Emotional support animals have become a subject of increasing importance in condominium communities. Florida and federal law provide important protections for people with disabilities who have a legitimate, disability related need for an emotional support animal. Those protections should be respected. But they do not mean that condominium rules disappear or that every situation involving an ESA automatically overrides the community’s established rules.

Most ESA owners are respectful of their neighbors and make every effort to comply with reasonable condominium requirements. Unfortunately, there are also situations where the existence of an ESA is treated as a free pass to ignore rules that everyone else is expected to follow.

Having a protected right does not mean having unlimited rights. Disability accommodations and condominium rules are not necessarily mutually exclusive. The challenge for a community is to understand the difference, apply the law correctly, and enforce its rules fairly and consistently. The bottom line is simple: An accommodation is not an exemption from being a good neighbor.

There is an important distinction between a resident who has been granted a reasonable accommodation and a temporary guest who brings an animal into the building. An ESA accommodation is intended to allow a person with a disability to use and enjoy their home. It does not automatically give every visitor the same rights as a resident, particularly in a condominium with a no-pet policy and specific rules governing guests and animals.

An ESA accommodation may protect the right to have an animal. It does not give an owner, resident or guest the right to ignore reasonable condominium rules or subject neighbors to an ongoing nuisance. Excessive barking, jumping on residents in the elevator, and refusing to leash an ESA dog in the hallways need to be addressed by the board.

While the board is not in the business of questioning someone’s disability or making assumptions about an ESA. It does have a responsibility to establish what the law and the condominium documents require, follow a consistent procedure and address documented violations when they occur.

Complaints about excessive barking is not simply a matter of whether someone happens to like dogs. In a condominium, walls are shared, neighbors live close together and everyone’s right to enjoy his or her home deserves consideration. Courts have recognized that persistent, unreasonable animal noise can constitute a nuisance and may justify legal action requiring the disturbance to stop.

The bottom line is simple: Condo living requires consideration from everyone, including residents, guests, pet owners and the association itself. The fairest approach is also the simplest: follow the law, follow the governing documents, apply the rules consistently and don’t ignore a legitimate complaint simply because the animal has an ESA designation.