Assistance-Animal Accommodation Policy

1. Purpose

This policy explains the property’s rules concerning pets and other animals.

Because residents share the kitchen, living areas, bathrooms, entrances, and other common spaces, the property currently maintains a no-pets policy.

This policy applies to applicants, residents, co-residents, guests, and visitors.

2. No-Pets Rule

Pets are not permitted in individual bedrooms, shared areas, yards, porches, basements, garages, or other areas of the property.

This includes, but is not limited to:

Dogs

Cats

Birds

Reptiles

Rodents

Rabbits

Fish or aquariums

Insects or arachnids kept as pets

Other animals kept primarily for companionship or recreation

A resident may not bring a pet onto the property temporarily or keep a pet for another person.

3. Visiting Animals

Guests and visitors may not bring pets onto the property.

Residents should notify their guests of this rule before the guest arrives. A resident is responsible for ensuring that their guests comply with the property’s animal rules.

This section does not authorize the property to exclude an approved assistance animal or another animal protected by applicable law.

4. Undisclosed Animals

An applicant or resident must not conceal, misrepresent, or fail to disclose an animal that will live at or regularly enter the property.

A resident who needs an animal because of a disability may request a reasonable accommodation at any time. The animal should not be described as a pet when the resident is requesting a disability-related exception.

Whenever possible, the request should be submitted before the animal is brought into the shared home. A request will not be rejected solely because it was not made during the original application process.

5. Assistance Animals

An assistance animal is not automatically treated as a pet.

An applicant or resident with a disability may request an exception to the no-pets rule when an animal provides disability-related work, assistance, tasks, or emotional support.

Requests will be reviewed individually under the property’s:

Assistance-Animal Accommodation Policy

Assistance Animal Reasonable-Accommodation Procedure

An approved assistance animal is not subject to pet rent, a pet deposit, or a pet fee. Michigan recognizes allowing a service or support animal in no-pet housing as a potential reasonable accommodation. Michigan Department of Civil Rights

An applicant or resident will not be penalized or retaliated against for requesting an assistance-animal accommodation.

6. Assistance Animals Belonging to Visitors

A visitor’s disability-related need for an assistance animal will be addressed individually and consistently with applicable law.

When advance notice is reasonably possible, the resident should contact the property before the visit so that any shared-space, allergy, safety, or access concerns can be addressed.

Lack of advance notice will not automatically determine whether access is permitted.

7. Responsibilities for an Approved Assistance Animal

Approval of an assistance animal does not remove the resident’s responsibility to:

Properly care for and supervise the animal

Maintain control of the animal

Clean up and properly dispose of animal waste

Follow applicable licensing, vaccination, and public-health requirements

Prevent avoidable damage to the property

Take reasonable steps to control persistent noise

Prevent the animal from entering another resident’s bedroom without permission

Follow lawful safety and sanitation requirements

Respect other residents’ use of shared spaces

Animal food, supplies, waste, cages, carriers, and other animal-related items must be stored and handled in a sanitary manner.

The rules will not be enforced in a way that prevents an approved assistance animal from providing its disability-related assistance.

8. Damage and Cleaning

A resident may be held responsible, as permitted by the rental agreement and applicable law, for actual damage caused by the resident’s approved assistance animal.

The property will not impose a pet fee, pet deposit, or automatic cleaning charge merely because an approved assistance animal resides at the property.

Any charge must relate to actual damage or cleaning beyond ordinary wear and must be handled consistently with charges for comparable damage caused by a resident or guest without an animal.

9. Health, Safety, and Shared-Space Concerns

Concerns involving an approved assistance animal will be evaluated based on the specific animal’s actual conduct and the individual circumstances.

A decision will not be based only on:

Breed, size, or appearance

General assumptions about animals

Another resident’s personal dislike of animals

Speculation that damage or disruption might occur

The conduct of a different animal

If an animal creates an actual sanitation, property, safety, or shared-space problem, the property may ask the resident to correct the specific problem.

When appropriate, the property and resident may discuss another reasonable measure that would allow the accommodation to continue while addressing the concern.

10. Stray and Outdoor Animals

Residents may not bring stray animals into the property or create conditions that encourage animals to remain on the premises.

Residents should notify the property contact about an injured, dangerous, or repeatedly present stray animal rather than attempting to house it inside the property.

This does not prohibit ordinary lawful use of the property by a person with an approved assistance animal.

11. Violations of the Pet Policy

A reported violation will be reviewed before action is taken.

Depending on the circumstances, the resident may receive written notice and an opportunity to correct the violation. Repeated or serious violations may be addressed under the rental agreement and applicable law.

Before treating an animal as an unauthorized pet, the property should determine whether the resident is requesting a disability-related accommodation.

Nothing in this section permits immediate removal of an approved assistance animal without an individualized review of the circumstances and applicable legal requirements.

12. Questions and Accommodation Requests

Questions about this policy or requests involving an assistance animal may be directed to:

Property contact: [Name]
Telephone: [Phone number]
Email: [Email address]

For instructions, review the Assistance Animal Reasonable-Accommodation Procedure.