Pet and Assistance Animal Approval Checklist

Open the conversation neutrally — do not ask the applicant to disclose a disability. For service animals you may ask only the two HUD-permitted questions: (1) is the animal required because of a disability, and (2) what work or task is it trained to perform. Service animals and emotional support animals are reasonable accommodations under the Fair Housing Act, not pets — no pet rent, no pet deposit, and no breed or weight restrictions.

Confirm the letter is from a licensed health-care provider with an active license in the applicant's state, is on letterhead, and is dated within the past 12 months. Do not request the underlying diagnosis. Online certificate-mill letters from sites with no provider relationship are a documented red flag — verify the provider's license number against the state board roster.

Record the decision, the date, and the basis in the tenant file. For approved assistance animals, note that no pet deposit, pet rent, or breed restriction applies. If denial is being considered (direct threat or undue burden), route to ownership counsel before communicating — denials of accommodation requests are a top source of HUD complaints.

Capture the information needed for the pet addendum and any municipal registration. Mixed-breed entries should list the dominant breed plus 'mix' — insurance carriers underwrite on the dominant breed, not the visual guess.

Rabies certificate must be current per state law (1-year or 3-year tag). For dogs also confirm DHPP; for cats, FVRCP and rabies. A lapsed rabies certificate is the most common reason animal-control will refuse to release a bite-incident animal back to a tenant.

Some carriers waive surcharges and some municipalities cut registration fees in half for fixed animals. Record the microchip number on the addendum so animal-control can match the animal to the tenancy if it gets loose.

Ask directly about prior bite incidents, animal-control citations, and dangerous-dog designations. A prior bite is a material disclosure for the renter's insurance carrier — concealment can void coverage on a future incident at your property.

Pull the animal-control record and the prior carrier's claim history before deciding. For assistance animals, denial requires a direct-threat analysis based on the specific animal's conduct — a category denial by breed is not lawful. Loop in counsel before issuing any decision.

Ask the prior landlord about damage charges deducted from the security deposit, neighbor complaints, and whether they would re-rent to this animal. The phrasing 'would you re-rent' draws out concerns a generic reference call misses.

Most landlord liability carriers exclude or surcharge specific breeds — pit bull, Rottweiler, Doberman, Akita, Chow, German Shepherd, and wolf hybrids are commonly listed. Pull the current restricted-breed schedule from the carrier portal; the list changes annually. Breed restrictions do not apply to service animals or ESAs.

Standard HO-4 policies typically include $100K of animal liability but exclude restricted breeds and any animal with a prior bite. Confirm the declarations page lists the property as additional interest and that the animal is not excluded by endorsement.

Most cities require an annual dog license tied to the rabies certificate. HOA rules in condo and townhome portfolios commonly cap pet count at two and may restrict weight — pull the current CC&Rs, not last year's copy. Section 8 properties must follow HUD's pet rule (24 CFR 5.350) for common-area animals.

Apply the firm's fee schedule — typically a refundable pet deposit ($250-$500) plus monthly pet rent ($25-$75). Do not charge fees against an approved service animal or ESA; those classifications are accommodations, not pets, and any fee is a Fair Housing violation. The tenant remains liable for actual damage caused by an assistance animal.

Use the firm's standard pet addendum template — it should reference the lease by date, list the specific animal by name and microchip, and spell out leash, waste-cleanup, and noise rules. Send via the property management system's e-sign so the executed copy lands in the tenant folder automatically.

Do not allow the animal on premises before the addendum is countersigned and any deposit has cleared. An undocumented animal that arrives early is a common reason move-in inspections later get disputed — 'the dog was already here when I moved in' becomes the tenant's position at deposit-accounting time.

Save the addendum, vaccination records, insurance declarations, classification decision, and any ESA documentation under the tenant file. ESA letters and disability-related records should be access-restricted to staff with a need to know — over-broad access is itself a Fair Housing exposure.