Under the Fair Housing Act, disabled persons may request a reasonable accommodation for service animals and other assistance animals if necessary to allow the disabled person an equal opportunity to enjoy and use a dwelling. How to analyze a request has been troubling for housing providers (landlords, condominium associations) because of the disparity of court decisions. On January 28, 2020, HUD issued its FEHO Notice 2020-01 which provides what HUD considers a set of best practices regarding the type and amount of documentation a housing provider may ask a disabled person to provide in support of a request for an accommodation when the need for the support or assistance animal is not obvious and not known to the provider.
The Notice should be required reading for all housing providers, including managing agents, board members, and attorneys who represent housing providers. It provides fairly clear and cogent guidelines for analyzing requests.