3.. Housing
It is unlawful to discriminate against a person with a disability with respect to virtually any form of private or public housing (for residence or visiting) because the person is accompanied by a guide, hearing, or service dog.83 Under the federal Fair Housing Act (FHA) and the New York City Human Rights Law,84 the same is true not only for a person with a disability using a guide, hearing, or service dog, but also for one who is accompanied in housing by an assistance animal – that, unlike a service animal, need not be a dog and need not be trained, and that may provide disability-related comfort or “emotional support that alleviates one or more identified symptoms or effects of a person’s disability,” in lieu of performing tasks otherwise covered under the ADA.85 Like an ADA service animal, an assistance animal under the FHA also may be one that performs tasks such as “guiding individuals who are blind or . . . providing protection or rescue assistance.”86
With respect to inquiries, “persons who are blind or have low vision may not be asked to provide documentation of their disability or their disability-related need for a guide dog,” although their need for some other form of assistance animal may not be so readily apparent and may permit inquiry as to their need for a non-guide dog. The FHA generally does permit a provider of housing to request the person seeking an assistance animal as a reasonable accommodation to supply documentation by a social worker or health care professional treating the individual that the person has a disability87 and that the animal is needed88 to assist the person with a...
