Support animal prescribed by licensed psychiatrist (i.e. not an online "ESA registration" scam), landlord demands immediate removal

Specific legal question (So you don't have to dig for it): Are there any specific laws or previous court cases regarding similar situations that will provide useful information to us in moving forward in this dispute with our landlords?

My wife has a number of disabilities and mental conditions which have been diagnosed over years of work with various health and mental health providers.

These issues include, but are not limited to:

• PTSD
• Borderline Personality Disorder
• Codependency disorder
• Depression
• Anxiety

This situation revolves around my wife's psychiatrist prescribing her an emotional support animal due to her issues becoming unmanageable with medication. She reached the point that if I did not come home from work to get her out of bed she would stay there until I got home.

Since obtaining the animal just one week ago, my wife's condition has improved drastically.

Our landlords are demanding that we remove the animal. I've provided a dated timeline, and I would like to request any advice or specific laws/regulations pertaining to our situation. We reside in Indiana. We live in the country in an area with farms, but our mailing address is out of a nearby large city.

I have reached out to an attorney and I am awaiting an initial consultation so I can begin directing communication to my attorney, but I thought I would see how r/legaladvice feels about the situation. Thank you for reading - I'll be skipping a tl;dr as I'm not sure how to condense this with enough details for solid advice.

---

June 27, 2017 - My wife was prescribed emotional support animal by Bloomington Meadows Hospital.

“The above requires an emotional support animal - This is a medical requirement for her health”.

Due to the nature of ESAs, we delayed speaking to our landlord as our hope was to find an animal that would require no accommodations. We already had pets allowed in our lease, on a per-pet monthly fee of $25/month.

July 13th, approximately two weeks after the initial prescription, we made the decision to purchase a Kunekune pig. The reason for this decision are:

• Comparatively long life - 10-15 years, comparable to a dog or cat.
• Small stature (100-200 lbs, 2’ tall, fully grown after three years, likely well after our lease terminates with the church)
• Cost of veterinary services - Pig vaccines are widely available at feed stores, and even having them applied by a veterinarian is under $40 every six months. Apart from vaccinations, watching their food, and hoof trimming, they require no additional special medical care.
• Intelligence - They are just as intelligent and capable as dogs, and are easy to train.
• Wife’s personal needs - As this is for emotional support, we wanted an animal that would be both bonded with her and independent enough to not need constant attention. Pigs can be as independent as cats, but love human attention as much as dogs. This was an acceptable in-between.
• Allergy Concerns - While ESA’s aren’t provided the same rights as service dogs with regards to public access, we wanted an animal not likely to raise allergy concerns in the event we recieved written permission to bring him into public areas such as the mall. Cat and dog allergies are common, mostly due to their saliva and fur. Kunekune and pig allergies are much less rare, and typically only involve being allergic to ingestion of the meat.

2:00 p.m. - Sent our landlords (Who happen to be a church), an email regarding my wife’s prescription, explaining some of the situation, and stating that we are understanding that we are responsible for certain liabilities with the animal. I also provided a copy of the prescription along with an offer to sign any additional legal documents requested by the church.

July 16th, 2017 - We went to Ohio and obtained the emotional support animal.

July 17th, 2017 10:00 a.m. - Landlord secretary replied as she was out of the office the previous week. She said she would contact the board for us and asked for information on the animal.

2:00 p.m. - I responded with the requested information.

3:00 p.m. - Landlord secretary asked if we had any certifications from any organizations (CertaPet, etc) regarding the animal.

4:00 p.m. - Landlord secretary stated that she believed that we required the landlord’s permission for any emotional support animal due to insurance, etc.

4:00 p.m. - I replied to the 3:00 p.m. email stating that online certification programs were primarily scams, as only a medical professional can prescribe an emotional support animal. I then sent a second email letting the landlord secretary know to alert me to any insurance issues. It was my hope that with us already paying the $150/month additional pet fees that there would be enough available to cover any insurance cost adjustments, considering we would be responsible for any damaged caused by the emotional support animal. I also sent a third email to elaborate on the nondestructive nature of the Kunekune, and to express hope that their insurance would only have dog breed restrictions.

9:00 p.m. - I sent an email with a photo of my wife and the pig to demonstrate the emotional support animal’s small size.

July 18th, 2017 - 9:30 a.m. - Landlord secretary responded stating that the animal’s current size is irrelevant to their concerns.

July 20th, 2017 - 5:30 p.m. - I sent an email asking about the inspection date under our current pet policy, and gave details on the upcoming rent payments.

8:15 p.m. - Landlord secretary sent an email stating that local code prevented us from having the animal, and demanding the eviction of the prescribed emotional support animal.

Landlord secretary also stated that they had made several consultations, including an attorney, and informed us incorrectly that we would be responsible for any legal fees as per item number 23 in our lease. Item 23 specifically states that the party that loses the legal dispute would make those payments.

9:00 p.m. - I responded by attempting to explain and educate regarding the law and emotional support animals. I also researched the city’s ordinances, and noted that the line regarding pigs specifically named a specific species. I made several other attempts to dissuade the church from what would be a waste of church funds. I also alerted the church that I would be seeking an attorney and could provide contact information in the future if this course was unavoidable.

July 21, 2017 2:45 p.m. - Landlord secretary emailed me and provided multiple counter points to my previous response. I was also informed there will be an inspection on Monday, July 23rd, in order to ensure we have removed the animal. I was also instructed to keep all communication with the church written. Landlord secretary also attached the zoning ordinance regarding pigs in non farm zoned areas. However, this ordinance was from a small town nearby that is not the city which is the home's address.

5:00 p.m. - I responded stating that we would not be removing the pig, due to it being a legally prescribed animal protected by law. I also stated that due to their pursuit of the situation we would be providing contact information for our attorney.

I also informed the landlord secretary that as per previous situations involving my wife’s mental state, I would be forced to take off work on Monday, July 23rd, if they insisted upon attempting to inspect the house on a day I worked. I offered to schedule for July 29th instead. I also stated that I would reach out to the small town as I was confused as to which ordinances affect our home. Our home has a mailing address in a major city, and is also in an area with several farms as it is outside the main city limits and therefore there are already farm animals in the area.

I also apologized for any legal misinterpretations or misrepresentations I offered, and explained that I would be providing our attorney’s contact information after an initial consultation and filing some paperwork as I did not wish to further discuss items which are not my place of expertise.

I also provided another reminder in regards to rent for August, and asked if due to their previous statement on documentation if they would prefer I mailed the checks. If that is the case, I can not guarantee they will arrive by the 10th. If this is the method they would prefer, then I believe that would be permission to be late with checks (Within reason) without incurring the $65 late fee.

6:15 p.m. - I submitted a complaint to HUD for discrimination.

tl;dr Wife prescribed an emotional support animal by an actual mental health organization and her psychiatrist after several years of treatments. Already have pets on the lease, and the house is located in an area with farms outside city ordinance. Wife chose a small breed of pig (Kunekune). Wife has dramatically improved since getting the emotional support animal. Informed landlord prior to obtaining animal, provided prescription copy and details on animal. Animal requires no accomodations as we already have pets and we require no additional items from landlord. Only possible consideration is insurance cost, and I let the landlord know to keep me posted on that. Landlord instead demands immediate removal of animal.

Edit: Some formatting.

Edit #2, tl;dr

Edit #3/4, in response to a question (So you don't have to check the comments):

My wife is disabled, and has been deemed disabled by several doctors for both physical and mental issues.

We did give the landlord notice prior to obtaining the animal. It was only 72 hours' notice, but all three of those days were business days for the church's office.