Fair Housing Act

HUD asks FTC to investigate websites selling assistance animal documentation

Cases, Civil Rights, Emotional Support Animals (ESA), Fair Housing Act, Fair Housing Act, Government, Medical Assistance Animals, Pets, Service Dogs (SD), Stop Disability Fraud

January 1, 2020

Recently, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson wrote to Chairman of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Joseph J. Simons and Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection Andrew Smith requesting that the FTC investigate certain websites that may be selling assistance animal documentation.

“These certificates are not an acceptable substitute for authentic documentation provided by medical professionals when appropriate,” said Secretary Carson. “These websites that sell assistance animal certificates are often also misleading by implying that they are affiliated with the federal government. Nothing could be further from the truth. Their goal is to convince individuals with disabilities that they need to spend hundreds of dollars on worthless documentation to keep their assistance animal in their homes.”

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andrew smith, chairman, consumer protection, Department of Housing and Urban Development, director, documenations, Federal Trade Commission, FTC, HUD, joseph simons, lois greisman, marketing practices, misleading, Secretary, unneccessday, unreliable, websites

Amid pit bull debate, service dogs prove life-changing for Sioux City veterans

Air Carrier Access Act, Americans with Disability Act, Civil Rights, Education, Emotional Support Animals (ESA), Fair Housing Act, Medical Assistance Animals, News, Service Dogs (SD), Service Dogs in Training (SDiT), Stop Disability Fraud

November 3, 2019

“The biggest problem is you have people that do not have a trained dog. They’re taking untrained dogs out there and they’re causing problems,” Brodie said. “They’re saying they’re service dogs, but they’re not.”

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adam menin, cindy brodie, drogo, German Shepherd, governor kim reynolds, gunny, Iowa, james larrabee, julie menin, madalen larrabee, no cost to veterans, panic attack, partners for patriots, post-traumatic stress disorder, sioux city, sioux city journal, suicide, veteran

People Are Taking Emotional Support Animals Everywhere. States Are Cracking Down.

Air Carrier Access Act, Air Carrier Access Act, Cases, Civil Rights, Emotional Support Animals (ESA), Fair Housing Act, Fair Housing Act, Local, Medical Assistance Animals, Pets, Service Dogs (SD), Stop Disability Fraud, Therapy Animals

August 21, 2019

More Americans are saying they need a variety of animals — dogs, ducks, even insects — for their mental health. But critics say many are really just pets that do not merit special status.
The vast majority of emotional support animals are dogs, but some Americans turn to a wide variety of other species. Wally the alligator was approved by his owner’s doctor in York, Pa., as an alternative to taking medication for depression.

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alligator, amanda gill, California, disability independence group, farah stockman, Florida, florida apartment association, for-profit company, jesse calfas, matthew dietz, mental health, national service animal registry, new york times, Oklahoma, online therapists, ophelia, Pennsylvania, phony certifications, primadonna, sam killebrew, sara pratt, starbucks, stuffed baboon, tammy townley, tampa, todd weiler, Utah, vayne myers, Virginia, wally, work

Family’s potbellied pigs provide emotional support, but township says they can’t have them

Civil Rights, Emotional Support Animals (ESA), Fair Housing Act, Medical Assistance Animals, News, Pets

July 29, 2019

They could find no fault with the violation notice, so that appeal was denied. And they could find no reason to issue a variance based on hardship.

“I appreciate the testimony,” Beecher said. “From an emotional stance, I see it, I’m a mother myself. But this hardship was self-created.”

In order to get a variance based on hardship, an applicant must meet four criteria. Wisherd and Beecher felt the family could have avoided this with a phone call to the township office to ask if Manchester Township allowed potbellied pigs to be kept as pets in residential areas.

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add, adhd, appeal, appeal denined, ethan schroyer, jason maul, jessica maul, livestock, manchester township, potbellied pigs, residential district, shelly stallsmith, york county, york dail record, zoning

‘With Me Nearly Always’: Readers on Emotional Support Animals

Air Carrier Access Act, Civil Rights, Emotional Support Animals (ESA), Fair Housing Act, Medical Assistance Animals, News, Pets, Stop Disability Fraud, Travel

July 28, 2019

Legitimate emotional support animals only have civil rights under rules for the Fair Housing Act and Air Carrier Access Act.
Owners should not be implying that these are medical assistance animals with rights to retail stores, restaurants and hotels as written by the author.

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barbara steinberg, bethann shoenfeld, California, cat, dog, equine, helen stassen, horse, lauren hard, missorui, Nevada, New York, nik dev, parrot, prescott, reno, San Francisco, saugerties, st louis, the new york times, whitney call, Wisconsin

Woman facing eviction due to breed of emotional support animal

Civil Rights, Emotional Support Animals (ESA), Fair Housing Act, Housing, Medical Assistance Animals, News

July 4, 2019

She says her landlord’s insurance policy prevents violent breeds from living in a home. Bruno was spotted and a complaint was filed with the city. This leaves Hodges, who is living on a disability check, in a difficult position.

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bruno, complaint, first coast news, Florida, insurance policy, landlord, martha hodges, orange park, post-traumatic stress disorder, ptsd, troy kless

Dog Days in Dorms

Cases, Civil Rights, Emotional Support Animals (ESA), Fair Housing Act, Fair Housing Act, Media, Medical Assistance Animals, News, Pets, Stop Disability Fraud

May 26, 2019

Colleges see sharp increase in students who want emotional support animals to live with them. Administrators worry those students may not have a real need but want their pets as companions.

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504 compliance, administrators, bearded dragons, bunny, courtney cioffredi, dorm, ferrets, guinea pig, inside higher ed, jeremy bauer wolf, kearney, kitten, l scott lissner, Lua Hancock, Meredyth Goodwin, misinformation, new yorker, Ohio State University, peacock, physical disability, psychological disability, skepticism, snakes, turkey, university, university of nebraska, verifiication, Washington State University

Landlord fined $15,000 after denying renter’s emotional support animal

Cases, Civil Rights, Education, Emotional Support Animals (ESA), End Disability Discrimination, Fair Housing Act, Fair Housing Act, Housing, Medical Assistance Animals, News, Reasonable Accommodation

November 20, 2018

A New York landlord has been slapped with a $15,000 fine to settle a discrimination case involving a mentally ill tenant and her emotional support animal, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

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Anna Maria Farias, apartment complex, Department of Housing and Urban Development, HUD, Inman, landlord, New York, Nicolas Tessari, Nolo Contendere LLC, Nolo Contendere LLC Trust

HUD and DOJ challenge Facebook’s advertising platforms under the Fair Housing Act

Cases, Civil Rights, Fair Housing Act, Fair Housing Act, Government, Housing

September 21, 2018

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has filed an administrative complaint against Facebook alleging discriminatory advertising in violation of the Fair Housing Act (FHA). HUD alleges that housing advertisers can use Facebook’s advertising tools and algorithms to exclude applicants based on protected categories such as race, sex, or national origin.

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University of Wisconsin Green Bay sees increase in emotional support animals on campus

Civil Rights, Emotional Support Animals (ESA), Fair Housing Act, Housing, Medical Assistance Animals, News, Rehabilitation Act of 1973

September 17, 2018

“Fair Housing has determined that universities do need to look at that and be able to provide reasonable accommodation so we have started to get more and more requests of emotional support animals,” said Lynn Niemi, Director of Disability Services at UWGB.

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Amy Mauk, cats, Cearron Bagenda, diabetic alert dog, dogs, ferrets, green bay, hamsters, Lily, rabbits, UWGB, wbay.com, Wisconsin