Everyone deserves a place to call home, and people with disabilities who depend on trained assistance dogs should not face discrimination when seeking to rent a new home or when bringing a well-trained assistance dog into an existing residence.
Learn more in our Quick Guide, designed to help landlords, letting agencies, and housing associations understand and fulfill their legal responsibilities to disabled tenants with assistance dogs.
Key points
In South Africa, individuals with disabilities are granted crucial rights under the Equality Act of 2010. This law ensures that public services, service providers, and local authorities are prohibited from treating disabled individuals unfairly. Discriminatory actions, such as denying or reducing services due to a disabled person having an assistance dog, are unlawful.
Furthermore, landlords and housing providers are legally obligated to make reasonable accommodations for tenants who require a trained assistance dog. These adjustments ensure that disabled tenants can live in their properties without facing undue barriers. Such reasonable changes could include:
- Modifying any ‘no dog’ policy or clause in the tenancy agreement that could negatively impact a tenant who relies on an assistance dog for independent living, and designating a specific outdoor area or ‘spending space’ where the dog can relieve itself, when feasible
It is essential to remember that not all individuals with an assistance dog have a visible or obvious disability. Disabilities can be hidden or not immediately apparent to others. Unless there is a specific need for the information to make reasonable adjustments or accommodations, it is not appropriate or respectful to question someone about the nature of their disability. People have the right to their privacy, and any inquiry regarding their disability should be made with sensitivity, only when it is directly relevant to ensuring their access or support.
Additional charges
A landlord, letting agent, or housing provider is not allowed to increase the rent or impose additional charges on tenants who own assistance dogs, even if the terms of the tenancy agreement state that tenants with pets are subject to extra fees. The law protects assistance dog users from being financially penalized or treated differently due to their need for an assistance animal.
Requesting that a person with an assistance dog pay extra fees or a higher deposit to cover potential property damage, especially when there is no evidence of any actual damage occurring, is considered unreasonable and potentially discriminatory. Such actions could be seen as a violation of the rights of people with disabilities, as they are entitled to the same treatment and housing opportunities as other tenants.
In situations where actual damage is caused by the assistance dog, landlords are entitled to deduct the cost of repairs from the tenant’s deposit. However, these charges must be reasonable and justified. Any deductions related to damage caused by the dog would be processed through the appropriate tenancy deposit scheme, just like any other damage to the property at the end of the tenancy. The process must be fair and transparent, ensuring that tenants are only charged for legitimate damages, and not penalized for having an assistance dog.
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