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| Public Act 101-0518 | ||||
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AN ACT concerning animals.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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represented in the General Assembly:
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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.
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"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.
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