Article
Courtesy of The Sun Sentinel
By Daniel
Vasquez
Published January 13,
2012
Your condominium or homeowners community may ban
pets, but Florida and federal fair housing laws require boards to make
exceptions for owners with disabilities.
Most people realize these laws cover service animals
trained to aid people suffering from physical disabilities, such blindness
or hearing-impairment.
But laws protecting people who rely on emotional
support animals, so-called prescription pets, tend to be less understood
by communities and owners. These pets help those with mental and emotional
disabilities, such as depression, panic disorders and anxiety.
Experts say association boards across
the state increasingly want more information from owners
who want to have an emotional support animal. Boards ask
for qualifications of health professionals who prescribe
pets, the length of time the owner has been a patient, how
often the owner visits a prescriber and whether
medications can replace the pet.
That trend leaves some owners
feeling violated. Others head to court, claiming invasion
of privacy.
Ellen
Moltz, of Sunrise, explained her situation: "After I
lost my husband, I had to get a cat to keep my
sanity." |
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Ellen
Moltz moved with her cat, Moxie, from a Tamarac condo she owned into a
pet-friendly Sunrise community where she now rents.
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Moltz
admits moving her pet into a Tamarac condo she owned before asking
permission from her association board. Six months ago, she sold that unit
and rents in a pet-friendly Sunrise community, something she says she did to
avoid the possiblilty of having Moxie evicted. Moxie is a Calico who chases
away Moltz' bouts of depression.
"They were cracking down on people
with pets. One woman had notes from three doctors and was still
rejected," said Moltz. "I don't have to deal with board members
invading my privacy."
The challenge for associations is
determining which requests for prescriptions pets are valid, said attorney
Gary Poliakoff, who patented the phrase prescription pets. "Boards have
a right to know whether someone has a condition and how a pet will
help."
Some owners are finding it difficult to
convince boards they really need a pet.
"Increasingly condos are making
owners jump through hoops and provide more personal information that anybody
should have to give to their boards," said Maida Genser, founder of
Citizens for Pets in Condos, an owners' advocacy group.
Last month, a Pompano Beach woman and
three neighbors filed a lawsuit against their condo association for
allegedly going too far, asking for verification of her doctor's
qualifications and whether medication could be used rather than her dog.
"I was forced to go before a condo
committee of neighbors and practically give a deposition about my depression
and health," she said. She asked that her name not be used to because
of her health conditions.
Like Moltz, the Pompano Beach woman moved
in with her pet before asking her board for permission.
"Many people simply do not realize
that just having a doctor's note is not enough, and that they are supposed
to formally ask for a waiver of the no-pet rule," said Marcy LaHart, an
attorney representing the woman.
"Others
were simply too embarrassed by the stigma that [they believe] is attached to
mental illness."
Daniel Vasquez can be reached at [email protected]
or 954-356-4219 or 561-243-6686. His condo column runs Wednesdays in
Your Money and at sunsentinel.com/condos. Check out Daniel's Condos
& HOAs blog for news, information and tips related to life in
community associations at www.sunsentinel.com/condoblog.
You can also read his consumer column Mondays in Your Money and at www.sunsentinel.com/vasquez.
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