Illinois REALTORS® Legal Services Team brought its member service – the House Counsel program – to the northwest regions of our state recently with stops in Rockford and Crystal Lake.

Pet policies were a hot topic in these April (Fair Housing Month) programs hosted by Rockford Area REALTORS® and the Heartland REALTOR® Organization.

Can a landlord deny an otherwise qualified applicant based on them having a service or emotional support animal?

“The general answer to that question is no,” says Betsy Urbance, Illinois REALTORS® General Counsel. “A person with a service or emotional support animal must not be denied housing on that basis. The landlord or property manager could be facing a fair housing complaint case.”

A service or emotional support animal, when it comes to housing, is not a pet. Therefore, no pet policies and pet deposits do not apply. The landlord or property manager could charge the terminating tenant for any actual damages caused by the animal, after the fact.

Urbance and Associate General Counsel Jeff Baker developed the House Counsel program to cover the latest license law issues affecting the Illinois real estate business plus hot topics from the Illinois REALTORS® Legal Hotline member service.

For the April programs, House Counsel fielded questions on fair housing, website accessibility, teams and team advertising and dual agency.