Yes, schnauzers are low dander in addition to having delightful personalities.
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Air is only incorporating part of the law. Airâs own policy has expanded to allow guests to claim their pet is an emotional support animal and not have to pay pet fees, and not give notice. This is not a federal law that applies to public accommodations. There are certain laws regarding emotional support animals that do apply to landlords who provide long term housing.
The part of federal law that Air does allow hosts to continue to violate is where they allow statements such as âproperty may or may not be suitable for children.â Even though it used to say ânot suitableâ âŚso technically it is an improvement - It is still considered to be a âdiscriminatoryâ statement in regards to advertising. And even if the Federal Housing Act does not apply to someone and you are allowed to refuse children, they are still not allowed to advertise a discriminatory statement.
There have been numerous stories of hosts being sued for having these statements. And Air is still encouraging hosts to break this law. This is likely because they want everyone on instant book and it would be a nightmare with customer service cancellations if Air removed that from listings. So they just allow guests to send a booking request to those listings.
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And cute little moustaches! Or in the case of giant schnauzers big mustaches⌠theyâre delightful to watch on Crufts (a dog competition here in the UK which is televised).
Itâs quite confusing. And we have only been discussing basic federal law. There are also each stateâs laws that have to be considered.
I is a common misconception here that Airbnb is following Federal anti-discrimination law. Airbnb has gone above and beyond the law which, at least in the U.S., is their right.
Thatâs surprising. I donât have allergies but I would expect any accommodation I was paying for to have had these items laundered.
Our HOA bans renters (LTR or STR) from having animals. Only resident owners can have pets. But I believe that we are obliged to accept guests who have service dogs. Although I canât imagine what the HOA board would say if I told them that a guest was bringing an emotional support rabbit, llama or parrot!
Is it house trained?
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Service dogs and emotional support animals are not the same. Service dogs perform a specific service or services (picking up fallen objects, opening doors, detecting seizures, etc.). Per the Americans with Disabilities Act these dogs are permitted virtually anywhere.
In the U.S., you cannot deny a tenant the right to an emotional support animal, but they can be banned from public places.
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I know, I knowâŚI really tried hard to not bring up the old debate but yes - many places do not launder their top bedding and even couch blankets in between guests. For example - a place that rents Sat. to Sat. in a prime beach destination may not launder any comforters for weeks or the entire season (12 weeks) unless they notice a spill. This is the reason that many property managers require owners to provide patterned bedspreads.
To be honest, I donât know how a group that large could possibly not spill koolaid and such on the top of the bedspread for a week with having groups of children. Only since I changed to very strict rules did I lessen that issue. Most of my guests with children were allowed to stain sheets with popsicles and pizza before that. But that is why some property managers require patterned bedding.
Many homes have a house cleaning crew that whips in and out.
Thanks Ellen, good to know. After reading this topic, now when Iâm stroking my cat I donât say âwhoâs a lovely boy?â but âwhoâs a lovely emotional support cat?â 
I truly never knew before this topic that such things existed.[quote=âcabinhost, post:121, topic:14461â]
many places do not launder their top bedding and even couch blankets in between guests.
[/quote]
Iâm certainly not a clean-freak but this horrifies me. After every guest I launder the throw pillows that are on the sofa. (Itâs a leather sofa but still needs wiping down carefully often). If a guest has napped on the sofa and drooled onto the throw pillow ⌠or worseâŚ
My other half stayed in a hotel recently when he was at a conference and I must have told him a dozen times to be sure to take the bedspread off and put it in a drawer somewhere. The thought of any bedding that hasnât been laundered is pretty gross to me.
Here is a partial list of the tasks service dogs can perform. They are nothing less than a miracle for people whose lives would be much smaller without them.
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Not sure if this has been touched on but Service Animals have to be âwell behavedâ or they can be legally asked to leave any establishmentâŚie restaurant, home, plane flight, etc.
We just had a request for someone with 2 service dogs (yes, I know, but we are in the US so I had no choice) I said sure we will take them, but they must abide by the HOA rules of not being off leash, unattended, or using the common area gardens as their âfacilitiesâ. Apparently, these restrictions were too much for the owner and his 2 services dogs, and he decided to book elsewhere 
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So true. I live in a townhouse and the guest room is on the second floor. I simply cannot accommodate folks who cannot climb stairs. I would have to put in an elevator or some type of mechanical device and install ramps on both the front and back door to make my place ADA compliant, and it just isnât feasible. SoâŚâundue burdenâ definitely applies.
Plus, my little canines donât have a say in whom we host, so it wouldnât be fair to push outside animals on them. 
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Good point, we have a cat, so we do not allow dogs in the private part of our house.
Our current cat is ok with guests and kids, and hides when she sees a dog.
But we used to have a big red cat who was a big bully, very nice to kids, but really hated dogs. He attacked any dog that came in territory.
Having a guest with service dog in my home with that cat would have been an absolute no go, too much risk of damage to the dog.
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You can legally only ask two questions per ADA
- is this a service animal
- What service does it provide
In order of discrimination policies
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Service animals (which include but not limited to guide dogs) can go anywhere a human can (even hospitals with exception of operating room). There are even service animal pigs and cats.
-
Emotional support animal
You canât ask for any letters or documentation. If you do you are breaking the law. You need to understand this before signing up to be a host. The exception is if the dog is destructive or you have documented allergies.
Please Read google ADA service animal. The link has been posted here several times.
In regards to vest and certificates. The majority of those are issued by private entities. Yes, some are outright fake and others are great institutions that train the animal very well.
REGARDLESS those entities sell a service and itâs not required to âcertifyâ an animal to be of service. If an individual cannot afford to train an animal or purchase a trained one they can train the animal and LEGALLY call it a service animal.
I fly often with my Great Dane and every airline is well aware so although surprised canât ask me for any papers. This includes TSA. It an honor system that sadly can be abused.
Be aware. If you turn down a service animal then you can be prosecuted.
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I believe this only applies in the USA? Everywhere else in the world, I think, errs on the side of the homeowner. As in, no you donât get to bring your dog/wolf/pig/crocodile into my home no matter what emotional support you get from it.
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As the poster referred to the ADA which is the acronym for the Americans With Disabilities Act, yes he is referring to U.S. law.
Service animals are not the same as emotional support animals. Service animals are trained to perform one or more specific service. These include, but arenât limited to: detecting seizures, detecting changes in blood sugar level, opening doors, picking things up from the floor, lying down under people who are falling due to mobility issues. A service animal is a medical device like a wheelchair, cane, glucose monitor, etc.
OMG. Okay now THAT was the biggest laugh I have had all week. Thank you, Magwitch. Sometimes it helps to hear from folks across the pond how insane we yanks can be about some things.
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