Request for Reasonable Accommodation - Assistance Animal

Step-by-Step Guide and Form for Requesting HOA Approval to Keep an Assistance Animal.

If a resident has disability and a rule, policy or practice of an association prevents the resident from having an equal chance to use and enjoy the resident's unit, the law requires the association to accommodate the resident by changing the rule, policy or practice as it applies to that resident, if reasonable (called a "reasonable accommodation").

A reasonable accommodation includes waiving or varying association rules to allow an individual with a disability to keep a service dog or a support animal (an “Assistance Animal”). An Assistance Animal is an animal that works, provides assistance, performs tasks for the benefit of a person with a disability, or provides emotional support that alleviates one or more identified symptoms or effects of a person’s disability.

Full name of the association (HOA)

Please enter the name

I wish to request approval to keep an assistance animal in a unit as a reasonable accommodation for an individual with a disability (the “Individual”) who is to reside in the unit.

Please check the box if appropriate.

Select one, if applicable:

The animal is a service dog under the law because:

The animal is a dog that is a service animal required because of a disability, and
the dog is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability and the work or tasks are directly related to the individual’s disability.

The animal is not a service dog but is a support animal (a trained or untrained animal that does work, performs tasks, provides assistance, and/or provides therapeutic emotional support for an individual with a disability) that should be accommodated by the HOA.

Please select one, if applicable. If not applicable then the situation does not qualify as a request for a reasonable accommodation under the law and the HOA's restrictions must be followed as is.

Identify the work or task the dog has been trained to perform (other than emotional support):

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A person requesting approval for a support animal must provide information that reasonably supports that the animal provides therapeutic emotional support with respect to the individual’s disability. This usually consists of a statement from a licensed healthcare professional that is general to the condition but specific as to the individual with a disability and the assistance or therapeutic emotional support provided by the animal. Note that the information may be provided by any type of licensed healthcare professional.

A relationship or connection between the disability and the need for the assistance animal must be provided, particularly where the disability is non-observable or the animal provides therapeutic emotional support.

A template letter from a healthcare professional may be downloaded in the next question below. Have your healthcare professional fill out the letter, then submit it with the request to the HOA.

More information

An association may ask for information that is consistent with HUD's Guidance on Documenting an Individual’s Need for Assistance Animals in Housing* in order to conduct an individualized assessment of whether it must provide the accommodation under the Fair Housing Act. The lack of such documentation in many cases may be reasonable grounds for denying a requested accommodation.

As a best practice, documentation contemplated in certain circumstances by the Assistance Animals Guidance is recommended to include the following general information:

The patient’s name,
Whether the health care professional has a professional relationship with that patient/client involving the provision of health care or disability-related services, and
The type of animal(s) for which the reasonable accommodation is sought (i.e., dog, cat, bird, rabbit, hamster, gerbil, other rodent, fish, turtle, other specified type of domesticated animal, or other specified unique animal).

Disability-related information. A disability for purposes of fair housing laws exists when a person has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. Addiction caused by current, illegal use of a controlled substance does not qualify as a disability. As a best practice, it is recommended that individuals seeking reasonable accommodations for support animals ask health care professionals to provide information related to the following:

Whether the patient has a physical or mental impairment,
Whether the patient’s impairment(s) substantially limit at least one major life activity or major bodily function, and
Whether the patient needs the animal(s) (because it does work, provides assistance, or performs at least one task that benefits the patient because of his or her disability, or because it provides therapeutic emotional support to alleviate a symptom or effect of the disability of the patient/client, and not merely as a pet).

It is also recommended that the health care professional sign and date any documentation provided and provide contact information and any professional licensing information.

—Assessing a Person’s Request to Have an Animal as a Reasonable Accommodation Under the Fair Housing Act, FHEO-2020-01 (pdf), p17.

I will attach to the application a letter signed by a licensed healthcare provider stating: (1) the patient’s name, (2) whether the health care professional has a professional relationship with the patient involving the provision of health care or disability-related services, (3) the type of animal for which the reasonable accommodation is sought, (4) whether the patient has a physical or mental impairment, (5) whether the patient’s impairment substantially limits at least one major life activity or major bodily function, and (6) a relationship or connection between the disability and the need for the assistance animal, such as whether the patient needs the animal because it does work, provides assistance, or performs at least one task that benefits the patient because of the patient's disability, or because it provides therapeutic emotional support to alleviate a symptom or effect of the disability of the patient, and not merely as a pet.

Please check the box

Download the form letter and have your healthcare professional fill out the letter. Then attach it to your application that you submit to the HOA.

Form Letter from Health Care Professional

Describe the animal. Include the type of animal - dog, cat, etc., and the breed or brief physical description. You may also include the animal's license number. This is to enable the HOA to identify the animal as an allowed animal.

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Enter your contact info for the HOA to contact you. For example, your email, phone number or mailing address.

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Are you making the request for you or on someone else's behalf?

For myself

For someone else

Please select one

What is the full name of the person with a disability that will own the animal?

Please fill in

Which unit will the animal reside in:

Please fill in

Do you want to sign the request and download now or download and sign later?

Sign and Download Now

Download Now, Sign Later

Please select one

Your full name:

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Type your name. By typing your name, you are signing the policy and your typed name constitutes your signature.

Please type your full name.

Select the Date for Signature (select today if signing today).

Invalid Date Input

Email me a copy

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Email address:

Same as contact email above

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Index

Community Association Act

Utah Revised Nonprofit Corporation

Nonprofit Act Parts 2 - 4

Request for Reasonable Accommodation - Assistance Animal

Step-by-Step Guide and Form for Requesting HOA Approval to Keep an Assistance Animal.