Requesting an accommodation mid-lease

The lease does not waive it

A reasonable accommodation request can be made at any time, including after you signed a lease that plainly prohibits animals. That is the whole mechanism: the accommodation is an exception to a rule you are otherwise bound by. A provider who says you agreed to no pets has described the situation accurately and has not answered the request.

Why mid-lease requests are common

• Conditions change. A disability can begin or worsen during a tenancy.
• Circumstances change. People acquire an animal, or inherit one, or their treatment changes.
• Awareness changes. Plenty of people only learn the accommodation exists after signing.

What a landlord may not do

• Refuse on the basis that you signed the policy.
• Require you to sign a new lease on worse terms as the price of the accommodation.
• Impose a rent increase tied to the animal, where an accommodation is granted.
• Treat the request itself as a lease violation.

Renewal time

Watch for a non-renewal that follows shortly after a request. It is unlawful to coerce, intimidate, threaten or interfere with someone exercising a fair housing right, and timing is evidence. Keep the dates.