January 28, 2020, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released its guidelines related to requests for an animal as a reasonable accommodation under the Fair Housing Act. These guidelines contain step-by-step instructions regarding what information may be requested when considering such a request.
In addition, HUD finally addressed under what situations an animal not commonly kept in a household must be approved as a reasonable accommodation. The burden has now been clearly placed on the requesting party to show a unique animal is needed to perform a specific disability-related need.
Stay tuned for a further review and analysis of these guidelines in our February 2020 Newsletter.