Chicken laws in Citrus County FL

[Brooks_]

In other words if an HOA says you can't have chickens and your psychiatrist says they are part of your treatment the HOA loses.

Probably a better chance of changing HOA rules than finding a psychiatrist that says a chicken is part of treatment. Also, emotional support animals are not true service animals.

 

[ruggerd]

Probably a better chance of changing HOA rules than finding a psychiatrist that says a chicken is part of treatment. Also, emotional support animals are not true service animals.

That is actually not true. I was in a bind with a reptile that I might have to get rid of that wasn't permitted on my lease. I found a therapist that wrote me a letter in less than an hour. That was the end of the issue. Emotionally support lizard. Not hard at all. I say unfortunately because people abuse the emotional support animal guidelines to try to force their way onto airplanes, restaurants etc. They can win with airplanes but not with restaurants.

I fully understand the difference between service animals and emotional support animals. It's true ESA can't necessarily be taken into or accepted at the same locations as service animals which is guided by Federal Law but when it comes to issues regarding housing they are nearly identical. A landlord who does not allow animals cannot stop you from having a properly credentialed ESA in your possession. They can't even charge you extra rent. The same would likely apply to HOA's which tend to be extremely rigid and controlling.

It only takes 5 minutes on google to find dozens of credentialed providers that you can consult with that will write a letter for an ESA. Nearly any animal can qualify as an ESA. It also doesn't have to be a psychiatrist but it typically has to be a licensed provider which can include MFT, LCSW, ARNP, PA, NP, and many more. It varies from state to state but most people don't want to challenge a licensed healthcare provider on this issue so the ESA animal usually wins and usually stays.

HOA's are bullys in my opinion. They also tend to be overbearing and inflexible engaging in petty control issues over how their neighbors choose to live. Everyone will always have examples of how they were told the ESA designation didn't work. However you start dragging people into court things change quickly. I can write another 20 paragraphs on a personal experience on that topic but you will likely win if you push the issue.

This is an outline of Florida law. When it uses the term disability that can be severe anxiety or PTSD. I would also add that I'm not a layperson on this topic. I am a registered nurse with 35 years in healthcare. 15 of it in Mental Health and another 15 in emergency medicine. I have never tried to change the processes on an HOA but I know that getting someone to endorse nearly any animal as an ESA is not difficult at all.

https://www.floridarealtors.org/new...motional-support-animal-law-whats-it-all-mean

 

[Brooks_]

I think you overlap where you shouldn't. Landlord and HOA are vastly different. Just as an ES lizard is vastly different than a flock of chickens. Yes, chickens are flock animals. Which supersedes...ADA or an animal rights statute?

 

[U_Stormcrow]

First, there is a substantial difference between disability law governing rental properties, commercial transport, overnight accomodations (i.e. hotels, BnBs, etc) and property ownership/zoning. "Nearly Identical" is not the sort of advice you want to be relying on when making an investment as significant as a property purchase. Second, ESA abuse is percieved to be rampant - rampant enough that even traditionally "liberal" places like CA are making legislative efforts to crack down on it. Fl's 2020 law already addresses the perimiter of those issues, and there are grumbles about tightening qualifications further.

If a person legimitely needs an ESA creature for therapeutic purposes, I strongly recommend they consult with a licensed and specialized health care professional in their State. I do not recommend they get advice from annonymous internet posters on a board catering to backyard poultry ownership, regardless of their claimed qualifications.

 

[cybnix]

"A Community of Commonality" - as if they want to live in an area where everyone's home looks like it was assembled by the same builder, in the same style, with the same palette... and yes, HOAs/POAs can vary widely in their restrictions - about the only point of commonality is that they are more (and often, much more) restrictive than the municipality in which they are found.

You also will not have dead cars in 3 foot tall grass full of rodents and snakes in an HOA community.