A recent court case regarding
condominiums in Florida is being billed as both a win for people with disabilities as well as a potential infringement on some peoples’ reasonable expectations. An Orlando judge recently ruled that the “emotional support animal” that a man’s doctor prescribed to help him cope with a disability could be kept in the man’s condo even though the dog exceeded the condo association’s weight limits.
Ajit Bhogaita v. Altamonte Heights Condominium Association Inc. is a look at how far a condominium association can go in questioning a resident with a disability or handicap as to whether he or she really needs an emotional support animal. In the ruling, it shows that there are limits to what an association should expect.
Ajit Bhogaita, an Air Force veteran diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, dutifully answered the association’s questions about the dog -- questions aimed at trying to determine whether Mr. Bhogaita really required the animal’s assistance. But the association wasn’t satisfied with the man’s first round of answers, and so sent further questions.
The United States District Court in Orlando said, “By persisting in its intrusive quest for more – and largely irrelevant – information, AHCA constructively denied Bhogaita’s request.” The ruling is a win for people who live in
condos in Orlando and elsewhere who have a legitimate need for an emotional support animal. Others, however, may say that residents agree to the condo rules prior to moving in and should abide by them, and that they have a reasonable expectation not to have what they consider to be large animals in the building.