Emotional Support Animals: What IROs Need to Know (Free Webinar)
Event Details
Join us for the next installment of the NAA Independent Rental Owner Committee’s Education Series, focusing on emotional support animals. The majority of complaints filed with organizations and government agencies that enforce fair housing laws allege disability-related discrimination. In these complaints, residents may claim their request for an emotional support animal was unlawfully denied, leading to significant costs for damages and legal defense. Given the stakes, it is critical for industry professionals to understand their responsibilities when a resident requests a reasonable accommodation for an animal.
- Gain a basic understanding of what is required according to fair housing laws.
- Learn about the changes to housing providers’ responsibilities according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Developments’ 2020 Guidance.
- Hear about updates to state laws that may impact how you evaluate reasonable accommodation requests for animals.
About the Hosts:
Nicole Upano, Assistant Vice President, Housing Policy and Regulatory Affairs, National Apartment Association
Nicole serves as a key thought leader on housing policy, specializing in fair housing, landlord-tenant, and property operations issues. She helps to shape NAA’s federal legislative and regulatory priorities and manages the association’s federal regulatory advocacy program. To support NAA’s network of state and local affiliates, she also leads a team of subject matter experts that conducts legislative research and analysis on industry policy concerns. Nicole calls Indiana home. She attended Indiana University, earning a B.A. in Political Science and Studio Art with a minor in Art History.
Victoria Cowart, CPM, NAAEI Faculty, Director of Education & Outreach, PetScreening
Victoria was a direct multi-family industry member with extensive experience providing management and oversight for multifamily housing communities (conventional & subsidized), mobile home communities, and HOAs. She is a property management instructor and a proud graduate of both the NAAEI Advance Facilitator Training and the NAA Lyceum Program. She was commissioned a SC “Palmetto Patriot,” received the Charleston Regional Business Journal’s Executive “Influential Women In Business,” and the NAA AIMS Grassroots Member Advocate of the year. Victoria is passionate about education, simplification and creating ease and understanding for industry members.