Part 5: General Considerations (cont’d)
• A housing provider may not charge a pet deposit or pet fee or surcharge for an assistance animal. However, a housing provider may charge a tenant for damage an assistance animal causes if it is the provider’s usual practice to charge for damage caused by tenants, or deduct that amount from the standard security deposit (provided all tenants are required to pay a security deposit). • A person with a disability is responsible for feeding, maintaining, providing veterinary care, and controlling their assistance animal(s). The individual may do this on their own or with the assistance of friends, family, volunteers, or service providers. • Before denying a reasonable accommodation request due to lack of information confirming an individual’s disability or disability-related need for an assistance animal, the housing provider is encouraged to engage in a good-faith dialogue with the requestor called the “interactive process.” • A housing provider may not insist on specific types of evidence if the information which is provided or actually known to the housing provider meets the requirements of this guidance. Disclosure of details about the diagnosis or severity of a disability or medical records or a medical examination cannot be required. • If a reasonable accommodation request is denied because it would impose an undue financial and administrative burden, or because it would impose a fundamental alteration of the nature of the provider’s operations, the provider should engage in the interactive process to discuss whether an alternative accommodation may be effective in meeting the individual’s disability-related needs.
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