Articles — assistance animal

I have two announcements today, both for Fayette County folks, and a Fair Housing update. JURY TRIALS POSTPONED First, all jury trials in Fayette County have been postponed until February. So, if you have a forcible detainer jury trial scheduled for November, December, or January, it has been postponed and you will get a new court date. NO IN-PERSON EVICTIONS DURING NOVEMBER Second, evictions in Fayette County will be done remotely during the month of November. That means if you have an eviction scheduled this month, you will need to contact the Fayette District Judges’ Office at (859) 246-2247 within...

Because 60% of all Housing Discrimination Complaints involve requests for a reasonable accommodation based on disability, and because many of them involve requests for an Assistance Animal, we’ve been waiting for a couple of years now for HUD to issue new guidance for housing providers on how to deal with those requests by disabled residents and applicants. On January 28, 2020, HUD granted our wish and issued some further clarifications, which you can read in their entirety here. Here are the highlights: Types of Assistance Animals HUD recognizes two types of Assistance Animals: (1) service animals and (2) other animals...

Anyone who has been paying attention in the rental industry over the past few years is aware of the explosion of requests for Assistance Animals by tenants and those seeking to live in rental housing. While such requests used to limited to those with physical disabilities seeking to have their service dog live with them to guide their path, pull their wheelchair, or alert them to an oncoming seizure, most requests today are for Emotional Support Animals.  Such animals are typically untrained, with the theory being that their very presence alleviates the symptoms of a mental or emotional disability. Due...

In 2018, Kentucky joined a growing list of states that have passed laws addressing fraudulent conduct by tenants and others attempting to get an Assistance Animal. KRS 383.085 makes it a criminal offense for any person to knowingly provide false information or documents in an attempt to get an Assistance Animal in housing. Check out this post to find out the details on Kentucky's version of the law.

Those of you subscribe to my newsletter already know this, but there is a new group that is conducting Fair Housing testing on a fairly widespread basis in central Kentucky. Fair Housing Advocates, Inc., is an organization out of Arlington, Texas, who, according to their website, provides advocacy and education related to Fair Housing issues. Here is their website and their Facebook page.  Currently, their testers are calling apartment complexes throughout central Kentucky claiming to be interested in renting an apartment. Their current ruse is to claim to be a disabled person with an Assistance Animal (typically an emotional support...