Tenant Claims Dog Needed for Therapeutic Reasons

August 31, 2004

LVT Number: 17589

Landlord sued to evict tenant for keeping a dog, in violation of his lease. Tenant claimed that he needed the dog for therapeutic reasons. The court ruled for landlord. Tenant appealed and lost. The Fair Housing Act requires landlord to reasonably accommodate the needs of handicapped tenants. But tenant didn't prove any handicap. He submitted only an ambiguous statement from his doctor that depressed people may benefit from keeping pets, and notes in his medical records stating that he was anxious about losing his dog.

Landlord sued to evict tenant for keeping a dog, in violation of his lease. Tenant claimed that he needed the dog for therapeutic reasons. The court ruled for landlord. Tenant appealed and lost. The Fair Housing Act requires landlord to reasonably accommodate the needs of handicapped tenants. But tenant didn't prove any handicap. He submitted only an ambiguous statement from his doctor that depressed people may benefit from keeping pets, and notes in his medical records stating that he was anxious about losing his dog. Even if tenant did have a mental or physical impairment qualifying as a handicap under the law, he also didn't show that keeping the dog was necessary to his enjoyment of the apartment.

Landmark Properties v. Olivo: NYLJ, 8/12/04, p. 30, col. 3 (App. T. 2 Dept.; McCabe, PJ, Rudolph, Angiolillo, JJ)

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