Landlord says my father service dog can not be in my house

  • Thread Starter irritatedtenant
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irritatedtenant

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Oregon
My lease agreement states that i am not allowed to have a pit bull.
my father how ever has a companion dog who is a purple ribbon pit bull.
my land lord is trying to tell me i must ask him to not bring his dog into my home.

i feel it is illegal to not allow my father his service animal.
i also read it is not lawful for her to require papers for said dog, is this true?
 
https://droregon.org/wp-content/uploads/DRO-Service-Animals.pdf (skip to Fair Housing part around page 18)

Is it a service dog that is medically needed? I suggest you get a referral from whatever medical professional suggested the dog and present it to the landlord. It is a gray area as to whether she can require it or ask more than basic questions, but why not do it to clear up the situation easier (although the link states that she can ask you to provide documentation)? Doesn't matter if it is a pedigreed dog or a stray.

Of course if this is a personal decision with no medical backup, it gets even grayer.

It's sad that people who really need service animals get confused with those that want to take a pet everywhere (and hard for landlords to tell the difference). So if I had a service animal I would carry the paperwork just to make it easy. Much like my son and I carried our passports when we were in Southwest TX last week near the Mexico border where we knew that there could be border patrol. I am an American citizen as is my son, but why not make any questions really easy to answer/prove?
 
Is this a service animal or an emotional support/comfort animal? Big difference. Does your father live with you, or just visit?
 
Some landlords ARE exempt from the regulations of the Fair Housing Act. The exceptions include (a) buildings with four or fewer units where the landlord lives in one of the units, and (b) private owners who do not own more than three single family houses, do not use real estate brokers or agents, and do not use discriminatory advertisements. The FHA also does not apply to publicly owned (government owned) housing or to section 8 housing. Consult a qualified attorney to learn which laws if any apply in your specific situation.
 
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