Generally, New York courts will enforce prohibitions on maintaining pets contained in residential and proprietary leases or condominium and cooperative house rules. However, exceptions arise from the provisions of the federal Fair Housing Act (FHA),1 the New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL)2 and the New York City Humans Rights Law (NYCHRL),3 which, under certain circumstances, require landlords and boards to permit residents with disabilities to keep pets. As one court put it, "the legislative advances protecting the disabled…require the no-pet clause to bow upon proof of a specific, particularized need to keep a dog, which need arises out of the handicap."4

The rule utilized by New York courts in ascertaining whether a "no pet" clause must yield to a pet request based on disability, and some representative cases applying the rule, are discussed below. However, the bar should be aware that the U.S. Department of Justice applies a stricter standard than that employed by the New York courts when enforcing the FHA. As set forth below, in addressing situations in which a New York court would likely hold that landlords and boards are within their right to refuse a request for a pet, the Justice Department has demonstrated a propensity to press forward with civil enforcement actions and force settlements which not only permit the resident to maintain the pet, but set up binding procedures governing future pet requests by other residents.

The New York Rule

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