A Hairy Subject: Renters, Dogs & No-Pet Apartments in West Hollywood

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dog and gunsWEHOville.com has written about the ways West Hollywood is thought of as dog-friendly (from its animal rights legislation to its array of pet-related businesses) and the ways it isn’t (like a dearth of dog parks).

Most recently we’ve sounded off on no-pet apartments. Now we’ve decided to take just a doggone minute (sorry!) to look at the law as it pertains to those pet bans and, specifically, to the exceptions it carves out.

As we reported previously, a majority of the Creative City’s apartments listed for rent are no-pet zones. However, there are several circumstances under which landlords in WeHo must allow pets.

According to the city, WeHo apartment (not condo) landlords can’t evict tenants for having one or two dogs, cats or birds under 35 pounds if: the tenant is at least 62 years old; is living with a disability; and/or is HIV-positive. One or more of those criteria apply to a significant slice of WeHo residents: 15 percent of West Hollywood residents are seniors (ages 65 and up) and nearly seven percent are HIV-positive, according to last year’s community study.

“The ‘two dogs, cats or birds’ provision in West Hollywood’s Rent Stabilization Ordinance was added to the section of the RSO that says a landlord can evict a tenant for a lease violation,” said Chris Uszler, information coordinator for the city’s Rent Stabilization & Housing Division.

“The intent of the provision was to allow someone who had agreed originally to a no pets lease to get an animal at a west hollywood, landlords ban dogs, no dogs allowedlater date because his or her life circumstances changed and the animal now would provide important emotional support. It was never intended as a way to move into a no pets building as a new tenant with a pet. That having been said, it seems to me many landlords do in fact allow tenants who are senior/disabled/living with HIV to move in with a pet in an otherwise ‘no pets’ building.

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“Of course, using the ‘reasonable accommodation’ provision of the Fair Housing Act would allow someone to move into a no-pets property if they have a statement from a physician that the animal is beneficial regarding a disability.”

Those accomodation letters are submitted by tenants seeking a “reasonable accommodations request” from a landlord in order to be allowed a service animal or an emotional support animal (aka therapy animals). A service animal is trained to “performs tasks or services”—a guide dog for someone who is blind, for example.

Therapy animals, though, are not necessarily trained or certified; they provide “emotional support” for people with conditions such as depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. Therapy dogs have become much more popular over the past three years as their benefits have become better understood, said Sean Tanner of New Leash on Life, a rescue organization that trains therapy dogs. He noted that laws ensuring service dogs have access to public places are “wishy washy” as far as giving therapy dogs access; he’s confident that it’s just a matter of time before they are considered part of the same category.

As far as tenants’ rights to have therapy dogs, Tanner said there is “no uniformity there,” and that laws can be confusing.

In West Hollywood, therapy dogs must be permitted if documenation is provided. That documentation does not have to specify what the tenant’s disability is, and landlords aren’t permitted to ask.

“Documentation from a physician, psychiatrist, social worker, or other mental health professional that the individual is disabled and the animal provides emotional support that alleviates one or more of the identified symptoms or effects of an existing disability is sufficient proof,” according to the city.

Some suggest that non-disabled renters use the ordinance as a loophole in order to keep pets where they otherwise would not be allowed.

“I have had issues dealing with therapy animals. It is a complete scam,” said Dennis Block, an attorney who specializes in tenant eviction. “Anyone who wants a pet can just get a doctor’s note, and then under ADA guidelines the landlord must accept the pet. There are Internet services which will issue a certificate if you merely pay their fee.”

Therapist James Guay said that he hasn’t been asked to provide therapy animal documentation during the three years he has been practicing in West Hollywood. However, he has done so for past patients with substance abuse problems and other conditions.

“In that context, it certainly seemed pretty legitimate,” he said.

Guay said there are several things that can support mental wellness—adequate sleep, social support, healthy diet—but there is at least anecdotal evidence that pets can help. For instance, a depressed person otherwise unmotivated to get out of bed might do so in order to feed or walk a dog.

“We all can benefit from taking care of cats, dogs, other animals and feeling their love,” Guary said. “It’s that unconditional love that we don’t get from human beings.”

