ESA

GCC Partners Support Animal Request Process

GCC Partners policy on Emotional Support Animals (ESA) is taken directly from guidelines established by US Department of Urban Housing (HUD) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). If a person with a disability needs to use an assistance animal, he or she must first make the request to GCC Partners in writing.

HUD states that “A person seeking the accommodation must submit reliable documentation of the disability and disability-related need for the assistance animal if the disability is not known or readily-apparent. This documentation is usually a letter from a medical doctor or treating therapist who can establish the disability and need for the assistance animal”.

All information must be submitted, reviewed and approved by GCC Partners prior to the animal being on the property. * Please do not risk your request being denied by ignoring this important point.

If you wish to request an accommodation for an ESA at a GCC Partners property, please kindly submit the following to us at rentals@gccpartners.com.

Submit an ESA letter

An ESA letter is a recommendation letter written by a licensed therapist or medical Dr. This letter should be filled out by a mental health professional, which means that one written by your family doctor probably won’t be enough in most cases. Make sure to work with a ESA doctor (such as a psychologist) or licensed therapist (LMFT, LPC, etc.).

The letter should include:

– Your full name and address.
– That you have a disability as described in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) of Mental Disorders.
– That you are unable to perform at least one of the most important activities of your everyday life because of this disability.
– A written statement confirming your disability and the nexus of a support animal and confirmation that its presence will ease the disability.
– The letter must be dated no later than a year from today.

Submit information about the animal

Please provide the following:

– The name of the animal.
– The size, weight, color and breed of the animal.
– A color picture of the animal.

Submit health and wellness documentation

This should be from a licensed veterinarian for the support animal, including immunization and vaccination records.

Submit proof of current license

For dogs only. From either Kern County Animal Control or California City Animal Control, based on your location.

Important things to consider

-If you are a current tenant, it is important that the above information is received for review by us prior to the companion animal being on the property.

-If you are a prospective tenant, please submit all information with your application.

-Please do not submit the information until all of it is included. Incomplete requests will be denied. Email to: rentals@gccpartners.com

-Once all the above information is received, we will review your request and have an answer to you with 7 days.

-Please note we will contact the medical professional issuing the ESA letter for confirmation as allowed by HUD and the ADA.

-GCC partners can refuse to allow certain support animals if the animal will present undue hardship or expense to our business. Example: Our insurance company will raise rates or drop coverage for certain dog breeds to live on the property.

When you are approved for a support animal

-Support animals must follow the same reasonable rules that apply to pets as far as waste, leash restrictions damage, noise and safety.

– GCC partners may have some say in setting limits on size, species, breed and number of support animals. Example: a single cat as a support animal is reasonable, whereas five cats might easily be considered unreasonable.

-We will not charge pet deposits or pet fees because we don’t consider support animals as pets.

-GCC Partners can still write warnings, deliver official notices or even evict the tenant and support animal for things like excessive noise, property damage, behavior problems or whenever the support animal might threaten the safety of other tenants.

*Warning: An ESA registry is a site that asks for money to confirm that you have a registered emotional support animal. This is not required by law and should not be done. If any company or website states that registration is required, they should not be trusted. Use of these services will likely result in your request being denied. The only way to qualify your pet as an official ESA is to qualify for a legitimate ESA letter from an ESA doctor (such as a psychologist) or licensed therapist (LMFT, LPC, etc.). States ore now cracking down on non-legitimate service and support animal claims. See how HERE.