What are the limits of no-pet policies?

Michelle Swib was perusing the Grand Forks Herald in search of housing when she came across a listing that interested her: "3 Bed, 2 bath, laundry, dishwasher, air, private entrance."

But it had a restriction. "No dogs."

Now that restriction is the subject of a federal discrimination lawsuit that offers a look at a growing conflict between landlords' no-pet policies and disability advocates who argue there is little difference between a wheelchair ramp and a golden retriever.

According to the complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in Minneapolis, one of Swib's two children has "mental disabilities and requires the assistance of a service animal to help manage her conditions."

Swib, of Roseau, Minn., claims that property owner Daryl Bushee said he didn't have to accept service animals and he had won a lawsuit against another tenant with the same request. Bushee responds that Swib didn't provide sufficient proof of her child's disability, and even if she had, the dog would "have jeopardized the health, safety, or property of other tenants," according to court documents.

Although this type of dispute rarely gets to federal court, over the past 15 years disability discrimination has grown to the second most common fair-housing complaint in Minnesota, closely behind racial discrimination, according to Minnesota Department of Human Rights reports.

"Minnesota is the land of people who know their rights and know them good and hard," said Donna Hanbery, an attorney for more than 100 property owners.

Except for very rare exceptions, the law requires that a landlord make a "reasonable accommodation" for someone with a disability, said John Trasviña, U.S. Housing and Urban Development assistant secretary for fair housing and equal opportunity.

That means that tenants who prove their need can have pets in a no-pet building.

"If a tenant said a horse was a companion animal and they were in a condo in the 18th floor that might cause a problem," Trasviña said. "But for the most part, for an individual with a medical need for a service animal, the landlord must accommodate that need."

While 21 complaints of disability discrimination in housing were filed with the department last year, few of those involve service animals. Most issues are settled before they get that far, Hanbery said.

Many of the problems arise because landlords don't know the law, said Robert Stock, Bushee's attorney.

"Landlords have to have the knowledge they can't just go around with a no-pets policy and stick their foot down."

If they do and the prospective tenant sues, the cases are nearly impossible to win, Stock said. Most landlords will opt for a settlement.

Trained service animals can help people with a wide range of physical and mental conditions, said Justin Page, staff attorney for the Minnesota Disability Law Center.

"It's not a pet; it's a service animal to assist the person," Page said. "Just like a person who can't walk might need a wheelchair, and we don't allow the landlord to say, 'We're just not going to accept people with wheelchairs.'"

U.S. Sen. Al Franken's first bill, introduced Wednesday, would provide federally funded service dogs for veterans.

Help may look like favoritism

But the accommodations present a challenge for landlords beyond lingering pet odor, Hanbery said.

Once a landlord accommodates someone with a disability, the complaints can start rolling in. Some tenants may want a no-pet policy because of allergies. Other tenants may have wanted pets, but were told no.

The same laws that require landlords to provide accommodations restrict them from disclosing that a tenant has a disability, Page said. This can make it difficult for landlords to explain why they appear to favor one tenant over another, Hanbery said.

"I've had the white lady with the friendly doctor who writes a note that her little kid Biffy needs a dog for therapeutic purposes," she said. "We have a black person in the community and her little boy would like a dog, too. So how do we tell this person, 'You don't get a dog when this person does.'"

Benefits of service animals

The number of complaints against landlords is only growing, Trasviña said. Forty-four percent of HUD complaints are disability related. With rising awareness of the benefits of service animals and increased advocacy for disabled people, fewer people are standing for no-pet policies.

Even though Hanbery has clients whose properties sustained over $10,000 in damage by pets, she said that she doesn't tell landlords to deny accommodations.

"It's way too risky for a property owner to say, 'You can't have that animal,'" Hanbery said. "It would take a really exceptional case to say that."

Alex Ebert • 612-673-4264