Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

Condominium Governance: Navigating Florida’s New Emotional Support Animal Law

Florida’s new emotional support animal law makes it unlawful to discriminate in the provision of housing to a person with a disability or disability-related need for an emotional support animal. As of July 1, 2020, a person with a disability or a disability-related need for an emotional support animal must, upon the person’s request and approval by the housing provider, be allowed to keep such animal as a reasonable accommodation without having to pay extra compensation. Condominium associations engaged in conduct covered by the federal Fair Housing Act are considered “housing providers” under this new law.

It’s important to note that the new law applies to emotional support animals, not service animals trained to do work or perform tasks for an individual with a disability. Service animals are covered under a separate statute. An “emotional support animal” is an animal that does not require training to do work, perform tasks, provide assistance or provide therapeutic emotional support by virtue of its presence which alleviates one or more identified symptoms or effects of a person’s disability. However, an emotional support animal registration of any kind, including one obtained from the Internet, is not by itself sufficient to reliably establish a person’s disability or disability-related need for an emotional support animal.

If a person’s disability is not readily apparent, a housing provider may request reliable information that reasonably supports that person’s disability, which may include a determination of disability by a federal, state or local government agency or information from a licensed health care practitioner who is eligible under the statute to provide such information. If a person’s disability-related need for an emotional support animal is not readily apparent, a housing provider may request reliable information that reasonably supports the person’s need for the emotional support animal being requested. However, a housing provider may not request medical records relating to the disability or information that discloses the nature or extent of disability. Board members should be aware that another new statute makes it a crime to falsify or provide fraudulent information or documentation, or to knowingly and willfully misrepresent a disability or a disability-related need for an emotional support animal.

Unless otherwise prohibited by law, a reasonable accommodation request may be denied if the emotional support animal poses a direct threat to people or property that cannot be reduced or eliminated by another reasonable accommodation. Under the new law, a person with an emotional support animal is liable for any damage or injury caused by the animal. They must also comply with applicable licensing and vaccination requirements.

The consequences for mishandling a request for an emotional support animal can be severe. Board members should proceed cautiously and seek legal guidance when necessary. Setnor Byer Insurance & Risk can help associations and board members identify, manage and insure their unique risks. Clients enjoy access to various risk management services, including our Unit Owner Report Line and Division-Approved New Board Member Education.

Condominium Association 2013 Legislative Update

The 2013 legislative session saw relatively little activity involving Florida’s Condominium Act. Nevertheless, laws have changed, and that’s always important. Here is a brief summary of some of the statutory amendments.

Insurance

The Condominium Act identifies property that must be insured by the association and property that is the responsibility of each unit owner. Unfortunately, the statute was not clear in distinguishing insurance obligations from regular maintenance and repair obligations. As a result, unit owners often believed that their association had an obligation to repair property (usually air conditioning units) because it was covered by the association’s insurance.

The 2013 amendment clarifies that the association is responsible for property covered by the association’s insurance policy if it was damaged by an insurable event, as opposed to regular wear and tear.

Financial Reporting

Condominium associations have annual financial reporting requirements. The type of financial statement an association must prepare depends on its total annual revenues. The 2013 amendment made the following changes to the statutory revenue thresholds used to determine an association’s financial reporting requirement:

Report of Cash Receipts and Expenditures: total annual revenues are less than $150,000 (was $100,000)
Compiled Financial Statement: total annual revenues are $150,000 or more, but less than $300,000 (was $100,000 – $200,000)
Reviewed Financial Statement: total annual revenues are $300,000 or more, but less than $500,000 (was $200,000 – $400,000)
Audited Financial Statement: total annual revenues are $500,000 or more (was $400,000)

Associations operating fewer than 50 units, regardless of annual revenues, must prepare a report of cash receipts and expenditures. Under the old law, this requirement applied to associations operating fewer than 75 units.

Official Records

Unit owners have a right to inspect and copy the association’s official records. Associations are now required to let unit owners make electronic copies of these records with portable devices, including smartphones, tablets, portable scanners or any other technology capable of scanning or taking photographs.

Member Directories

The Condominium Act prohibits associations from disclosing unit owners’ personally identifying information. However, associations are now allowed to publish and distribute to unit owners a directory containing the name, address and telephone number of each unit owner. Unit owners can exclude their telephone number from the directory by making a written request to the association.

Elevator Safety

Condominiums covered by Florida’s Elevator Safety Act were exempt from having to comply with Elevator Safety Code updates until either July 1, 2015 or until the elevator is replaced or requires major modification, whichever occurs first. The 2013 amendment removed the July 1, 2015 deadline. Accordingly, covered condominiums will not have to comply with all updated provisions of the Elevator Safety Code until their elevators require major modification or are replaced.

