In 2020, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development got the message: Too many people seemed to be abusing rules meant to aid people who need animals to help with medical issues. In response, HUD issued guidelines that allowed community association boards to tighten their responses to owners and residents who claim reasonable accommodations to community rules. What steps can you take? What steps are risky?

Our panel of experts will cover:

• The difference between service animals and emotional support animals.

• The specifics in HUD’s guidelines and our experts’ predictions on whether they’ll curb increasing requests for emotional support animals.

• How to create a policy addressing such animals that you can actually enforce.

• Steps you need to take to handle requests, including what you should and shouldn’t ask.

• How to respond when an owner’s evidence appears to be from an online, illegitimate medical source.

• The restrictions you can place on service animals, including requiring them to be on leash in the common areas, housebroken, and whether it’s permissible to demand an owner remove an animal.

• Advice on whether you can and should push the legal envelope on this issue.

• And much more!

Presenters: 

Phaedra J. Howard specializes in real estate, real estate litigation and appeals, creditor remedies, and community association law with an emphasis in the representation of condominium, townhome, planned community and cooperative associations at Hellmuth & Johnson in Edina, Minn. Howard assists hundreds of community associations in interpreting and enforcing governing documents; drafting and amending governing documents; handling homeowner and vendor disputes; advising associations on fair housing issues; and providing legal advice and opinions on a wide variety of issues affecting community associations. Howard is a member of the College of Community Association Lawyers (CCAL) and has taught many seminars on topics relating to community associations and is an approved fair housing trainer for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Lisa Magill represents condominium, homeowner, cooperative, and other common-interest realty associations, including condo-hotels, country clubs, and commercial and mixed-use properties at Kaye Bender Rembaum in Pompano Beach, Fla. She’s long been active in the industry and a featured speaker on housing laws, covenant enforcement, and association operations for board members, managers, and other professionals. Lisa is a fellow in CAI’s College of Community Association Lawyers and, in 2015, she was appointed by the Southeast Florida Chapter of Community Associations Institute as a Florida Legislative Alliance delegate.

Continuing Education Credit

This program provides 1 credit toward:

• Certified Manager of Community Associations recertification
• Association Management Specialist redesignation
• Professional Community Association Manager redesignation

To earn credit, you must be personally registered for this program and print the certificate of completion to document your participation.

Manager Certifications and Designations
Certified Manager of Community Associations (CMCA®)/ Association Management Specialist (AMS®)/ Professional Community Association Manager (PCAM®)/ Large-Scale Manager (LMS®)

Management Company Designation
Accredited Association Management Company (AAMC®)

Business Partner Designations and Distinctions
Reserve Specialist (RS®)/Community Insurance and Risk Management Specialist (CIRMS®)/Educated Business Partner