Service Vs. Assistance Animals: What’s the Difference?

Date: 9/24/2019

Duration -90 min

time 01PM EST

Price: $199

Speaker: Jo Becker

Industry : Real Estate

Sub Industry: Property Management

Credits: NA

Introduction

Housing providers everywhere are confused about the nuances of accommodating disability-related aid animals under the Fair Housing Act, starting with the important differences between service and assistance animals.

This webinar will provide you the knowledge to:

Recognize the differences (and legal distinctions) between service animals, assistance animals, pets, and other critter classifications such as emotional support animals once and for all

Review current assistance animal accommodation policies and practices for compliance

Craft policies and rules based on practical expectations for disability aid animals

Respond to accommodation requests promptly and appropriately

Appreciate how professionalism and customer service can be enhanced through safe, effective interactions with residents (and prospects!) and their animals.

We’ll dive into the nuances of accommodating disability-related assistance animals under the Fair Housing Act and demystify the differences between service animals, assistance animals, pets, and other critter classifications.  We’ll talk about when and how requests may be made as well as the verification process and who can do the verifying.  We’ll discuss what’s “reasonable” and legal reasons for denying along with common mistakes that could land you in legal jeopardy. 

Who Should Attend

Leasing managers

On-site managers

Portfolio managers

Compliance officers

Resident services coordinators (in affordable housing communities)

Maintenance and service technicians

Community concierges (in high-end housing communities)

Independent landlords or small operators

Learning Objectives

You know that disability-related animals must be accommodated in housing.  But are you familiar with the reasonable accommodation process under the federal Fair Housing Act?  Are your rules, procedures, expectations, and personal behavior helping or likely to harm your compliance efforts?

In this session we’ll cover the ins and outs of reasonable accommodations as it relates to assistance animals including definitions, common misperceptions, frequent pitfalls, the verification process, what’s “reasonable,” and more!

BONUS!  We’ll touch briefly on two more important points about animals in apartments:

POINTERS

Body language and on-the-job safety for you and your team, and

Proactive disaster planning focused on residents’ critters (be they pets or assistance animals) as a win-win marketing strategy.

Session Agenda

POINTERS

Definition of disability

Trio of disability protections

Fundamental principles of disability-related accommodation under the federal Fair Housing Act, including:

Residents / prospects’ right to ask (how, when)

Your obligation and your rights

What’s “reasonable” and legal reasons for denying

What you should know about the verification process

Assistance animals as an accommodation:

The differences between “pets,” “service animals,” “assistance animals,” “companion animals,” “emotional support animals,” etc.

Again, what’s “reasonable” in terms of disability aid animals?

Practical expectations for disability-related animals

What’s okay vs. no-no’s regarding fees, deposits, animal rent, damage charges, etc.