in housing, but it can happen, specifically when the disability is not readily apparent.

BTW, the FHAA doesn’t actually define what a service animal is, just what a handicap is (they use that term instead of “disability”). So I’d tend to say something like,

“I am a tenant at 00000 in unit #0. I am handicapped as defined under the federal Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 (42 U.S.C. 3601, et seq.) and my doctor has recommended the use of a service animal to mitigate the limitations imposed on me by my handicap.”

— edited to add —

The definition of “disability” under the Social Security Administration (for SSDI or Social Security Disability Insurance) is not the same as the definition under the ADA or FHAA. It is possible to qualify under the ADA or FHAA and not qualify for SSDI and vice versa.

The key in a case like this one is whether a medical doctor considers you substantially limited by whatever impairment(s) you have, in his professional opinion, and is willing to memorialize that opinion in writing. If the doctor lists what you cannot do and how the dog mitigates these barriers, it is stronger than if you do so yourself.

Mariah is right about sending the letter return-receipt. Hopefully it would not be necessary, but if the landlord should want to be difficult it would give you proof that they were given proper notification and when. That would put you in a good position if you have to file a complaint or go to court.

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