Navigating the ESA Verification Process: A Step-by-Step Guide for Property Managers
Efficient property management is challenging. Between numerous tenant needs and the shifting concerns of lousy weather or local ordinances, something always requires attention. The last thing you want to manage is a complex policy surrounding pets and residents.
More and more families rely on Emotional Support Animals (ESAs) for therapeutic benefits and companionship that benefits their overall emotional and mental health. While these animals are not pets but critical parts of everyday life, they have also increased the number of unauthorized pets inside rental properties.
No one wants a confrontation, so let’s review some handy steps to ensure your tenants are not abusing the available ESA policies.
Elaborating on the ESA Challenge
The problem comes down to this: in 2011, the National Service Animal Registry only had around 2,400 service and emotional support animals in its registry. Since then, that number has spiked to well over 200,000 animals.
Couple that increase in demand with the availability of resources, and you have a growing problem for any property manager. Families can request an ESA from their doctor, physician, or mental health provider. In addition, these animals don’t have to be dogs or cats. There are plenty of situations where an emotional support ferret or turtle is just as applicable.
These factors lead to more unauthorized pets trying to pass as certified ESAs. Instead of getting qualified designations for legitimate reasons, some tenants turn to online certificates with no bearing.
For example, buying an ESA letter from a healthcare provider with no personal understanding of the patient or their unique situation is not currently compliant with Fair Housing regulations. While the compliance regulations will vary from state to state, property managers tend to err on the side of caution.
As ESAs are not required to pay pet rents, deposits, or fees, that stance of caution concerning ESAs will lead to rising maintenance and repair expenses. However, we created a simple step-by-step process to help navigate this challenge.
How to Navigate ESAs:
Step 1 – Don’t Automatically Approve
Of course, it is 100% tempting to approve all ESA requests and avoid confrontation to keep your building fully occupied. However, you shouldn’t let fear of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) repercussions affect how you process emotional support animals.
Start by implementing a comprehensive verification process after you receive an ESA letter or notice. Your goal is to be kind, caring, efficient, and rigid so potential tenants understand they must prove the legitimacy of their claim.
Step 2 – Check if the Letter was Purchased Online
A funny little aspect of many ESA letters is that they come from the same websites that insist on using recognizable formatting or header images. Odds are, you have a bunch of other letters just like these inside your offices. Start to keep a ledger of what companies are well known and respected and the websites you know are fraudulent or questionable.
It is reasonable to ask your tenants and applicants if the letter they have given was purchased online or issued by a healthcare provider. Many tenants may not understand this isn’t enough to provide ESA status.
There are also ESA verification services you can seek out online from well-known providers. Or you can create a customized plugin or AI-assisted tool by copying and pasting the letters into software or online portals to check repeated markers from known purchased letters.
Step 3 – Stay in Compliance with HUD
No matter what, stay in compliance with current HUD regulations. You don’t want to have an overly personal letter or write something that points out the disability of the potential applicant. Remember, tenants are allowed ESA and service animals under the law.
The goal is to work around HIPAA laws. These are the privacy regulations protecting those rights through anything medical-related. You are not questioning their need, diagnosis, or authenticity of care. You are questioning the authenticity of the letter.
In many cases, it is wise to have a third party with no “horse in the race” take a look at the letter on your behalf. Many organizations are willing to assume liability because they know how to strictly adhere to local and national Fair Housing laws. Your goal is to respect your tenant’s privacy and meet the standards of verification.
Step 4 – Know Your Rights
Just as your tenants have rights, so do you! Landlords and property owners have rights under current Fair Housing laws. You can reject any ESA letter without verifiable or proper documentation. In addition, the ESA request doesn’t apply to:
- Animals or pets that are illegal to own in the state of your property.
- If the ESA has a record of destruction or aggression (biting or damage).
- If the animal is too large for the residence and cannot be housed humanely (a pony in a single-room apartment on the fourth floor).
- Aggressive animals pose a threat to your other tenants. To be clear, any service or ESA should be well-trained and able to perform its duties.
Wrapping Up
Unfortunately, ESAs represent a more complex or “sticky” subject for potential tenants. While they are certainly a benefit and can help many in the world, they do propose challenges for property managers and landlords who don’t want to deal with what is actually a pet causing damage or harm.
Protect yourself, your residents, and your property by following these steps. This will help you determine the validity of any ESA claims and give you peace of mind that the calico house cat in apartment 2B is there to help, not to hurt.
Logan Miller is the co-founder of OurPetPolicy and a leading expert on emotional support animals (ESAs). With over 11 years of industry knowledge, Logan has seen first hand the effects of fraudulent ESAs. His mission has since been to uphold the legitimacy of these letters while protecting both landlords and tenants.
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