The authorities in many states officially approve emotional support animals as an efficient auxiliary remedy to succour men with psychical ailments. And New York State is no exception. Here, ESAs are actively used in psychology and psychiatry.
Along with federal laws on ESAs, local laws are also widespread. That is why ESA holders from different states must be aware of their animal’s rights and freedoms. So here, you will get to know about the discrete legal shielding for emotional support animals in New York.
ESA enrollment in New York
To officially become an ESA keeper in New York state, one must get in touch with a licensed mental health professional and receive confirmation of the person’s malady. Only if you come to have an ESA letter from a specialist can the animal officially be accounted for an ESA, and the emotional support dog NYC laws and rules will be relevant to it.
Although it is widespread, supplementary registration for ESAs in New York is optional. By registering a companion animal on one of the official websites, you will have the opportunity to obtain extra documents to identify the animal and reaffirm its status in public.
A certified and recorded emotional support animal has constitutional privileges. And although the opportunities for ESAs are much smaller than the rights of service animals, registration of ESAs brings noticeable advantages to their keepers and eliminates the need to defend the rights of one’s ESA in public places.
Housing and ESAs
All the legislations in relation to emotional support animals and their holders are represented in the field of housing. Unlike other legislations, the federal Fair Housing Act recognizes the peculiar status of ESAs as assistance animals. That’s why an ESA is sanctioned to live with its possessor in rental housing, just like a service animal under this principle.
The FHA helps prevent discrimination when purchasing/renting a property. Under this legislation, an ESA holder can ask a housing provider to ensure reasonable accommodation for the animal. Nevertheless, you can claim this right only if you have a valid ESA letter.
Suppose you have an ESA authentication and a warrant from a veterinarian about the animal’s satisfactory state of health. In that case, the proprietor must let you and your companion have a place to live. To prohibit an ESA placement or to evict you from a rented apartment, the householder must provide facts and evidence of the animal’s unacceptable behaviour.
ESA Campus Housing
The action of the FHA also extends to living on university campuses. If students require an emotional support animal that brings them comfort and moral strengthening, they must submit the appropriate paperwork to campus management. After that, the ESA holder is free to live with his companion on campus.
Housing providers mustn’t charge an extra fee for the dwelling for an animal or require a pet deposit. They also cannot require additional certificates confirming the level of training of the animal. Nonetheless, if the animal behaves aggressively, damages property and threatens the lives of other residents, you may be asked to move out of the rental property officially.
Travel laws (Air Carrier Access Act)
Just a few years ago, emotional support animals could travel freely in the cabin of a plane next to their owners. However, some time ago, the ACAA was amended to deprive the ESA of this privilege. To date, only service dogs are officially allowed to be in the cabin of the aircraft during the flight.
It is believed that the service animal, thanks to its express tutoring, is more controlled and will not threaten other passengers. What’s more, service dogs are vital to their holders. Therefore, New York law protects them, yet it does not guarantee any extra bonuses for emotional support animals.
Yet, if you want to travel with your emotional support animal, you can use one of the pet-friendly airlines. Such carriers allow small breeds of animals to travel in an aircraft cabin with their owners. At the same time, each airline has the right to set its own allegations for the transportation of animals.
If the animal is unsuitable for flying in the cabin, it can be transported with other pets in the luggage compartment or as separate cargo. Please note that you are responsible for the comfort and safety of your ESA during the flight, as the airline does not take responsibility for this.
Employment law
While service animals can freely keep their owners’ company anywhere under the ADA, New York law does not guarantee additional legal representation for emotional support animals. It is also true for the employment sphere, as no special laws demand employers to tolerate an emotional support dog in the workplace.
Nevertheless, most employers are ready to make concessions for their employees. An emotional support animal supplies solace and encouragement that helps its owners de-stress and relax. It also makes humans more open and communicative and promotes faster adaptation and socialization.
Studies show that a pleasant working atmosphere can increase employees’ productivity and working capacity by almost 50%. Discuss this possibility with your supervisor if you need a companion animal in the workplace. If you have official documents and can guarantee that the animal will not threaten others but can benefit the company, the management will be happy to compromise.
Exceptions to rules
To become an approved owner of an emotional support animal, a person must have a non-physical disturbance diagnosed by a psychologist or psychotherapist. You receive an ESA letter to confirm your diagnosis and the need for ESA for therapeutic purposes.
In New York, an ESA letter is legally acceptable for one year, after which you need to reapply to a specialist to renew it. A professional should reevaluate your psychological shape and find out whether you need an emotional support animal to assist in the therapy of your disorder.
If the treatment was effective and the animal is no longer needed, the therapist has the right not to renew the ESA letter. You can still keep the animal with you, yet, you will no longer have legal bonuses for the animal.
Moreover, New York state authorities can deprive an emotional support animal of its superior position in society. Of course, training for ESA is not mandatory but highly recommended. The animal must be obedient and non-aggressive to be in public without jeopardizing others. If an animal systematically shows unacceptable behaviour, it may be deprivileged.
Punishment for misrepresenting an assistance animal
Due to the expanded rights and opportunities for ESAs and service animals, cases of misrepresenting assistance animals have recently grown. Pet owners pass their animals off as service or emotional support ones to have the opportunity to live with them for free and enjoy other legal bonuses.
Such actions are illegal and punishable by New York law. Punishment is provided if a person cannot provide documentary evidence of his words about the animal’s status and if they show fake documents. Hence, it is significant for genuine holders of emotional support animals to carefully and thoroughly check the reliability of the ESA letter provider.
In addition, recently, there has been an increase in cases of unjustified issuance of the ESA paperwork by medical professionals. By issuing an ESA letter to a patient, a mental health provider confirms that a person has some psychical frustration that calls for an animal for its remedy. If a therapist issues the charter to a person who does not have a mental disorder and does not need the help of ESA, he will also be found guilty and deprived of his license.
The patient is also obliged to provide the psychologist or psychotherapist with only truthful information about the state of his mental health and the symptoms of the disorder. Knowingly providing false information to a physician to obtain an ESA letter is also a misdemeanour under state law.
