Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Washington
Legal Fees & Eviction
Recently my roommate obtained a dog as a service animal, but dogs are not allowed in our complex. When the landlord (Prop Mgmt Co) learned about the dog we were given a 10 days to vacate or comply notice. We informed the landlord that the dog is a service animal and that we would provide them with documentation as such. After we gave the landlord the SARA registry card for the dog, we received a notice stating that the card was not enough documentation that it is a service animal. The landlord asked for a letter from his physician/therapist noting that he did have a disability and was in need of a service animal. When we received this notice, my roommate was out of town. I informed the landlord that he was out of town and that he would provide the documentation upon his return. 1 � weeks later we received an eviction notice. My roommate was still out of town at this time. While away he obtained new employment, which required him to move to a new location. He returned to the apartment in order to remove his belongings. At this time I also moved out (for financial reasons). After moving out, I received a notice from the landlord stating that we owe them for legal fees. Are we responsible for paying legal fees in this situation?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Legal Fees & Eviction
1. A service animal is NOT a pet. If you have been evicted for having a service animal this is contrary to the Washington State Law against Discrimination.
The ADA (Federal) and the Washington State Law against Discrimination expressly disallow requests for documentation regarding the status of a service animal. Contact the Delta Society for further information. Your landlord has no grounds whatsoever to discriminate against the service animal on the basis of insufficient documentation. That is a load of you-know-what.
Next thing you know disabled people will have to announce their disabilities. So far that is not the law. Can you imagine a sign on somebody that states "WARNING I HAVE SIEZURES"?
A notice from a Landlord is a different thing than an order from a court. If your landlord can get you to believe you owe him money for attorney fees without a court order signed by a judge that awards him fees, he is - well- more power to him, but that isn't how the court will interpret this. In other words, no, you don't owe him $ at this point. In fact, you may have a nice case against your landlord.
2. Feel free to contact me directly; I can help you find local counsel.
Elizabeth Powell
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