Public Act 101-0518
 
HB3671 EnrolledLRB101 07775 SLF 52824 b


  
    AN ACT concerning animals.
  
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
 
represented in the General Assembly:
  


 
    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the 
Assistance Animal Integrity Act.
 
    Section 5. Definitions.  In this Act:
    "Assistance animal" means an emotional support or service 
animal that qualifies as a reasonable accommodation under the 
federal Fair Housing Act or the Illinois Human Rights Act.

    "Disability" means, with respect to a person, any physical 
or mental impairment, or record of such impairment, that 
satisfies the definition of handicap under the Fair Housing Act 
or the definition of disability under the Illinois Human Rights 
Act.
    "Housing provider" means any owner, housing provider, 
property management company, property manager, government 
entity, condominium board, condominium association, 
cooperative, or related entity, and any agent or employee 
thereof, engaged in the selling, leasing, management, control, 
or governance of residential housing.
    "Reasonable accommodation" has the meaning provided under 
the federal Fair Housing Act or the Illinois Human Rights Act.
    "Therapeutic relationship" means the provision of medical 
care, program care, or personal care services, in good faith, 
for and with actual knowledge of, an individual's disability 
and that individual's  disability-related need for an 
assistance animal by: (1) a physician or other medical 
professional; (2) a mental health service provider; or (3) a 
non-medical service agency or reliable third party who is in a 
position to know about the individual's disability. 
"Therapeutic relationship" does not include an entity that 
issues a certificate, license, or similar document that 
purports to confirm, without conducting a meaningful 
assessment of a person's disability or a person's 
disability-related need for an assistance animal, that a 
person: (a) has a disability; or (b) needs an assistance 
animal.
 
    Section 10. Documentation of disability and 
disability-related need. 
    (a) A housing provider who receives a request from a person 
to make an exception to the housing provider's policy 
prohibiting or restricting animals on the housing provider's 
property because the person requires the use of an assistance 
animal may require the person to produce reliable documentation 
of the disability and disability-related need for the animal 
only if the disability or disability-related need is not 
readily apparent or known to the housing provider.  A housing 
provider may ask a person to make the request on a standardized 
form, but cannot deny the request because the person did not 
use the form to submit documentation that meets the 
requirements of subsection (b).  A housing provider receiving a 
request for more than one assistance animal may request 
documentation under subsection (b) that establishes the 
disability-related need for each animal, unless the need for an 
animal is apparent.
    (b) Any documentation that a person has a disability and 
requires the use of an assistance animal as a reasonable 
accommodation in housing under the federal Fair Housing Act or 
the Illinois Human Rights Act shall:
        (1) be in writing;
        (2) be made by a person with whom the individual 
    requesting an accommodation has a therapeutic 
    relationship; and
        (3) describe the individual's disability-related need 
    for the assistance animal.
    (c) A housing provider may deny a documented request for an 
accommodation or rescind a granted request under this Act if:
        (1) the accommodation imposes either: (i) an undue 
    financial and administrative burden; or (ii) a fundamental 
    alteration to the nature of the operations of the housing 
    provider; or
        (2) after conducting an individualized assessment, 
    there is reliable objective evidence that the specific 
    assistance animal: (i) poses a direct threat to the health 
    or safety of others that cannot be reduced or eliminated by 
    another reasonable accommodation; (ii) causes substantial 
    physical damage to the property of others that cannot be 
    reduced or eliminated by another reasonable accommodation; 
    or (iii) has engaged in a pattern of uncontrolled behavior 
    that its handler has not taken effective action to correct.
    (d) A housing provider may require additional supporting 
documentation of a person's disability or need for the 
assistance animal only if the initial documentation provided 
does not satisfy subsection (b). If the initial documentation 
is insufficient to show the existence of the therapeutic 
relationship required under subsection (b), a housing provider 
may request additional information describing the professional 
relationship between the person and the individual with a 
disability.
    (e) A housing provider may consider the documented 
disability-related needs of other residents on the property 
when evaluating the reasonableness of the request for the 
assistance animal. However, a housing provider may not deny an 
assistance animal solely due to the disability-related needs of 
another resident; rather, a housing provider must attempt to 
balance the disability-related needs of all residents.
    (f) A housing provider may require a resident to cover the 
costs of repairs for damage the animal causes to the resident's 
dwelling unit or the common areas, reasonable wear and tear 
excepted, in the same manner it would for damage caused by any 
other resident; however, a housing provider may not require a 
resident to pay a pet-related deposit, pet fee, or related pet 
assessment, even if the housing provider allows pets and 
requires pet owners to pay such costs. A housing provider also 
may not require a resident with an assistance animal to procure 
special liability insurance or coverage for the assistance 
animal.
    (g) Nothing in this Act shall be construed as requiring 
documentation of a specific diagnosis regarding a disability or 
disability-related need.
    (h) Nothing in this Act prohibits a housing provider from 
verifying the authenticity the documentation submitted under 
subsection (b).
 
    Section 15. Immunity.  Notwithstanding any other provision 
of law to the contrary, a housing provider shall not be liable 
for injuries caused by a person's assistance animal permitted 
on the housing provider's property as a reasonable 
accommodation to assist the person with a disability under the 
Fair Housing Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 
1973, the Illinois Human Rights Act, or any other federal, 
State, or local law.
 
    Section 20. Rights under other Acts. Nothing in this Act 
shall be construed to: (1) limit individuals' rights under the 
Fair Housing Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 
1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Illinois Human 
Rights Act, or any other federal, State, or local civil rights 
law; or (2) limit the liability of housing providers under such 
laws.