CONDO LIFESTYLES
by Gabriella R. Comstock - Keough & Moody, P.C.
LEGISLATIVE & CASE LAW SUMMARY It is that time of the year when we look back at what happened in the legal world of community associations and we look forward to new changes in the law. The following is a brief summary of those changes and how they affect community association living.
Legislative Changes:
The Illinois Assistance Animal Integrity Act – Effective January 1, 2020. The Fair Housing Act and Illinois Human Rights Act provides that a housing provider, which includes community associations, may require a person who requires the use of an assistance animal to provide reliable documentation of the disability and the disability related need for the animal, if the disability is not readily apparent or known to the housing provider. The housing provider may require the person to submit the request on a standardized form and to submit
specific documentation. Such documentation shall include a written request, a certification from an individual who has a “therapeutic relationship” with the requesting person, and which describes the individual’s disability related need for the assistance animal. “Therapeutic relationship” is defined in the Act as one who in good faith and with actual knowledge of the individual’s disability and who is a physician or other medical provider, a mental health service provider or a non-medical service agency or other reliable third party who is in a position to know about the individual’s disability. The Act
eliminates generic certifications. The Act also includes language that allows the housing provider to deny a request if the accommodation imposes an undue financial and administrative burden or if it requires a fundamental alteration to the nature of the operation of the housing provider. The housing provider may also deny a request if there is reliable objective evidence that the specific assistance animal poses a direct threat to the health or safety to others, which cannot be eliminated or reduced; causes substantial physical damage to the property that cannot be eliminated or reduced; or has engaged in a pattern of uncontrolled behavior. The housing provider may balance the disability related needs of all residents.
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CONDO LIFESTYLES
01/20
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