Some of the other 2013 amendments address board member terms, suspensions from using common elements and board member recalls. It is important for those serving on their condominium board to become familiar with all of the 2013 statutory amendments.

To learn more about your obligations as a board member, take our affiliate’s recently updated online course Condominium Operations: A Primer for Board Members, which has been approved by the Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes.

If you would like to discuss how Setnor Byer Insurance & Risk can serve you and your association, please contact us. Clients of Setnor Byer’s Condominium Program enjoy access to various risk management services, such as Setnor Byer’s Risk Management Group and Unit Owners’ Report Line, as well as our affiliate’s Board Member Education Certification,

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Don’t Let Service Animals Take a Bite Out of the Condominium Association’s Bank Account

Many condominium associations have policies that prohibit or regulate the ownership of pets. For the most part, associations have become adept at dealing with those having pets and those requesting permission to have a pet. However, as a recent lawsuit filed by the Justice Department in Utah shows, things are very different when the pet in question is a service animal.

Service animals perform tasks for people with disabilities, such as assisting the blind. With increasing frequency, service animals provide necessary assistance to those suffering from depression, anxiety, and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Contrary to what many believe, service animals are working animals, not pets.

The lawsuit filed by the Justice Department involves a disabled combat veteran’s request for permission to keep his dog, a labradoodle, in the condominium unit he was renting with his wife. According to a prescription from a doctor at the Veteran’s Administration and a letter from his psychotherapist, the dog helps the veteran cope with the effects of depression and anxiety disorder.

The condominium association had a comprehensive policy for allowing pets, including additional procedures for processing requests for service animals. The veteran was required to provide proof that the dog was medically necessary, execute a medical release, obtain liability insurance, complete the pet registration forms, and pay a $150 pet registration fee.

The veteran steadfastly refused to pay the pet registration fee. Despite numerous communications among the parties, the condominium association refused to grant the veteran permission to keep the dog. The association also levied numerous fines against the owner of the unit.

The veteran’s lease was not renewed due to his refusal to pay the fees and fines. Though the association ultimately waived the fines imposed against the unit owner, the pet registration fee was deducted from the veteran’s security deposit.

The veteran filed a complaint with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). HUD, in turn, filed a Charge of Discrimination against the condominium association, the property management company, and the on-site property manager (Defendants), alleging:

The Defendants violated the Fair Housing Act (FHA) by discriminating against the veteran in the terms, conditions, or privileges of the rental of a dwelling, by refusing to make a reasonable accommodation to modify their pet policy, when such accommodation was necessary to afford the veteran an equal opportunity to use and enjoy the dwelling;
The Defendants violated the FHA by making housing unavailable to the veteran because of his disability;
The Defendants violated the FHA by imposing a fee and fines for the veteran’s service animal;
The Defendants violated the FHA by maintaining a discriminatory policy requiring those with certain disabilities to go through additional steps to obtain an accommodation necessary for equal enjoyment of the property;
The Defendants violated the FHA by insisting that the veteran consent to the release of his private medical information when it was not necessary to grant a needed accommodation; and
The veteran and his wife suffered damages, including relocation costs, loss of a portion of their security deposit, the cost of liability insurance, other miscellaneous costs, physical and emotional distress, anxiety, and inconvenience.

Upon receiving the Charge of Discrimination, the condominium association elected to have the case heard in federal court. Shortly thereafter, the parties entered into a consent decree, or settlement, requiring the Defendants to:

Pay the disabled veteran $20,000;
Attend fair housing training;
Implement a new reasonable accommodation policy that does not charge pet fees to owners of service or assistance animals or require them to purchase liability insurance; and
Comply with various notice, monitoring and reporting requirements.

This was a costly and humiliating loss to the Defendants. Fortunately, other condominium associations can benefit from this lawsuit by learning the same lesson without having to pay the same price.

Optimally, this lawsuit will compel association board members to become familiar with the laws protecting those in need of reasonable accommodation, such as service animals. At a minimum, however, board members must recognize that a request for permission to keep a service animal must be treated differently than other requests.

This recognition will alert the board to proceed cautiously and seek guidance or counsel to avoid unlawful conduct on the part of the association. Otherwise, the education of other condominium associations may come at the expense of your association.

If you have any questions about the information contained in this article, or if you would like to discuss how we can serve you and your association, please contact us.

Additionally, clients of Setnor Byer’s Condominium Program enjoy access to various risk management services, such as Setnor Byer’s Risk Management Group and Unit Owners’ Report Line, as well as our affiliate’s Board Member Education Certification, which has been approved by the Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes.