By Bob Katzen
The House gave initial approval to a proposal that would make major changes in laws about pets in homes, apartments, hotels and shelters across the state during a state of emergency to allow owners of pets to remain safely housed and not be formally removed from housing due to their pets.
The bill would prohibit a landlord from “initiating action to evict any person from a residential dwelling unit who has a pet without written permission based solely on the presence of the pet until one year after a state of emergency, unless the presence of pets is causing harm to the safety of other residents.”
Other provisions include prohibiting a hotel from unreasonably refusing to allow pets into a hotel during a state of emergency, unless the pet has demonstrated noise and safety concerns; prohibiting condominium associations from discriminating against owners or renters by banning certain types of dogs based on breed, size, weight or appearance; establishing a program of pet ownership by residents of state-aided public housing; allowing landlords to require a tenant to pay additional rent for “common household pets” but limiting the amount of the additional rent charged for each household pet to not more than 1 percent of the first full month’s rent charged to the tenant; prohibiting landlords from charging additional rent for a service or assistance animal required by a tenant with a disability as a reasonable accommodation under state or federal law; and prohibiting an insurance company from refusing to offer or renew insurance to homeowners or renters or from imposing an increased premium or rate of a policy based on a specific breed of dog owned on the property.
Supporters say that pets are very important to their owners and argue that these new laws would be fair to the pets, owners and landlords while also protecting public safety.
Reps. Dave Rogers (D-Cambridge) and Samantha Montaño (D-Boston), co-sponsors of the proposal, did not respond to repeated requests from Beacon Hill Roll Call to comment on the bill and its passage.