The Louisiana State Legislature has passed House Bill 407, the Louisiana Support and Service Animal Integrity Act, clarifying housing providers’ responsibilities to disabled renters who make reasonable accommodation requests for assistance animals. When it becomes law, House Bill 407 will help industry professionals in the state better navigate their fair housing requirements relating to both service and emotional support animals in housing, thanks to the Louisiana Apartment Association (LAA), which spearheaded this effort.
Tammy Esponge, Association Executive with LAA, said that “the Apartment Association of Louisiana legislative team began meeting in late 2023 to begin drafting legislation to prepare to present to a legislator to author the legislation. We were very successful with our efforts on HB 407 with minimal amendments.”
The final bill focuses on four main areas:
- Aligning applicable definitions to federal fair housing laws relating to reasonable accommodation requests for assistance animals;
- Outlining requirements for documentation produced by healthcare providers; and
- Imposing civil penalties for misrepresenting an animal as a service dog or service dog in-training to a person or entity that owns or operates a public accommodation or a residential dwelling; and
- Mandating notice for the sale of support animals.
The provisions relating to documentation produced by healthcare providers will be most helpful to housing providers in the state to address fraudulent requests for emotional support animals. The legislation states that healthcare providers who provide covered documentation must:
- Possess an active and valid Louisiana license or an active license within a healthcare profession that has a licensure compact to perform the healthcare services being offered to the renter;
- Be qualified and licensed to evaluate and diagnose disabilities and has performed a disability assessment of the renter;
- Include specific, relevant information in the documentation relating to an individual’s need for a support animal;
- Establish a therapeutic relationship with an individual no less than thirty days prior to producing covered documentation;
- Have engaged with an individual in person or remotely in at least two sessions before issuing covered documentation; and
- Perform a clinical evaluation of an individual no less than thirty days before producing covered documentation regarding individual’s need for a support animal.
The legislation also prohibits misrepresenting that an individual has a disability requiring a support animal when the individual is not disabled and prohibits individuals from misrepresenting to a third party that they have a disability requiring a support animal when the individual is not disabled.
What’s Next
On June 3, the state legislature sent this bill to Governor Jeff Landry for executive approval. Governor Landry may sign the bill into law or if the Governor does not sign within the constitutionally prescribed period, the bill becomes law without his signature. Then, HB 407 becomes law on August 1.
The National Apartment Association (NAA) continues its work to support its affiliate partners like the LAA in their efforts to deter fraudulent emotional support animal requests and protect the rental housing industry.
To help housing providers better understand their responsibilities related to reasonable accommodation requests for assistance animals in housing, NAA developed its Emotional Support Animal Toolkit which features sample forms, scripts to help educate on-site teams, and frequently asked questions. Learn more on the NAA website.
To learn more about the industry’s fair housing advocacy, contact Nicole Upano, NAA’s AVP of Housing Policy and Regulatory Affairs.