Landlords in Pennsylvania provide access to commercial or residential living space in return for a monthly fee. Tenants who meet income and background check requirements can occupy a property for as long as the lease lasts and they remain compliant with their obligations.
In some cases, landlords may seek to remove tenants due to a violation of a lease. For example, the tenant may have brought a pet onto the property despite lease terms clearly prohibiting companion animals or requiring a monthly fee for their presence.
A tenant facing fees or eviction might try to claim that the pet is a medically-necessary emotional support animal. Landlords have a legal obligation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to allow tenants with disabling medical conditions to keep service animals. Emotional support animals are different.
Do landlords have to allow them as well?
Pennsylvania recognizes emotional support animals
State statutes acknowledge that some people require the assistance of animals to live healthy and stable lives. State law reinforces the rights of tenants and those visiting businesses to use properly trained and certified service animals. The law also acknowledges that some people require the assistance of emotional support animals.
Landlords can question the medical necessity of an emotional support animal or the legitimacy of a tenant’s alleged medical condition. Caution is critical, as violations of the ADA and state law could have financial and legal implications for the landlord. However, the tenant may have also committed a crime. Misrepresenting an animal or lying about medical needs could constitute a misdemeanor under state statutes.
Unlike service animals, which are generally either dogs or miniature horses that have received extensive training, emotional support animals may have no training. In some cases, they may be aggressive pets from dangerous breeds. Some unscrupulous professionals now provide emotional support animal recommendation letters online for a low fee.
People may claim to have disabling medical conditions and may pay to have one of these professionals write them a letter affirming the need for the animal. Landlords may need to proceed with caution in scenarios where tenants try to claim that a pet is an emotional support animal.
Especially in scenarios where they have hidden the animal’s presence, misrepresented its breed or potentially falsified information about their medical condition, a landlord may have grounds to deny a tenant’s application, request the removal of an animal, impose a fee or even evict the tenant.
Landlords questioning how to handle an emotional support animal may need help protecting themselves. Consulting with someone familiar with Pennsylvania’s complex landlord-tenant statutes can help landlords who are skeptical about a claim that an animal is medically necessary.
