State of IL Human Rights Commission – ALS No. 19-0410

The Complainant in this matter alleged that the Respondent unlawfully discriminated against her based on her disability by refusing to rent an apartment to her when he found out that she had two dogs that were her emotional support animals. The Respondent denied the allegations, stating that he never knew the Respondent was disabled and did not know that her two dogs were emotional support animals. The Human Rights Commission found that the Complainant was unable to establish a prima facie case of disability discrimination in a claim of refusal to rent. The Complainant must establish that (1) she was disabled; (2) the Respondent knew or should have known that she was disabled; (3) she was ready and able to rent the apartment; and (4) Respondent denied her application. The Commission found, based on the admissible evidence, that the Complainant was unable to establish that the Respondent knew she was disabled and that he denied her application. Based on the facts in evidence, the Commission found that the Respondent did not reject the application, but rather, that it was incomplete.

Takeaways:

If representing a rental applicant with a disability that requires emotional support animals, advise landlord of the same and request an accommodation to any ‘no pets’ policy that may exist, if the disability or need is not obvious.

Confirm that all portions of the rental application have been provided by the landlord and completed by the tenant.