Service animal or emotion support animals in a no pet policy house

[Alicia787]

I have a no pet policy in effect, which seems pretty common in the area that I am hosting. Recently had an inquiry from a guest who has a service animal. I know legally we cannot discriminate against this guest so we have confirmed their booking. I advised them of the reasons that I do not believe my property to be pet friendly, the stairway is steep and not safe for an animal to climb up and down alone (this is the same reason I have a no children policy) as well as the large wildlife that is in the area. Neighbors who have pets tend to keep an eye on their animals  so they don't end up as prey. I have had many bears, coyotes and mountain lions stroll through my yard which I have seen on my Ring security system. I have a cleaning fee and security deposit in place, but am wondering if anyone has run into any issues with hosting someone with service/emotional support animals?

Thanks

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Alicia787 If its a service animal you'll probably be ok. An ESA however could be a duck or a donkey so good luck with that. I saw recently Airlines in the USA are finally fighting back against ESA's . Lets hope Airbnb does as well.

By the way the damage deposit does not actually exist in Airbnb land.

[Sarah977]

@Alicia787 If it's a true service animal then you shouldn't have any issues, other than dog hair, as service animals are highly trained and don't do things like chew things up, bark uncontrollably, relieve themselves indoors, etc.

ESAs are another story, as anyone can claim Fido is their ESA even if it's an untrained puppy.

The issues most hosts encounter is guests lying about their animals.

You can mitigate this somewhat by sending guests a copy of the Airbnb policy re service animals and ESAs, if they tell you they are bringing one- that they have to be housebroken, that they can't be left alone, etc. That may head off the ones who are lying.

If they simply show up without disclosing the animal when booking, then you can send them the policy at that point, especially if you have reason to suspect it's just a pet.