Proposed Bill in the Legislature

Zona Law | By Mark Zinman

We always say we like to help clients, not just in litigation, but before they get to that point. Oftentimes, that means we start by helping clients respond when tenants raise issues before the court. Other times, we start even earlier by helping clients with their documentation, including drafting and reviewing leases. There are many instances though, that we try to help before we have even met the client. This year is one of those times – we are trying to help draft and pass legislation that helps the rental industry as a whole. Even if we don’t ever meet a specific landlord, we hope that we are doing things that help their business.

Last month, Mark Zinman went to the Arizona House of Representatives to testify about House Bill (HB) 2068, which provided legal protection for property owners when they allow an assistance animal in their home, who then bites another person or otherwise causes damage to a person. Since property owners are required to accept assistance animals under the Fair Housing Act, and it is easy to get documentation that a person needs an assistance animal, we have seen a significant rise in the number of residents who have assistance animals. Further, since the Fair Housing Act prohibits owners from putting breed restrictions on assistance animals, we have seen countless “dangerous breeds” being allowed in rentals.

Due to this rise in assistance animals, and dangerous breeds more specifically, we have seen countless instances where the animal attacks and injures another person. This puts the owner in a precarious spot because they want to protect third parties from dangerous animals, but they have to allow the assistance animal. We have seen a lot of owners who follow the Fair Housing Act, allow an assistance animal, and then get sued when the animal attacks someone.

The Arizona Multihousing Association (“AMA”) drafted HB2068 to address this issue. The proposed law provides an owner with protection from liability if an assistance animal injures someone when they are in a rental property. Because the owner must allow the animal, it only makes sense that the owner has protection from being sued if the animal injures someone.

The bill had some opposition in the House of Representatives, but we have worked with them and limited the scope of the bill to only address this liability issue. We expect that when we move over to the Senate, there will not be formal opposition to the bill. Even without direct opposition, it is no slam dunk to get a bill signed into law. We will continue to fight for this important change, which protects property owners.