2019 Oklahoma Statutes
Title 41. Landlord and Tenant
§41-113.2. Assistance animal – Reasonable housing accommodation request.
A. As used in this section, "assistance animal" means an animal that works, provides assistance or performs tasks for the benefit of a person with a disability, or provides emotional support that alleviates one or more identified symptoms or effects of a person's disability. "Assistance animal" includes a service animal specifically trained or equipped to perform tasks for a person with a disability, or an emotional support animal that provides support to a person with a disability who has a disability-related need for such support.
B. A person with a disability may submit a request for a reasonable accommodation to maintain an assistance animal in a dwelling pursuant to the Fair Housing Act, as amended, 42 U.S.C., Section 3601 et seq., the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C., Section 12101 et seq., and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, 29 U.S.C., Section 701 or any other federal, state or local law. Unless the person making the request has a disability or disability-related need for an assistance animal that is readily apparent, the landlord may request reliable supporting documentation that (1) is necessary to verify that the person meets the definition of disability pursuant to the Fair Housing Act, (2) describes the needed accommodation, and (3) shows the relationship between the person's disability and the need for the requested accommodation. The landlord may independently verify the authenticity of any supporting documentation. Supporting documentation that was acquired through purchase or exchange of funds for goods and services shall be presumed to be fraudulent supporting documentation.
C. A landlord shall not be liable for injuries by a person's assistance animal permitted on the landlord's property as a reasonable accommodation to assist the person with a disability pursuant to the requirements of subsection B of this section.
D. If a person obtains a reasonable housing accommodation under this section by knowingly making a false claim of having a disability that requires the use of an assistance animal or by knowingly providing fraudulent supporting documentation in connection with such claim, the landlord may remedy the person's noncompliance by the procedures authorized pursuant to the Oklahoma Residential Landlord and Tenant Act in Section 132 of Title 41 of the Oklahoma Statutes. Additionally, a prevailing landlord in an eviction action under this section may be awarded court costs and fees, plus damages not to exceed One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) from the tenant.
Added by Laws 2018, c. 223, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2018.
