Assistive Animals

I require the use of an Assistive Animal. What Housing Is Available for Me?

All communities have policies in place that provide for required assistive animals as a reasonable accommodation due to a tenant(s) disability. A request form must be completed and given to C&C Realty so we can in turn verify the need for your assistive animal with your physician prior to it coming onto the property.

ASSISTANCE ANIMALS IN HOUSING

The following information is referenced from the Maine Human Rights Commission (MHRC).

Maine Human Rights Act (MHRA), requires that housing providers allow the use of assistance animals by individuals with qualified disabilities. There are some exceptions, but the general rule is one of inclusion which requires the service/assistance animal be allowed to be present.

The Difference Between A Service Animal and an Assistance Animal

MHRA defines "service animal" as a dog that has been individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of a person with a disability - including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability. The work the dog is trained to do must be directly related to the person's disability. Examples include: assisting a person with vision loss in navigation, alerting a person with a hearing loss to the presence of people or sounds; providing physical assistance with balance and stability to a person that has a mobility disability; and remind a person with an intellectual disability to take medication.

Maine law separately defines a category of "assistance animals" often referred to as "emotional support," "comfort," or "therapy" animals. An assistance animal is an animal (dog, cat, bird, etc) that is EITHER determined necessary to mitigate the effects of a mental or physical disability by a physician, psychologist, physician assistant, nurse practitioner, or a licensed social worker; OR is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a physical or mental disability. This can include the types of externally-observable work service animals provide but can also include providing emotional support, well-being, comfort, or companionship related to an invisible disability (such as depression, anxiety, and certain phobias). Assistance animals can, but don't always, have special training to perform tasks that assist people with disabilities.

A housing provider is required to allow a tenant to be accompanied by an assistance/service animal if the animal is necessary to allow the disabled person to enjoy the benefits of the housing. A service/assistance animal is an aid that helps a person with a disability access the housing accommodation, like a wheelchair or cane. Assistance animals are not pets; so pet policies do not apply to them.

Maine Statute Title 17 Section 1314-A:
Misrepresentation as a service animal or assistance animal

A person who knowingly misrepresents as a service animal, any animal that does not meet the definition of "service animal", as defined in Title 5, section 4553, commits a civil violation. Misrepresentation as a service animal or an assistance animal includes, but is not limited to: creating documents that falsely represent that an animal is a service animal or an assistance animal, and knowingly providing false documents to another person. For a civil violation under this section, a fine of not more than $1,000 for each occurrence may be adjudged.