service dogs at vacation rentals

[jdirgo]

All good reference materials, Bullwinkle (hi again, by the way, haven't visited you in a while).

This is where there is a key difference though -- landlords for long-term rentals are under a very different set of rules than people making short-term rentals available. I've talked to the people in the state government and they were the ones that told me that it is acceptable to ask for verification from a medical professional when someone wishes to rent a home, apartment, etc. Emotional support animals are allowed for those people prescribed them, even if a complex has a no-pets policy. But again, this is for a place that will be someone's primary residence. Not a place to stay on a vacation. I suspect the rules are stronger for landlords of primary residences than those of vacation rentals.

John Dirgo, R, PB, EcoBroker, ABR, e-PRO
Aloha Coast Realty, LLC
808-987-9243 cell
http://www.alohacoastrealty.com
http://www.bigislandvacationrentals.com
http://www.maui-vacation-rentals.com

[hawaiideborah]

quote:

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Originally posted by Bullwinkle

good point - its a huge grey area. My short answer is that service animals are usually selected for their temperament and trained to perform their service duties in a stoic manner. - and make very poor pets because of the nature of and temperament of the animal and training.

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You said service animals "make very poor pets because of the nature of and temperament of the animal and training" ???
Emotional Support dogs are all about their good nature and temperament. I would say the total opposite. Service dogs make wonderful pets and are very devoted with great nature and temperament.

Anyone with a documented disability can have a service dog per ADA.
Per ADA there is no certification or training that one must put the dog through.

[hawaiideborah]

quote:

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Originally posted by jdirgo

All good reference materials, Bullwinkle (hi again, by the way, haven't visited you in a while).

This is where there is a key difference though -- landlords for long-term rentals are under a very different set of rules than people making short-term rentals available. I've talked to the people in the state government and they were the ones that told me that it is acceptable to ask for verification from a medical professional when someone wishes to rent a home, apartment, etc. Emotional support animals are allowed for those people prescribed them, even if a complex has a no-pets policy. But again, this is for a place that will be someone's primary residence. Not a place to stay on a vacation. I suspect the rules are stronger for landlords of primary residences than those of vacation rentals.

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Actually, the vacation rentals fall under the same guidelines as hotels (with the exception being if the owner actually lives in the same building). Otherwise the short term hotel stay or vacation rental stay is treated the same. They must admit service dogs and can not ask about the disability nor can they ask for certification (as there is no certification).
Residential policies for housing are the only situations that the person must show a letter from a doctor to have exceptions to no pet rules. otherwise there is no showing proof as far as I can tell per the links from ADA I provided in above post.

[Kapohocat]

http://www.heleonbus.org/service%20anima...eview_full

On another forum someone sent me this link to the Hele on Bus policy - I know it detours from the vacation rental thread but it may give a clue as to what differentiates between pet or service animal.

[Bob Orts]

quote:

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Originally posted by hawaiideborah

It is quite confusing to try to sort out what is the appropriate legal and ethical way to do things here in Hawaii.
Again, it seems that there are lots of correct answers as there are to the other topics I am trying to abide by and figure out.
Sometimes it would be easier if it was just one rigid law, but that is not how our system works.

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There is one law called the ADA that governs Service Animals. What confuses people is that federal law is not so tight as to deny legitimate access to legitimate Service Animals so some parts appear vague. Another confusion is that local jurisdictions can expand on federal law within their jurisdiction and many people may be confusing local expanded regulations with federal law on Service Animals.

Here are some key features of federal law.
1. The animal must be individually trained. That means the animal must have been specifically trained to perform a task.
2. The task must be covered under ADA (somewhat vague) but generally is interpreted as doing something physical for the person.
3. Emotional and comfort animals are no longer protected as Service Animals.
4. The individual is not required to provide any proof of the training or required to produce any certification.
5. Federal law prohibits any requirement that the individual produce any medical documentation (Doctor’s note, prescription, etc) for having the animal.
6. Service Animals are not pets and it is illegal to charge any additional fees, deposits, or other surcharges as a condition of accepting the animal.

As you can see, it's basically the honor system.

Compounding the confusion is that often local laws may have what appears to be conflicts with federal law, but usually when you read it you see it's more designed to provide requirements under expanded protections and were not to be interpreted as a requirement above federal law. An example of this is those states that locally recognize some emotional support animals and the laws are intended to be for those expanded coverage but not as a replacement of federal law. These laws only apply within that jurisdiction and does not mean anything outside that jurisdiction.

Also, some of these laws are really optional assistance above federal law but not a replacement for it. An example of these are when a state provides certification ID cards. They are available to anyone with a legitimate service dog, but it doe not replace federal law that no certification proof is required for those service animals covered by ADA.

Another problem is the ADA does not apply to every establishment and there are exemption. But, those usually apply to barriers and access. Since Service Animals are not barrier or access issues, those exemptions don’t apply and Service Animals are a stand alone regulation without those exemptions.

Since there is confusion between federal law and local law, And; between Service Animals and other ADA requirements, And; since abuse, confusion and misunderstandings are rampart on both sides, it is expected that the DOJ will be revising Service Animal regulations to create some form of national standard and identification once all the service animal/ disable persons advocacy group s iron out the details.