Suni Cookson, director of Love on 4 Paws, believes that therapy animals are truly beneficial to those who need them. Love on 4 Paws takes volunteer handler/therapy dog teams to visit people in facilities such as hospitals and assisted care facilities. The dogs might calm someone with anxiety, perhaps even prompt an autistic child to speak for the first time. The effect’s aren’t always obvious immediately, but Cookson has heard from people years down the line about how big of a difference therapy dogs made in someone’s life.

However, Cookson said that some people abuse the system by falsely claiming to have service or therapy animals. For instance, she said, there are websites that sell service dog vests and certificates, “and they’ve never even seen your dog or anything … To me it’s sad because there is abuse and it is disappointing.”

For more information about landlord-tenant law regarding pets in West Hollywood, see the city’s Pets 101 presentation online.

 

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BlueEyedBoy
BlueEyedBoy
10 years ago

But I haven’t lived around any kids in either of my three WeHo homes, unmanaged or otherwise. But right now, as I write this, I’m listening to two yapping dogs, one of which is with it’s owner who is on her phone by the pool and appears to not be bothered by the barking of her own dog.

Jimmy Palmieri
10 years ago

It’s been my experience, that screaming crying unmanaged kids, are much more of a disturbance in both apartments and parks.

BlueEyedBoy
BlueEyedBoy
10 years ago

addendum ………. what I mean by therapy service dog is one whose supposed purpose is to provide emotional support for anxiety.

BlueEyedBoy
BlueEyedBoy
10 years ago

joetheplummber, can you be specific about what it says? How would landlords know the difference, and how would they verify the information? Is there a way to identify fake permits and registrations purchased over the internet? I have a feeling there are lots of landlords who would be very happy to have guidance on this.

Also, is it permissible to use a pit bull that weighs more than 35 pounds as a therapy service dog?

joetheplummber
joetheplummber
10 years ago

Tenants should sue landlords for approving service dogs that don’t comply with the Court’s standard in (2004) 121 Cal.App.4th 1578.

Fit Nerd
Fit Nerd
10 years ago

I have to agree with BlueEyedBoy & Luca D. I personally have felt the abuse of the so-called Therapy dog law set out by the city. I moved into a 5 Unit pet free building on Westmount. I purposely moved there because it was pet free because I can’t stand the sound of a barking dog who is left home all day when the owners are gone. Shortly after moving in to the bldg I found out my neighbor had a dog & low behold the barking started. I confronted him about it & he told me everyone in the… Read more »

Manny
Manny
10 years ago

Unfortunately the information in this article will lead to more abuse of a law that is meant to help people who are truly in need of assistance.

Álvaro Glez
10 years ago

I admire the valuable information you offer in your articles about A Hairy Subject: Renters, Dogs & No-Pet Apartments in West Hollywood.

James Guay
10 years ago

While pets can bring a lot of unconditional love to their owners, we also need to be respectful of our surroundings. This doesn’t need to be an all/nothing proposition in every case. For example, if we hear that our dogs are barking too frequently while we’re gone, sometimes providing different care and training can lessen this. Also, we need to adequately determine if we can provide good enough care for our little ones with the least amount of disruptions for others.

BlueEyedBoy
BlueEyedBoy
10 years ago

Brandon, I liken a barking dog to a car horn. All the sounds you listed are either the necessary sounds of urban life, or the sounds that can be reasonably expected (hopefully by reasonable people). But if someone blew their car horn as often, and as long, as many of my canine neighbors bark very few of us would tolerate it. But the discussion here is about landlords not permitting dogs in their buildings, and tenants who moved into those buildings with the expectation that there would be no dogs. If you want to have a dog, move into a… Read more »

brandon ford
brandon ford
10 years ago

i certainly can’t speak for everyone, but in my experience the noise created by humans in an apartment building, or any urban setting for that matter, far exceeds any sounds i have ever had to suffer by animals. it’s hard for me to believe that pet owners would allow their dogs to bark incessantly while they are living with them in an apartment. although i’m sure it occasionally happens, i think it’s probably exceptional to them living quietly. as far as large dogs in apartments versus houses with yards…most people today rescue their pets from animal services (as opposed to… Read more »

luca d
luca d
10 years ago

service dogs, therapy dogs, it’s a joke how this is abused.
cheers to dennis block for his honesty.
oh good, some drug addict or someone who is receiving a monthly check should have a dog? i pity that poor animal.
and all of the dog mess all over the lawns and parkway grass, who’s responsibility is that if you’re depressed or recovering from your addiction?
west hollywood has very creatively become a city that specializes in becoming a victim.